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GUEST EDITORIAL
By David Miller of Terre Haute, Ind.
PWTorch.com reader

Shawn Michaels's career is over. It's hard to believe and I think many of us have not quite realized the finality of it yet, but we came one step closer with Shawn's heartfelt goodbye speech on Raw last night. Fans were given a chance to reflect on his career through - not only a very good DVD release called "My Journey" - but also the career retrospective that preceded HBK's speech last night. Since watching Sunday night's incredible retirement match between Michaels and The Undertaker, I've had the time to remember Shawn's career in my own way.

I basically grew up with Shawn Michaels. Not literally, but we are both very close to the same age and I've followed his career since very early on. The first time I ever heard of Shawn Michaels was one Saturday morning in 1987 when Lance Russell showed a video package on CWA Wrestling of a new young tag team coming into the Memphis area called The Midnight Rockers, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty.

The video was set to the tune of Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight" and it showcased some spectacular aerial wrestling the likes of which had never been seen in Memphis. The duo showed up as fresh, young babyfaces, but their brash, arrogant attitudes soon wore thin on the fans and they quickly became hated heels.

I remember once when they were booked at the War Memorial Coliseum in Evansville, Ind. Michaels addressed the crowd, stating that only Jannetty would be wrestling that night because the general admission price of $6 did not warrant the appearance of both Midnight Rockers. The crowd wanted to see them both get killed!

Around the same time I left home to join the Army, Michaels and Jannetty left the AWA and Memphis territories for WWE. I continued to follow my new favorite tag team as they made their mark in WWE, which was rich with tag team talent at the time. They are arguably the greatest WWE tag team to never hold the WWE Tag titles, save for the infamous match with The Hart Foundation in which they won the titles, then were forced to return the belts when WWE declared the title change null and void due to the top rope becoming loose during the match.

As I was coming of age in the military, Shawn was coming of age in his career. He made a bold move, breaking away from his longtime partner Jannetty and striking out on his own. He'd had some brief experience as a heel in Memphis, but now he was going to have to pull it off in front of a much larger crowd. His primping and preening, accompanied by smitten heel manager Sherri Martel, served that purpose well. The newly christened Heartbreak Kid became one of the most despised heels in WWE.

I had the pleasure of being stationed in San Antonio, Tex. when the Survivor Series came to the Freeman Coliseum. It was the first PPV I ever attended and it was then that I realized just how big Shawn Michaels was in his hometown. Radio interviews, TV spots, newspaper articles, and public appearances all preceded his tag elimination match in which he accidentally superkicked his partner Diesel, setting off their feud. Even though Shawn was still a heel, it was obvious that night that San Antonio was definitely Shawn Michaels country.

I saw Shawn in person a couple of more times in San Antonio after his babyface turn, and he was incredibly over with his hometown fans. I thought as I watched his ring entrance at the 65,000 seat Alamodome once, that he had come such a long way from his days working in front of 200 people at the dimly lit War Memorial Coliseum in Evansville. Shawn went on to become one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time.

It seems like so many years ago. I'm proud to say I was able to watch Michaels perform in-person at such an early stage in his career. Never did it dawn on me that I was watching the development of perhaps the greatest performer in WWE history. Although I'm saddened at Shawn's retirement, I'm glad that he made so much of himself and is able to ride into the sunset a happy, healthy man.

Shawn Michaels was one of the reasons I became an independent pro wrestler after I got out of the service. His showmanship, style, and dedication to his craft will never be duplicated. The Heartbreak Kid is leaving the game while he's still on top. I can't imagine him being anyplace else.

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