Shawn Michaels is one of the best wrestlers in history, his in-ring skills were amazing, and his storytelling ability was exceptional as well. In addition to Michaels showcasing his talent week in and week out, he was dominant, he won matches frequently, and it felt like a big deal when someone defeated The Heartbreak Kid.
In that sense, usually only the best wrestlers defeated Shawn Michaels, legends like Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Triple H, John Cena or Chris Jericho. However, there were also some wrestlers that we still can't believe that they defeated Shawn Michaels in a singles match, so let's take a look at 10 of them.
10 Khosrow Daivari
Daivari barely won 10 singles matches in WWE, and one of them was against none other than Shawn Michaels in his Monday Night Raw debut, unbelievable, right? This happened on the April 11, 2005, episode of Raw, everyone thought it would be an easy win for Michaels, and in reality HBK was dominating the match.
However, Muhammad Hassan gave Michaels a low blow without the referee noticing, and this allowed Khosrow Daivari to take the win via pinfall. A night that Daivari will never forget, that’s for sure.
9 Mr. Kennedy
Shawn Michaels had a feud with Mr. Kennedy in 2008. The first match ended in a no contest, then Shawn Michaels prevailed in their match at Armageddon 2007.
They had a rematch on the December 31, 2007, episode of Monday Night Raw, and Kennedy managed to defeat Michaels clean, in a pretty entertaining match overall. Three weeks later, also on Raw, Shawn Michaels defeated Mr. Kennedy to win the feud.
8 Buddy Landel
Buddy Landel had a fairly low-key career, in fact you may have no idea who he was because he never established himself in a top wrestling promotion.
However, Buddy Landel is one of the lucky wrestlers who could say that he defeated Shawn Michaels in a singles match, a fact that happened when they faced each other in 1984, in Mid-South Wrestling. Certainly, Michaels hadn't become a megastar yet, but you still have to give Bobby Landel credit for pulling off such a win.
7 Crush
At UK Rampage 1993, Shawn Michaels defended the Intercontinental Championship against Crush. This was a good match, nothing amazing, but the best match of the night easily.
Shawn Michaels made Crush look great, bumping and selling perfectly. Crush was dominant, and it seemed that he had a real chance to defeat Michaels, who was a coward and decided to leave, thus losing the match via count out. It was such a disappointing ending for a pretty good match. Crush was a good powerhouse wrestler, but not the guy you would expect to defeat Shawn Michaels.
6 The Barbarian
Believe it or not, The Barbarian (also known as the Berzerker) defeated Shawn Michaels in a singles match. HBK and The Barbarian faced each other in a few tag team matches, including the match between The Rockers and The Heenan Family at WrestleMania 7, but the only time they faced each other in a singles match was on March 2, 1985, on Mid-South Wrestling TV.
At that time both were just starting their wrestling careers, and in this rookie match Barbarian's power overcame Michaels' technique.
5 Tatanka
Tatanka had an undefeated streak that lasted over a year, and while this streak was insignificant to his career, it at least helped him defeat Shawn Michaels twice in singles action.
On the February 13, 1993, episode of Superstars, Tatanka defeated Michaels cleanly in a seven-minute match. Three months later at WrestleMania 9, HBK defended the Intercontinental Title against Tatanka. The bout was solid, probably the best of Tatanka's career, he deserved to win the title here, but instead won the match by disqualification.
4 Kato
In the midst of the feud between the Rockers and The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka), Shawn Michaels faced Kato in a singles match on March 15, 1991. This was an excellent match, with HBK showing glimpses of his future as a singles superstar, while Kato did a very good job as well.
The match ended when Mr. Fuji distracted the referee and Tanaka attacked Michaels with the cane, allowing Kato to make the cover and win the match.
3 Kamala
In the opening match of the June 28, 1993, episode of Monday Night Raw, Shawn Michaels defeated Kamala to retain the Intercontinental Title. You could say Michaels got his revenge, albeit belatedly, as Kamala had defeated Michaels eight years earlier on Mid-South Wrestling TV.
It's always great to see wrestlers get rematches years later, to see how they've improved, or gotten worse, in the ring.
2 Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan is remembered for being a terrible choice to win the first ever Royal Rumble match, which is easily the biggest accomplishment of his career. Despite having a lackluster career, Jim Duggan can say that he defeated the legendary Shawn Michaels in a singles match.
On the 15th episode of Monday Night Raw Michaels defended the Intercontinental Title against Duggan. The match was pretty bad, nothing worth watching. In the end, Duggan won the match by count out.
1 Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon defeated Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38 with the help of Austin Theory, and over the years he won several matches using more or less the same formula.
The Chairman defeated The Undertaker, Triple H, Ric Flair and also Shawn Michaels. On the March 6, 2006, episode of Monday Night Raw, Shane McMahon defeated the Heartbreak Kid, and immediately after, Vince McMahon ordered to ring the bell and pinned Michaels to defeat him in five seconds, which has to be the quickest defeat in Michaels' career.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKeoqqSowaa%2BjZympmenp7K0wMueqaxlk5a7r7vTZpmepJmaw6Z5w56dnpmkmrFuv8earqdlnZ6wqa3Epapmq5mjtK2x0makmqyTnXq4w8Ro