30 Days of WWE Challenge, Day 01 - Favorite Wrestler While Growing Up

Shawn Michaels

Before I start the introductory selection of this challenge, I would like you to read this.

Now that you’re back, and see who I selected on top, let me tell you that this decision was actually kind of easy.

My wrestling fandom started pretty late compared to some of you. While I’ve seen random clips of Monday Night Nitro, or SMACKDOWN in the past in passing, I was never truly allowed to watch RAW until 2002.

That being said, I was allowed to watch RAW from bell to bell on July 22nd, 2002. This event happened the night after the Vengeance PPV where The Rock won the Undisputed WWE Championship in a Triple Threat encounter.

The opening segment of the show revolved around “evil” Eric Bischoff, then-General Manager of the RAW brand, proclaiming to the world how newly-drafted Triple H will make his show the premier brand in all of WWE. Keep in mind, Triple H is a face (or to some of you new readers, a good guy) at this point in the show.

After some blabbering, Triple H introduces a man named Shawn Michaels. Shawn, the prior night at Vengeance, persuaded Hunter that RAW would be more fun than SMACKDOWN, and therefore that’s why Hunter signed. Bischoff then made the command for Shawn to be Hunter’s manager, something both men didn’t need/want.

Later in the show, Hunter went into Shawn’s dressing room, and gave him a bag of gear.

Turns out that gear was D-Generation X gear. Out to pyro and ballyhoo, it seems like we had a reunion on our hands…

…until Triple H turned heel on Shawn, Pedigree’d his ass down into the canvas, and the build-up for that year’s Summerslam was only beginning.

My first memories of RAW: July 22nd, 2002, when HBK more or less officially returned.

With that introduction in mind, those two men combined were among the primary reasons why I became a WWE fan on this particular night.

It also happened that Shawn would soon make his return to the ring after a four-plus year absence due to injuries. That return to the ring would be probably the most inspirational circumstance to hit the WWE in the last decade.

Just a little reminder, think of this as a part one. Day 3, which is favorite male wrestler, will continue my reasoning for Shawn’s placement, and why he is as epic as anyone who has ever stepped into the squared circle.