What would have happened to HBK?

[ttetf]

I just wanted to throw a question out to all of you. It’s been bugging me ever since the summer of 2002. What do you think would have become of Shawn Michaels had he not suffered a back injury in 1998? It’s safe to say that what everyone thought would be his “last” match with the WWF at Wrestlemania 14 took him out of the picture of the booming WWF Attitude era, a time when wrestling seemed to achieve mainstream popularity.

Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, DX – all became household names at that time.

Because of this, some of these guys went on to be the highest financial draws (during their place in time, mind you) in WWF/E history.

Now take it back to just before Wrestlemania 14 when this whole wrestling = really popular kicked off with Austin winning the title. At that point in the WWF, HBK, (whether you thought he was an absolute dick for doing to Hart what he did, or not) was hands down the best performer in the WWF. Now please don’t take that as he was the best in the business, but certainly the top in-ring performer in the WWF at that time. I believe that the matches he had with Owen Hart and the Undertaker in late 97’ early 98’ were untouchable classics. Also, his heel promos with DX were fresh and hilarious. Sure there was Austin and the fan momentum building behind him, but if he was going to be the #1 face, HBK was certainly set to be the #1 heel for the future.

Then Shawn lands wrong on a casket and the WWF champion and top performer is reduced to near crippled status. He manages one last match to ensure the belt gets to Austin the old fashioned way, and walks out the door just as the company he struggled with through the Monday Night Wars blasts off to become a billion dollar business.

Ever since that day, I’ve wondered what would have become of HBK had he not been injured. What kind of storylines would have been tossed his way throughout the Attitude era? Stay with DX? Don’t? Do you think he would have become as huge as Austin or the Rock or Foley? Would he have had the status to take an absence yet get huge pops whenever he did show up, rather than the confused garble of at least half the crowd not knowing his name when he did come back for good in 2002?

I’m a fan of HBK but more so of “the old” HBK, prior to his back injury. I definitely think he missed the boat in a lot of ways during his 4 year absence from the ring (only diehard HBK fans could give a shit about him being the commissioner and then the spokesperson)
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think he could have become a bigger name than he is today, or not? Do you think we would have seen more HBK/Austin, HBK/Foley, HBK/Undertaker matches? What about the possibility of a Rock/HBK match back then? What would they have done with the Showstopper?

[The MAC]

michael jackson touches you at night

[Xero]

He screwed Bret, that's what happened.


:shifty:

[NeanderCarl]

I think the main difference to today would be if HBK was never injured, Triple H would still be a mid-carder, or in TNA.

[Extreme Angle]

Don't really give a shit to tell you the truth...

[Y3J]

OK, that's nice.

[94 SVT Cobra]

I think the main difference to today would be if HBK was never injured, Triple H would still be a mid-carder, or in TNA.

^def agree with you

[Corkscrewed]

I'm not sure why some of you are giving this guy a hard time, because he made a really good and intriguing post. Stop trying to look cool because you're bashing a noob.


Anyway, that's an interesting topic. I don't think HHH would be a midcarder, personally. He had a good enough friendship that they could have politicked together, creating a sort of Hogan/Nash combo.

Conversely (and I'm throwing this out), I'm not quite sure someone like The Rock might have gained the fame he did. He might have, but consider this: Austin was his main rival. Sure, he had those wars with HHH that were gold, but people most associate him with feuding with Austin. If HBK were there, maybe he would have feuded with Austin instead, taking the OPPORTUNITY away from The Rock.

It's something to chew over. Chances are that the WWE wouldn't have changed much, but it's certainly possible that the above situation could have occurred, given how connected events go, where one event triggers another.

Similarly, HBK vs HHH part 2948829381 might have happened four years before it did.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I think the Rock would have still gotten pretty big. I mean, he was feuding with Faarooq and entertaining the pants off of people.

As far as Michaels, he'd probably have a couple more WWE title reigns.

[Kane Knight]

Michaels would have helped the WWE in the transitional period between eras.

Triple H would probably be a little less nauseating.

[Fox]

Shawn Michaels was the one playing all the politics in the WWE up until his back injury. He didn't even want to job to Austin. After HBK left, HHH took the reigns, moved in on the boss's daughter, and is where he is today.

If Shawn hadn't left, things would be very, very different in the WWE.

[94 SVT Cobra]

Shawn Michaels was the one playing all the politics in the WWE up until his back injury. He didn't even want to job to Austin. After HBK left, HHH took the reigns, moved in on the boss's daughter, and is where he is today.

If Shawn hadn't left, things would be very, very different in the WWE.

I couldnt help but picture Shawn dating Steph after reading that

[What Would Kevin Do?]

For all we know, WCW would still be around if it wasn't for Shawn getting hurt.

(Follow with me here. Attitude era was fueled by Austin Vs McMahon. If HBK was in the picture, who is to say Austin McMahon would have had the go they did? No huge ratings getter, maybe WCW doesn't lose as much? Gets better support? Ya never know.)

[NeanderCarl]

I stand by the fact that HHH would still be a mid-carder. I think an HBK led DX would never have turned babyface, so no War On WCW or any of those other skits that made HHH suddenly entertaining after years of being a bland and boring glorified jobber. So WWF wouldn't have had the faith in him to make him a main event level heel, and he would have gone the same way Road Dogg, X-Pac and Billy Gunn did after DX, down to the bottom of the card. No McMahon-Helmsly era, which means Trips and Steph wouldn't have worked closely together and maybe would never have rutted each other.

Of course, as Triple H has proven his worth from time to time, the potential has always been there for main event-dom. So what if he got held down in WWE by HBK's presence, and ended up main eventing in WCW. Perhaps they WOULD still be in business after all.

The possibilities are endless, but what I should point out is Shawn Michaels has NEVER been a big time draw in the wrestling business. Although a respectable drawing card, he has never broken box-office records or spiked TV ratings (some would argue the same about Triple H) so it is possible that if 1998 WWE revolved around Austin vs HBK beyond WrestleMania, then it would never have become the major phenomenon it did around that time (taking nothing away from Steve Austin himself but he has only proven a huge draw during his feud with the McMahons, he hasn't had a similar effect on live gates/TV ratings/PPV buys since those glory days)...

Anyway I'm rambling....