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I went with Misawa. Really tough match out the gate for HBK, who I figured wouldn't be challenged.
Shawn Michaels is great in the ring and carries a lot of significance in the western world. There is no doubt about that. There is also no doubt that culturally HBK never meant as much as some other stars -- Hogan, Rock, Austin, Andre, probably even Savage, etc. Misawa is a fucking god. The phrase "Hulk Hogan of Japan" is cheap to throw around, but it really is the best comparison you can draw. He's not the Shawn Michaels of Japan.
Critically speaking, you can't look past Misawa's catalog of matches. The dude was having ***** classics back before Meltzer blew up the system (well, maybe he had). Meltzer has always found alternative tastes, I suppose, but there's no doubt that Misawa has significance in professional wrestling, generally, as the figure that was carrying the quality of wrestling in 1995 when everything in North America (which featured Shawn Michaels) was sucking.
Money drawn is always a big indicator for me too, because ultimately that is the goal of a wrestler. If you get more money out of people by simply throwing a punch than someone who goes 60+ minutes then there's no doubt in my mind who did a better job. It's the dude who managed to provide more people with something that they felt they needed to part with their money to see. Misawa definitely heads up Shawn Michaels in that category, and it's nothing to snooze on.
Truth be told, I don't really see a case for Shawn Michaels other than cultural bias. Maybe you can make the case that HBK had more "energetic" matches and was slightly more athletic in style, but it comes down to personal preference again.
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