Top 50 Shawn Michaels Rivalries

Randy "Macho Man" Savage

In his new WWE DVD "The Randy Savage Story", it was revealed that Randy "Macho Man" Savage wanted to have a two-year program with Michaels that would end in Savage passing the torch to HBK. That never happened, but Michaels was challenged by Savage for his Intercontinental Title in 1992.

Shawn Michaels was once ranked as The Top WWE Superstar Of All Time by his peers, and there's little reason as to why. He's a four-time World Champion, a first-ballot WWE Hall of Famer and has been nicknamed Mr. WrestleMania for his show-stopping performances at the annual event. And even outside of WWE's reach, Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine readers nominated him for Match of the Year honors an unprecedented 11 times during his career.

Of course, Michaels wouldn't have had the career he did without a steady stream of opponents to match up against. We all remember a few of HBK's biggest feuds, but what about the Top 50?

In counting the Top 50 Shawn Michaels Rivalries throughout his career in the Mid-South, AWA and WWF/E, Canadian Bulldog's World looked at the following criteria:

How many times did they Michaels face off against the opponent(s)?
Did they have memorable matches at memorable events?
Was there a compelling reason behind the rivalry?
Did the feud stop and start again at various points throughout his career?
Did the rivalry ultimately make Michaels and his opponent(s) look better?

Keep in mind, we are looking at in-ring rivalries only (even if they weren't all with active wrestlers, per se), so this has nothing to do with backstage feuds or other differences that happened behind the scenes.

Ready? Here we go!

While Sgt. Slaughter never had any (memorable) matches with Michaels, the two had a memorable rivalry while Slaughter was WWF Commissioner and Michaels was part of the original D-Generation X. The Showstopper made fun of Slaughter's chin, voice and penchant for spitting before Sarge fought back!

Sgt. Slaughter

In the aftermath of the infamous Montreal Screwjob in 1997, Ken Shamrock emerged as the number one contender to Michaels's WWF World Title. HBK boasted that he wouldn't tap out to Shamrock's ankle lock, and avoided doing so in his first title defense at the pay-per-view In Your House: D-Generation X.

Any picks missing or misplaced? Leave your feedback in the Comments section below...

Though Batista and Michaels first did battle at Armageddon in 2003, they later had a more nuanced feud when both were fan favorites. In 2008, after Michaels had retired Batista's best friend Ric Flair, The Animal was out for blood. The two did battle in a Stretcher Match at One Night Stand, which Batista won.

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Tito Santana, who was at the time competing as El Matador (not to be confused with Los Matadores), faced Michaels in one of his very first singles programs in the opening match at WrestleMania 8. While HBK got the win, the two faced each other on house shows and even on WWF's syndicated television shows.

Tito Santana

When Bob Backlund unexpectedly returned to the WWF in 1992, one of his first opponents on the house show circuit was Shawn Michaels, whom the former WWWF World Champion handily defeated. Later, when Backlund turned heel and challenged Diesel for the WWF Championship, Michaels was his advisor.

Although The Big Show never had any memorable one-on-one matches with Michaels (they almost did on Raw in 2005), they managed to meet in several high-profile tag team encounters. Most notably, Michaels and Triple H battled Show for his ECW Title, while DX fought Show and The McMahons in 2006.

The Big Show

The most famous encounter between Michaels and Jeff Jarrett took place at the second In Your House PPV in 1995, when HBK defeated Double J for his Intercontential Title. However, the two also locked horns a couple of years earlier when Michaels was on loan from the WWF and Jarrett was in the USWA.

Jeff Jarrett

Sensational Sherri and Shawn Michaels were first on opposite sides in 1986, when The Midnight Rockers challenged Buddy Rose and Doug Somers in the AWA. Later, Sherri came to the WWF as Michaels's manager, but once they split in 1993, The Sensational One vowed to get revenge on her Boy Toy.

Sensational Sherri

Michaels's rivalry with DiBiase goes back even further than his clashes with Sherri, as DiBiase battled Michaels in the early 1980's in the Mid-South territory. Michaels later said that he was a jobber at the time, and the future Million Dollar Man was the first person to let him have a decent match at the time.

Ted DiBiase

While Michaels and The 1-2-3 Kid (Sean Waltman) would later become best buds in The Kliq, in 1993 they were on opposite sides of tag team matches, as Michaels and Diesel took on The Kid and Razor Ramon. They also fought in singles matches on Monday Night Raw and on syndicated WWF programs.

The 1-2-3 Kid

In 2005, Chris Masters was tormenting WWE fan favorites with his Masterlock Challenge. When Shawn Michaels wouldn't give in to the Masterlock, Masters blasted him with a steel chair instead. This led to a brief program that included a one-on-one match at that year's Unforgiven PPV, which Michaels won.

Chris Masters

Batista

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Believe it or not, Crush was seen by many fans as the man to defeat Michaels for his Intercontinental Title when the two met at King of the Ring in 1993. However, Michaels had a couple of things going for him - his new bodyguard Diesel, and a pair of cigar-smoking Doink The Clowns - which gave HBK the win.

Crush

During the first WWF World Title reign of Shawn Michaels, the manager who most persistently chased him was none other than Jim Cornette. Cornette sent Vader, Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart after HBK, and even ended up doing battle with Michaels's manager at the time, Jose Lothario, on pay-per-view!

Jim Cornette

Michaels and Mr. Kennedy began doing battle in late-2007, with a first match that ended in a no-contest. This led to a one-on-one bout at Armageddon, which Michaels won, and a rematch on Raw, won by Kennedy. The rubber match took place on January 21, 2008, and was won by The Heartbreak Kid.

Mr. Kennedy

Michaels and Shelton Benjamin had but one match in their respective careers, but it was a doozy. As part of the "Gold Rush" tournament held on Raw in May 2005, the two were pitted against each other. A series of nearfalls and reversals turned into an all-time classic for Raw, with Michaels barely squeaking out a victory.

Shelton Benjamin

One of the last big rivalries Michaels and Marty Jannetty (The Rockers) had as a tag team was against Power and Glory, the Slick-managed tag team of Paul Roma and Hercules. Power and Glory turned on The Rockers, in fact, and injured the knee of Michaels, giving them the victory at SummerSlam 1990.

Power and Glory

Ken Shamrock

Christian clashed with Shawn Michaels numerous times on television, including a series of matches on Raw circa 2004 as well as the house show circuit. While Captain Charisma never quite got the upper hand, he did aid Chris Jericho in Y2J's ongoing rivalry with The Heartbreak Kid.

Christian

Kane fought Shawn Michaels a number of times during the brand split era of Monday Night Raw, stemming from the fact that The Big Red Machine was jealous of HBK competing for the World Title. The two squared off in a No Disqualification Match at Unforgiven in 2004, which Michaels won.

Kane

The Legacy

In 2009, The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr.) did battle with D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) on three consecutive pay-per-views: SummerSlam, Breaking Point and Hell In A Cell. While The Legacy won the middle match, DX were victorious in the first and third challenges.

During the lead up to their match at WrestleMania 22, Vince McMahon sent his son Shane McMahon after Michaels to soften him up. Shane and Shawn battled in a Street Fight on Saturday Night's Main Event, which Shane O'Mac actually won due to a screwjob finish, and the two later clashed in various tag matches.

Shane McMahon

Mr. Perfect's rivalry with Michaels began in 1993, and included a memorable parking lot brawl during an early edition of Monday Night Raw. This led to a match at SummerSlam of that year for Michaels's Intercontinental Champion, which HBK managed to win on a countout, adding even more fuel to the fire.

Mr. Perfect

Without The Spirit Squad, it's possible that Shawn Michaels would have never reunited with Triple H in D-Generation X in 2006. Egged on by Vince McMahon, the faction of Kenny, Johnny, Nicky, Mikey and Mitch took on Michaels and The Game in a series of tag team matches on television, at live events and on PPV.

The Spirit Squad

When Chris Benoit won the Royal Rumble in 2004, he was set to challenge Triple H at WrestleMania XX but Shawn Michaels stepped in. This led to a classic pair of Triple Threat matches at WrestleMania and Backlash, while Michaels challenged Benoit one-on-one on Raw that year, though he never won the belt.

Chris Benoit

One of the toughest challenges The Rockers ever had in the WWF was from the team of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, collectively known as The Brain Busters. The two teams battled twice on Saturday Night's Main Event, not to mention at the Survivor Series in 1989 and all over the house show circuit.

Arn Anderson and

Tully Blanchard

Furious that fans voted for Shawn Michaels at the inaugural Taboo Tuesday instead of him, Edge turned heel and made HBK his first victim. The two clashed at the Royal Rumble in 2005, and they feuded again as part of the D-Generation vs. Rated RKO rivalry that culminated at New Year's Revolution.

Edge

In the months leading up to WrestleMania 9, the then-undefeated Tatanka managed to pin Shawn Michaels in a handful of tag team and non-title matches. Then they clashed at WrestleMania, with Sensational Sherri in Tatanka's corner and Luna Vachon in Michaels, with Tatanka winning the match by countout.

Tatanka

"The Model" Rick Martel had an interesting feud with Michaels in the summer of 1992. Both were firmly established as heels at the time and were competing for the affections of Michaels's manager Sensational Sherri. This resulted in a match at SummerSlam in which all punches to their model-like faces were banned.

"The Model" Rick Martel

Upon his 1996 arrival in the WWF, Vader set out on a path of destruction until he was granted a match against Michaels, then the WWF World Champion. The two battled at SummerSlam, and The Man They Call Vader took HBK to the limit, but ultimately received his first WWF loss at the hands of Michaels.

Vader

Just one month after Shawn Michaels turned back the challenge of Vader, he began a rivalry with Mankind that culminated in a WWF World Title match at In Your House: Mind Games from Philadelphia. Michaels barely won the match, and the two crossed paths again a year later when D-Generation X first formed.

Mankind

In something of a dream match situation, Kurt Angle had Shawn Michaels had a series of matches in the mid-2000's. They first battled at WrestleMania 21, with Angle surprisingly getting the win. The next clash was at Vengeance a year later, which HBK won. The rubber match - an Iron Man match on Raw - ended in a tie.

Kurt Angle

When Michaels and Marty Jannetty were The Midnight Rockers in the AWA, they were quickly paired up against the team of Doug Somers and "Playboy" Buddy Rose. The Rockers chased Rose and Somers for well over a year before finally beating them to capture the AWA Tag Team Titles in January 1987.

Doug Somers and

"Playboy" Buddy Rose

John Bradshaw Layfield's rivalry with Michaels was unlike any other before or after it. Facing financial problems, Michaels struck a deal with JBL to receive enough money to clear his debts. However, this meant Michaels had to act as JBL's lackey until The Heartbreak Kid had enough and fought back.

John Bradshaw Layfield

The first Ric Flair-Shawn Michaels match took place in 1992 when Michaels was still one half of The Rockers. They feuded later when Flair was part of Evolution and had a classic match at WrestleMania 24 in which Flair was forced to retire after losing his match to the aptly-named Mr. WrestleMania.

Ric Flair

Randy Orton and Michaels have collided several times over the years, with the first major confrontation being at Unforgiven in 2003. Michaels also returned from a hiatus in late-2007 to challenge Orton for his WWE Championship at that year's Survivor Series, when The Legend Killer hit an RKO out of nowhere.

Randy Orton

Shawn Michaels's first championship belt came at the hands of Davey Boy Smith in 1992 when he captured the Intercontinental Championship. The two battled at the Royal Rumble 1995 (where Michaels and Smith entered as #1 and #2, respectively), over the WWF World Title and even over the European Championship.

Davey Boy Smith

The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond Rougeau) had a lengthy feud with The Rockers beginning in 1989 when The Rougeaus attacked Michaels in the throat with Jimmy Hart's megaphone. The teams had a series of marathon matches, and appeared on opposite sides of a six-man tag match at SummerSlam.

The Fabulous

Rougeau Brothers

Shortly after Shawn Michaels was injured in real-life by a group of Marines, HBK battled Owen Hart on Monday Night Raw. The match ended prematurely when Michaels appeared to pass out as the result of a concussion, giving The King Of Harts a psychological advantage. The two also battled again in early 1998 after Owen's brother Bret left the WWF for WCW and Michaels was bragging about it.

Owen Hart

John Cena and Shawn Michaels were World Tag Team Champions in early 2007 when Michaels won a number one contenders match to challenge Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 23. Their friendship - shaky to begin with - quickly deteriorated as HBK focused on regaining the WWE Championship. Although he failed in his effort at WrestleMania, it was one of Cena's toughest challenges to date.

John Cena

In early 2005, Hulk Hogan returned to WWE and Michaels recruited him to take on Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. After one successful encounter on Monday Night Raw, Michaels superkicked Hogan and turned heel for the first time in many years. An intense rivarly developed and the two battled at that year's SummerSlam - while Hogan won, Michaels mocked the victory the following night and resumed his role as a fan favorite.

Hulk Hogan

Although they had once been WWF Tag Team Champions together (briefly), "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels never quite saw eye to eye. Never was this more apparent than in the lead up to WrestleMania 14, when Michaels was in DX and Austin was the rebellious fan favorite. Austin won their match at WrestleMania (and the WWF World Title), making for Michaels's last match in the company for years.

Sycho Sid

Vince McMahon wasn't happy that Michaels had changed his ways when returned to WWE in 2002 and hated that Michaels had "gotten over" the Montreal Screwjob. McMahon goaded HBK into a match at WrestleMania 22 and a subsequent tag team match at that year's Backlash. And when D-Generation X reformed in 2006, it was solely created with the intent of making McMahon's life more difficult.

Vince McMahon

In 1995, Shawn Michaels was determined to wrest the WWF World Title from his former friend Diesel, and hired Sycho Sid to help get the job done. When HBK failed at that year's WrestleMania, Sid turned on him the following night and a new rivalry was born. It was ignited again in 1996, when the two traded the WWF World Heavyweight Title back and forth between the Survivor Series and the following year's Royal Rumble.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin

This was another "bodyguard" story as Michaels brought Diesel into the WWF in 1993 to watch his back. Soon, the duo dominated the WWF's Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships (as their backstage power also began gaining momentum), but by the Survivor Series in 1994, Diesel abandoned Michaels and turned face. A few days later, Diesel won the WWF World Title, igniting a feud between the two that culminated in a match at WrestleMania 11, and another feud that began in early 1996 before Diesel jumped ship to WCW.

Diesel

"Is there a problem between The Rockers? I don't think so." Michaels spat, seconds after he threw former partner Marty Jannetty through the window of The Barber Shop talk show set. Thus ended a seven year-long partnership between The Rockers in the AWA and WWF and ignited a feud between the two in early 1992. Jannetty soon left the WWF, but returned a year later to capture the Intercontinental Title from Michaels.

Marty Jannetty

Two of Shawn Michaels's biggest rivalries were at the hands of Chris Jericho, a man who patterned his career after The Heartbreak Kid. The first led to a classic match at WrestleMania 19, in which the two appeared to embrace, only to have Michaels receive a low-blow from Jericho. Some five years later, Jericho would turn on Michaels again during his Highlight Reel talk show, leading to an epic series of matches between the two.

Chris Jericho

When Michaels was suspended by the WWF in 1993, he was stripped of his Intercontinental Title. A short time later, Razor Ramon was named Michaels's successor for the championship... which was fine until Michaels returned to the company with his own version of the belt. The two had a classic ladder match at WrestleMania X, won by Ramon, and another ladder match at SummerSlam a year later, which HBK won.

Razor Ramon

The Undertaker was another instance where Michaels had not but two epic feuds with him. The first one began in mid-1997, when Michaels cost The Dead Man his WWF World Title. The two battled in the very first Hell In A Cell match. Things cooled down for more than a decade, when Michaels attempted to end Undertaker's WrestleMania streak in 2008 and again in 2009, the latter of which cost Michaels his wrestling career.

The Undertaker

While most people think of Triple H and Shawn Michaels as partners in D-Generation X, they have spilled their fair share of bad blood as well. When Michaels returned to the WWE in 2002, he was turned on The Game, resulting in HBK's first match back at that year's SummerSlam. The two had an on-again, off-again rivalry for the better part of two years; by the end, they were both challenging Chris Benoit for the World Championship.

Triple H

Bret "Hit Man" Hart

Bob Backlund

Shawn Michaels and Bret "Hit Man" Hart just seem to go well together. As tag team wrestlers in The Rockers and The Hart Foundation, the two first did battle. When Michaels was Intercontinental Champion in 1992, he challenged World Champion Bret Hart at that year's Survivor Series. At WrestleMania 12, Michaels defeated Hart for his first WWF World Championship. And of course, there was the Montreal Screwjob in 1997, in which Michaels's tainted victory over Hart played off of years of one-upsmanship, in and outside the ring.

June 12