This channel has become a staple in my house. My dad is elderly and asks every day if “anything posted today on that Bios channel?” We are lifelong wrestling fans and want to thank you for your work.
Official story: Shawn was injured Shawn's story: Shawn was injured and on drugs Real story: Shawn was injured, on drugs, and didn't want to job to Bret
Stop it with him being hurt. He clearly was not hurt. He just didn't want to lose to Bret at Mania. He and Hogan were the biggest scumbags in wrestling.
@@kaiserrino8774 I would agree with you, but there is the issue that Shawn didn’t wrestle again on tv at least until May. I think he was injured, but not to the point where his career was in danger.
Shawn essentially avoided doing the job to Bret, slipped back in to work with hottest wrestler in the company in Steve Austin, got inserted in a big title match with Bret and Undertaker, got to work an historic HIAC match with Taker, helped unceremoniously jettison the Hitman and got to work the big feud with Austin in the end all the while sticking it to the Harts on television and back stage. I don't see how he made it out of 1997 with his teeth still intact.
everyone loves to hate on shawn but he was machiavellian as f*ck, and let's be honest its a sharktank environment where everyone else was out for themselves. he wasn't the only one, he was just more effective.
@@kamfisher1714 Nonsense. Bret signing with WCW came much later in the year, after Vince told him to do it. Reasonable creative control set in October.
@@realhamonwry8620 To yours and the previous comment... its still up to who gets into the ring to get over. You can give an opportunity to whoever you want and the push doesnt work as the WWE has proved again and again lol. But yes obviously Bret Hart could make anyone look good but that never got Yokozuna or Bob Backlund over.. Taking advantage of an opportunity isnt the same as being given one. So I stand by what I said... he was given an opening, and it was on him to capitalize on it.
Honky Tonk man always said that Shawn knew that Dino Bravo had spoken to Rick Martel about Marty Jannetty and that they came to the conclusion that Jimmy Snuka had informed Kerry Von Erich about Greg Valentine secretly meeting with Bobby Heenan to talk about the Brooklyn Brawler’s thoughts on Mr Fuji. Brett then whispered to Davey Boy Smith about Brutus the barber beefcake and that’s why the big boss man mentioned it to Howard Finkel who in turn told Rick Rude and Mr Perfect 👌🏻
@@gemm4272 it was actually his mum that said it to Shawn coz Shawn used to always smile and his mum said to him "you don't smile anymore you seemed to hav lost your smile"
They always talk about wrestlers who had won a grand slam of titles, but no one talks about Shawn Michaels being the only wrestler to vacate a grand slam of titles!
Actually Stone Cold can thank two unusual circumstances that led to an expedited rise up the ranks: Triple H being punished in '96 for the MSG Curtain Call where Austin because King of Ring instead. And Shawn Michaels dropping the WWF title and "losing his smile" & cancelling out the Shawn-Bret 'Mania rematch which led to the iconic Austin-Bret match that made Stone Cold a face and truly began his rocket launch to the top.
I'm so glad Shawn lost his smile because we as fans got the Austin bret submission and that was one of the greatest mania matches ever and it propelled Austin into another dimension because of the way bret put him over during the sharpshooter so thanks Shawn and thanks bret for making Austin Into a megastar
I applaud your efforts in all of the work and time you invest into making these highly entertaining and educational video compilations. Easily the most addictive WWF/WWE channel out there.
Let's rewind this a few years: According to Shawn's biography "Heartbreak and Triumph", the day before a tag match, while he was still with Marty Jannetty in 'The Rockers', Shawn tore up his right knee in a motorcycle incident. He ran out to the ring with Marty the following day but was attacked before the match began and had his knee hit with a pipe, causing the match to be a No Contest. That allowed Shawn to get his knee checked out. There were two options, full repair and reconstruction or scope it. Scoping was the least time lost (I think 6 months vs 6 weeks), so he had it scoped and cleaned out. Flash ahead to '96-'97, Shawn's desire/selfishness/whatever about putting the WWE on his back during the takeoff of the Monday Night Wars is wearing him out. He is going through everything that has been revealed with drugs, booze, and his own personal life falling apart. After a triple threat match with Bret and Sid, likely NOT the RAW in Toronto, Shawn felt his knee jam again and went to the doctor. His family doctor looked at the MRI and said 'You have no ACL'. Shawn replied, 'I know, I had it scoped'. Which is when he was told he would never wrestle again. During the process of trying to come to terms with likely retirement and Vince telling him to check out another doctor (Dr. James Andrews), he was talking to his mom who told him that along the title run that Shawn had stopped smiling. Flash then to Thursday RAW Thursday, and everything comes to the front. I think, in retrospect, it was Shawn almost having a meltdown in the middle of the ring and finally saying 'uncle'. After the promo and leaving, Vince finally convinced him to see Dr. James Andrews. Dr. Andrews told Shawn there were alternative avenues to his knee troubles and he could very well get him back wrestling. Shawn, not wanting to leave the business, took the chance and recovered to wrestle again before being forced to retire in '98. If I recall reading it correctly, he actually rehabbed his knee alongside Steve Austin while Austin was still working his own stuff.
I hate that people look at HBK during this time and just assume all of his issues were because he didn't want to job to Bret Hart. That could have been part of it, but I think what you ran down here is a far better explanation of everything Michaels was going through.
@@fishyboi98 if I recall right, it wasn’t until Bret started going after Shawn for the injury that made Shawn go ‘to hell with it, I’m not putting him over’. Which then officially turned the pre-planned work between Bret and Shawn to turn into a shoot and leading to the screw job a few months later.
Well I'm glad history played out the way it did I prefer Austin vs Hart also Undertaker winning his second WWF Championship was another great thing to come out of this so thanks Shawn.
You also gotta wonder if Shawn had dropped the belt to Bret at mania 13, would they have been matched up again at survivor series? I would think not, and if not then no screw job. It really is a rabbit hole that goes in many different directions once you start going down it.
I Wonder what else would this match would have effected for the rest of 97 and beyond does Austin still build up his momentum to WM 14 would DX still form the rise of The Rock like stuff like that I wonder about lol
@@jeyDsixx18 No Montreal Screwjob, then NO Mr. McMahon, who eventually feuded with Stone Cold. There might not have been an Attitude Era, the way we knew it. The WWF at the time would have continued to lose in the ratings to the inferior product of WCW, with the NWO storyline continuing to go nowhere.
This was a weird storyline in the career of Shawn Michaels but I’m glad we got the whole DX faction created from it later on leading into the late 90’s but I really hated Psycho Sid during this time point I felt as though Vader should’ve won the title at some point but looking Kane reign with the WWF Title which was one day and was terrible choice on WWE part because Kane was booked leading into that first World title win it seemed like it hurt Kane credibility a little but HBK was really controversial around this time point because he lost his smile and had some demons to handle or put energy into
Since you’re a wrestling historian, I appreciate you focusing most of your material on late 80s through the early 2000s...My childhood/young adult wrestling eras. Great content WB!
Me too, I watched from 1988-1993 and then 1997-2005. I really wasn't watching during the Shawn, Diesel, Bret era mostly because my family didn't have cable TV in those years.
Shawn is one of the founding fathers of the Attitude Era despite not wrestling through most of it. He set the bar for all that followed him after his 98 injury.
@@yoholmes273 I wouldnt say that many have come forward to says shawn was pushing vince to going along with the attitude era, also 97 heel shawn with dx was the first to push the boundaries with swearing and nudity so
With what we know about mental health and addiction in 2021, this would’ve been received totally today than in 1997. I actually feel sorry for HBK now in hindsight. He was miserable during what was supposed to be his time on top of the world.
_"I have to go back and find my smile."_ I don't care what anyone thinks about how Shawn handled this; for anybody trying to deal with depression, that single line hits _hard._
Don’t blame him, I’d do the same for them sweet percs. Also, even my love of percs wouldn’t allow me to hand a title to Hart either. He’d prolly cry about that, too.
Trash Millenial Outing! 🗑️ 💩 He lost (correction: had to lose!) enough matches early 90s for the rest of his life despite being way better than most of his opponents. Everything has roots. Nobody talking about the obvious nepotism in wrestling with the Hart Clan on the forefront! Bret was not better early 90s then Shawn, but def not by 1995. Bret was build the Hogan successor after Warrior was not reliable,well he had his chance and didn't bring it and WWF got in more and more financial trouble mid 90s! No one talking real truth! Everyone got their cliques from kindergarten to retirement. But when Shawn is looking after years for a friend support team to better his standings, I only hear for 25 yrs by now how huuuge crocodile tears how unfair 3 ppl of a 50 man roster, then 4 ppl, then 5. Gimme a break! Shawn is 99% better than Bret as a Sports Entertainer overall. If Bret cannot retire on his peak 1994/1995 and needed the downwirl drag, well he screwed his History. Shawn never took him that seriously but hell yeah it was his prime and not keep on wrestling in his 50s like other Narcissists! Only ugly men hate on pretty men! It always boils down to that with a thousand excuses. Still whatever he gets the girls and career merits and not the ugly hater!
Let's face it. Shawn can never be the top guy, the face of the company like HHH, Austin, Cena and Orton.. but he sure was the best wrestler on every roster he was in and in every match he fought. Whether he was in the first match of the card, his matches are must see and probable the match of the night, just because of his greatness
It's almost 12.30 a.m. here in India when you upload the video but I always wait around.❤️ Glad that you've given us a schedule of sorts😂. Keep on keepin' on mate👍🏽
You really do belong in some sort of RUclips hall of fame you know! Your videos are beyond great, they are so well put together and you really Master the fine of art of quality and quantity of your videos. Can I ask do you have a team working with you or do you do all of this on your own? You are the man!
Good video as always. Sounds like to me, Shawn had too much personal stuff/demons going on in back in ‘96, to carry the company long term. By the way it would be great if you could do a video on Booker T’s WCW run. Hell of a performer.
I remember this episode with the Infamous I lost my smile. Like looking back I never knew why he forfeited the title, I just thought of it as him taking time off. I ain’t know he didn’t wanna drop it to Bret til years laters. I remember back then Bret and Shawn had intense for hatred for each other. Cause Bret Hart was more of old school type of wrestler while Shawn Michaels was more into being a showman full wit glitz and glamour. At this time Shawn and The Kliq had so much pull wit Vince that he let them do whatever they wanted and they halted a lot guy’s pushed in then WWF. Bret and Shawn would go it in the 90s. After Shawn forfeited Sid won the vacated title then he lost it to Undertaker at Mania who lost it to Bret at SummerSlam of that year. After Shawn got the belt back at Survivor Series the infamous Montreal Screwjob. Which ended their rivalry and Bret goin to WCW. Bret and Shawn would never speak to each other til 13 years later and they put it all behind them
God such a great video I needed this with everything going on. Great memories, I was so torn between Shawn and Bret between 92 all the way to 97. I couldn't boo neither. Truly the two greatest in ring performers. I def couldn't find my smile during this feud.
how come people don’t seem to remember Shawn went into Taboo Tuesday 2004 with a torn meniscus and completed a 17 minute match with Triple H? He could easily have had the match with Bret.
So that what Paul E. Dangerously meant during his shoot on Vince McMahon back in November 2001. "You stole Shawn Michaels' smile, took your company public and made yourself a billionaire..."
For those who don't know what was going on with Shawn, it's called withdrawal. they were going town to town, he was doing a lot of his drug of choice.. some towns he'd find his drug, and other times he wouldn't find his drug, hence him being locked in a bathroom all day. I can imagine that it was Vince himself that was forced to help Michaels find those drugs on the streets of those towns using all his resources, most likely being other wrestlers. Shawn's knee probably was a lil bit messed up but it was the constant withdrawal from those pills that caused him to "lose his smile" I know there's a few idiots who will come on here and tell me that the WWF/WWE had doctors lined up to prescribe those pills for Shawn, and you're right there were.. but how many pills do you think those doctors are gonna give you before they start fearing jail time. Even if Shawn knew how to Dr. shop, and had 5 different scripts from 5 different Docs, its never enough because your tolerance only gets bigger with each passing day.. Shawn finally hit rock bottom, and Vince paid for rehab. I still love and respect Shawn as if it never happened, and he's in my top 10 favorite Wrestlers of all-time.
Shawn wouldn’t need a prescription or to go to the pharmacy to get pain pills. WWE, MLB, NBA, NFL etc…. they all have team doctors that can give athletes whatever medication they want and whatever amount they want, without going to a pharmacy. They have the drugs already at the team’s training facility. I don’t know the ends and outs how the doctors/teams legally get around having all that medication at their disposal to handout to athletes however, they do and as long as an athlete tells the doctor what’s bothering them and the doctor does an examination, they’ll get the medication they need from the team doctor. That’s part of the reason why they pay for rehab for all their athletes who want it. My neighbor is a retired baseball player and he always got his medication by going to the team facility and talking to the team doctor. His first time having a prescription and going to a pharmacy happened after he retired from baseball.
I believe this channel has renewed my interest in Wrestling. I had given up completely on it, now I find myself flipping the channel to AEW, and WWE,, thank you Wrestling Bios.
I think Shawn Michaels just didn’t want to lose the title to Bret Hart and that’s why he forfeited it when he “lost his smile”. Shawn did have a big ego back then.
When you weigh up all the evidence, speculation and opinion, I think it's fair to say that most people would agree with your statement. It's certainly the most obvious excuse.
@Ultra Instinct 94 Shawn was just a hot mess in 1997. Unfortunately it did not make things easy for business, and Vince was hell bent on pushing him no matter what.
@Kevin Jay I think the shoot move sounds pretty dumb, however, he could have pilmanized his leg first. It could have worked if Brett and Shawn go 45 minutes and Shawn refuses to stay down, Brett snaps knowing that he can’t really beat him, so he breaks his leg, then puts on the shoot move. Bam, there is your heel turn.
Undertaker basically taped his fists and told Shawn to be a good boy and let Stone Cold win the WWE title unless he will end up with a broken nose, black eyes or maybe mangled ribs and broken teeth
God i love new upload fron this channel. Being a lifelong wrestling fan i love these. Someday i hope your able to do a rock n wrsetling video on that aweful cartoon from my childhood lol
Being from Philly and also coming up in the ECW era and going there. Look at the fans crying as Shawn spoke. You would never see that today. Even when Romain Regins who is great today had cancer people didn't cry like this. But since the product really does anything special and it always seems same guys fight at every event it still doesn't compare to things like this.
HBK definitely used the situation to dodge losing to Bret. He was injured. But he could’ve lost to Bret at WM13, and then gone away to have surgery etc. Let Bret have his win back, and ‘go away’ just like Bret did the year prior.
Sid was SO F*CKING OVER in New York in 1996. That Madison Square Garden crowd lost their minds when he hit that powerbomb on Michaels at the Survivor Series.
Your channel is so well done my man. I loved Bret and was a fan of Shawn, despite the opinions there are about this scripted AND real life feud. I can't see wrestling ever touch this level of intensity again. Miss those days. And even the old school days before that era. Everything after attitude (maybe ruthless agression) sucks, hence why I only watch old clips on youtube sometimes.
This channel has become a staple in my house. My dad is elderly and asks every day if “anything posted today on that Bios channel?”
We are lifelong wrestling fans and want to thank you for your work.
Tuesday 👍reliving the war Thursday 👍then Sunday
I think you live in the trailer down the dirt road from mine.
That's pretty cool. I can relate to being excited about this channel, and having a father who loves wrestling.
That's beautiful 🙌🙌
Thank you! This was really nice to hear, brightened up my day!
Tell your Dad I said thank you also :)
Official story: Shawn was injured
Shawn's story: Shawn was injured and on drugs
Real story: Shawn was injured, on drugs, and didn't want to job to Bret
Stop it with him being hurt. He clearly was not hurt. He just didn't want to lose to Bret at Mania. He and Hogan were the biggest scumbags in wrestling.
@@kaiserrino8774 I would agree with you, but there is the issue that Shawn didn’t wrestle again on tv at least until May. I think he was injured, but not to the point where his career was in danger.
@@johnepants He wasn't injured he was a drug addict.
Bret didn’t want to job at 12 and at the point Shawn had jobbed for him 40 some times throughout the early 90’s if u count house matches and all
@@Breakfast_of_Champions who wasn’t lol
Shawn essentially avoided doing the job to Bret, slipped back in to work with hottest wrestler in the company in Steve Austin, got inserted in a big title match with Bret and Undertaker, got to work an historic HIAC match with Taker, helped unceremoniously jettison the Hitman and got to work the big feud with Austin in the end all the while sticking it to the Harts on television and back stage. I don't see how he made it out of 1997 with his teeth still intact.
If he had that anywhere else, he’d be found dead at the side of the road thanks to his attitude.
everyone loves to hate on shawn but he was machiavellian as f*ck, and let's be honest its a sharktank environment where everyone else was out for themselves. he wasn't the only one, he was just more effective.
Also Vince wanted to be Shawn, so there’s essential amnesty or immunity on some level
@@FreneticZetetic Well....... we all know Shawn was Vince's boytoy...
@@bobsapp3133 this is the truth
Shawn Michaels: How I Lost My Smile aka My Refusal to Lose the WWE Championship to Bret Hart
He didn’t lose it. He threw it away to avoid getting it stretched off his face by Bret.
Shawn Michaels: I'm Not a Baby, You Are (love him though)
@@kamfisher1714 and a promoter wouldn't have giving a wrestler creative control in their contract which is what Vince did to Bret.
I also heard in Bret Hart book that was the plan for WM 13 shawn was to drop the belt to Bret be he refused
@@kamfisher1714 Nonsense. Bret signing with WCW came much later in the year, after Vince told him to do it. Reasonable creative control set in October.
Stone Cold saw an opening and took it and ran with it. Bret Hart was exactly the guy he needed to work with to do it.
I agree
The match was Bret Hart’s idea.
You mean Hart saw an opportunity, as the entire feud and conclusion of the Hart-Austin angle was the brainchild of Bret Hart.
@@realhamonwry8620 To yours and the previous comment... its still up to who gets into the ring to get over. You can give an opportunity to whoever you want and the push doesnt work as the WWE has proved again and again lol. But yes obviously Bret Hart could make anyone look good but that never got Yokozuna or Bob Backlund over.. Taking advantage of an opportunity isnt the same as being given one. So I stand by what I said... he was given an opening, and it was on him to capitalize on it.
@@timmylong833 but the rematch didn't take place between Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels rematch at Wrestlemania.
Is that when he lost his smile or lost his balls - Jim Cornette
🤣🤣🤣 gotta love Cornette
@@only1icon1801 I was in tears of laughter Cornette saying that he got booed for it but to hell with them
Hahahahaha
Shawn just dropped his smile in Vince's lap.
I wonder if Corny thought of that one while he was letting some dude pork his wife
Shawn Michaels has relinquished the most titles in WWE History
He was made to. Remember, scripted.
Probably wwf history and not wwe. Did more with wwf than with wwe
@@skinlab4239 it’s just a name change lmfao it’s the same company
Honky Tonk man always said that Shawn knew that Dino Bravo had spoken to Rick Martel about Marty Jannetty and that they came to the conclusion that Jimmy Snuka had informed Kerry Von Erich about Greg Valentine secretly meeting with Bobby Heenan to talk about the Brooklyn Brawler’s thoughts on Mr Fuji. Brett then whispered to Davey Boy Smith about Brutus the barber beefcake and that’s why the big boss man mentioned it to Howard Finkel who in turn told Rick Rude and Mr Perfect 👌🏻
Vacant > HBK
Imagine telling your Boss at work...that "you lost your smile" lol
He'd lose his foot up your ass booting you out the door
" then YOU ARE FFFFIIIIRRRRREEEEEEDDD !!!!! "
Boss will ask medical report for that 😄
"Sorry boss, I was going to do those TPS reports but... my smile."
@@TheWingusDingus lol
He is so talented and always put a smile on my face but what he did to Brett I cannot forget
Both were my faves at the time. And it left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Started to follow WCW after that.
@@Seraph89_ I think he was very depressed at the time thats what he meant by losing his smile.. i loved the submission match though lol
@Ap1 no he didn't
@@gemm4272 it was actually his mum that said it to Shawn coz Shawn used to always smile and his mum said to him "you don't smile anymore you seemed to hav lost your smile"
I guess you lost your smile as well when HBK did that
"I'm pretty tireedd.......I think I'll go home now" -Shawn Gump
underrated comment😭
Forrest>HBK, Forrest has more hair.
My brother was the biggest critic of how Shawn Michaels "lost his smile". I heard about that for like a decade as Shawn was my fav lol.
HBK= the 🐐
RAW Thursday RAW, I remember that show quite well. Shawn relinquished the World Title to Gorilla Monsoon.
@@clvnhrrs1214 no foh
@@illkid86 just one man's opinion
Lol the heartbreak kid was heartbroken.
They always talk about wrestlers who had won a grand slam of titles, but no one talks about Shawn Michaels being the only wrestler to vacate a grand slam of titles!
He didn't technically vacate the European title.
As much as people hate on shawn it doesnt make his career any less legendary he gave us plenty of memorable moments
Actually Stone Cold can thank two unusual circumstances that led to an expedited rise up the ranks: Triple H being punished in '96 for the MSG Curtain Call where Austin because King of Ring instead. And Shawn Michaels dropping the WWF title and "losing his smile" & cancelling out the Shawn-Bret 'Mania rematch which led to the iconic Austin-Bret match that made Stone Cold a face and truly began his rocket launch to the top.
That’s a good mention once you think about it
Third circumstance was Austin's neck injury that he suffered during his match against Owen Hart at Summerslam 1997.
@@razor_ramon_ and Vince annouce Bret that he will not paying on his offer and tell WCW to tell the deal the year prior that they offer.
Actual title: Shawn Michaels and the allergy to losing matches
"Look pal, here's my doctor's note saying that I can't put you over."
@@t.v.rockwell4504 LMAO
To be fair he put a lot of people over in his second run
I'm so glad Shawn lost his smile because we as fans got the Austin bret submission and that was one of the greatest mania matches ever and it propelled Austin into another dimension because of the way bret put him over during the sharpshooter so thanks Shawn and thanks bret for making Austin Into a megastar
Shawn lost his smile when he ran out of booze and somas.
And anal lube.
Lol
I've never related to him more.
@@soitsanightmare 😆😆😆😆
Booze & somas do definitely make you smile, though. Even when you’re depressed.
I applaud your efforts in all of the work and time you invest into making these highly entertaining and educational video compilations. Easily the most addictive WWF/WWE channel out there.
WWWF/WWF?
@@skinlab4239 I meant to write WWF / WWE. Good spot by you, thanks. Personally, I still and always will refer to it as the WWF. When it was good.
Let's rewind this a few years:
According to Shawn's biography "Heartbreak and Triumph", the day before a tag match, while he was still with Marty Jannetty in 'The Rockers', Shawn tore up his right knee in a motorcycle incident. He ran out to the ring with Marty the following day but was attacked before the match began and had his knee hit with a pipe, causing the match to be a No Contest. That allowed Shawn to get his knee checked out. There were two options, full repair and reconstruction or scope it. Scoping was the least time lost (I think 6 months vs 6 weeks), so he had it scoped and cleaned out.
Flash ahead to '96-'97, Shawn's desire/selfishness/whatever about putting the WWE on his back during the takeoff of the Monday Night Wars is wearing him out. He is going through everything that has been revealed with drugs, booze, and his own personal life falling apart. After a triple threat match with Bret and Sid, likely NOT the RAW in Toronto, Shawn felt his knee jam again and went to the doctor. His family doctor looked at the MRI and said 'You have no ACL'. Shawn replied, 'I know, I had it scoped'. Which is when he was told he would never wrestle again.
During the process of trying to come to terms with likely retirement and Vince telling him to check out another doctor (Dr. James Andrews), he was talking to his mom who told him that along the title run that Shawn had stopped smiling.
Flash then to Thursday RAW Thursday, and everything comes to the front. I think, in retrospect, it was Shawn almost having a meltdown in the middle of the ring and finally saying 'uncle'. After the promo and leaving, Vince finally convinced him to see Dr. James Andrews. Dr. Andrews told Shawn there were alternative avenues to his knee troubles and he could very well get him back wrestling. Shawn, not wanting to leave the business, took the chance and recovered to wrestle again before being forced to retire in '98. If I recall reading it correctly, he actually rehabbed his knee alongside Steve Austin while Austin was still working his own stuff.
I hate that people look at HBK during this time and just assume all of his issues were because he didn't want to job to Bret Hart. That could have been part of it, but I think what you ran down here is a far better explanation of everything Michaels was going through.
@@fishyboi98 if I recall right, it wasn’t until Bret started going after Shawn for the injury that made Shawn go ‘to hell with it, I’m not putting him over’. Which then officially turned the pre-planned work between Bret and Shawn to turn into a shoot and leading to the screw job a few months later.
Naw Shawn didn’t want to drop the belt
Shawn and bret had one of the best rivalries ever.
Lose smiles not title matches
Well I'm glad history played out the way it did I prefer Austin vs Hart also Undertaker winning his second WWF Championship was another great thing to come out of this so thanks Shawn.
You also gotta wonder if Shawn had dropped the belt to Bret at mania 13, would they have been matched up again at survivor series? I would think not, and if not then no screw job. It really is a rabbit hole that goes in many different directions once you start going down it.
I Wonder what else would this match would have effected for the rest of 97 and beyond does Austin still build up his momentum to WM 14 would DX still form the rise of The Rock like stuff like that I wonder about lol
@@jeyDsixx18 No Montreal Screwjob, then NO Mr. McMahon, who eventually feuded with Stone Cold. There might not have been an Attitude Era, the way we knew it. The WWF at the time would have continued to lose in the ratings to the inferior product of WCW, with the NWO storyline continuing to go nowhere.
@@gamerdude612 If Michaels had his way, there would've been no "Rock". He tried to bury Dwayne Johnson on more than one occasion.
Early 1997 WWF is so under rated.
Years later, this became one of my favourite wrestling memes of all time.
Man, this guy is by FAR the best wrestling channel on YT. All of his content is very good quality, accurate and unbiased unlike those other channels.
When I seen the "I lost my smile" thing I never would have guessed he was still wrestling almost 22 years later... and with a shaved head too lol
And what a disaster that match was
I always wondered about the “lost smile” hbk story
Wasn't bending over for Vince anymore.
This was a weird storyline in the career of Shawn Michaels but I’m glad we got the whole DX faction created from it later on leading into the late 90’s but I really hated Psycho Sid during this time point I felt as though Vader should’ve won the title at some point but looking Kane reign with the WWF Title which was one day and was terrible choice on WWE part because Kane was booked leading into that first World title win it seemed like it hurt Kane credibility a little but HBK was really controversial around this time point because he lost his smile and had some demons to handle or put energy into
It's time to drop the title, Shawn
Shawn: I DUN WANNA
Since you’re a wrestling historian, I appreciate you focusing most of your material on late 80s through the early 2000s...My childhood/young adult wrestling eras. Great content WB!
Me too, I watched from 1988-1993 and then 1997-2005. I really wasn't watching during the Shawn, Diesel, Bret era mostly because my family didn't have cable TV in those years.
"Knees are funny. I hurt my knee a week before but had one my best matches with stone cold Steve Austin."
Bret Hart
I think when HBK said he wanted the fans to enjoy themselves, he meant it.
Lol, suuure.
@@dildonius HBK had a rep for being a douche to wrestlers and management; but he also had a rep for treating fans well.
Shawn is one of the founding fathers of the Attitude Era despite not wrestling through most of it. He set the bar for all that followed him after his 98 injury.
NOPE
@@yoholmes273 what an intellectual response
@KVlly Mr. Snarky, the orginal comment is a hilariously false statement. Absurd even
@@yoholmes273 I wouldnt say that many have come forward to says shawn was pushing vince to going along with the attitude era, also 97 heel shawn with dx was the first to push the boundaries with swearing and nudity so
LIES!
I like Bret’s idea for their Wrestlemania match to be rooted in reality and how Bret would turn heel.
A very edgy
With what we know about mental health and addiction in 2021, this would’ve been received totally today than in 1997. I actually feel sorry for HBK now in hindsight. He was miserable during what was supposed to be his time on top of the world.
Shawn Michaels is the greatest wrestler of all time
Shawn micheals will always be in my top 10 favourite wrestlers in all time
I was there when Shawn lost his smile. Still live within walking distance of the building and I think of that day every time I walk by it.
Probably the most attractive wrestler of all time
_"I have to go back and find my smile."_
I don't care what anyone thinks about how Shawn handled this; for anybody trying to deal with depression, that single line hits _hard._
Yo this is dope haven't heard anyone cover this in years you the goat for this one
Again these videos are so good!
Sho' ya right.
Great substitute
for the wwe network
He never lost his smile.
He sold it, for pills.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
yoooooooo lmao
Opioids are amazing
Don’t blame him, I’d do the same for them sweet percs.
Also, even my love of percs wouldn’t allow me to hand a title to Hart either. He’d prolly cry about that, too.
@@estebanc9607 they really are
Because of Shawn's lost smile we got one of the greatest match of pro wrestling Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold. We should thank him actually.
He always found a way to not put over other superstars
Didn't have a problem putting over Sid.
@@Rob_Thorsman but For Bret was different.
That's maybe because he had lost to Bret enough over his career.
Trash Millenial Outing! 🗑️ 💩
He lost (correction: had to lose!) enough matches early 90s for the rest of his life despite being way better than most of his opponents. Everything has roots. Nobody talking about the obvious nepotism in wrestling with the Hart Clan on the forefront! Bret was not better early 90s then Shawn, but def not by 1995. Bret was build the Hogan successor after Warrior was not reliable,well he had his chance and didn't bring it and WWF got in more and more financial trouble mid 90s! No one talking real truth!
Everyone got their cliques from kindergarten to retirement. But when Shawn is looking after years for a friend support team to better his standings, I only hear for 25 yrs by now how huuuge crocodile tears how unfair 3 ppl of a 50 man roster, then 4 ppl, then 5. Gimme a break!
Shawn is 99% better than Bret as a Sports Entertainer overall. If Bret cannot retire on his peak 1994/1995 and needed the downwirl drag, well he screwed his History. Shawn never took him that seriously but hell yeah it was his prime and not keep on wrestling in his 50s like other Narcissists! Only ugly men hate on pretty men! It always boils down to that with a thousand excuses. Still whatever he gets the girls and career merits and not the ugly hater!
Wrestling Bios is the Bret Hart of RUclips wrestling channels
So True 😎😎😎
According to HBK's first DVD, it was his mom that mentioned that he lost his smile. So he just ran with it
Glad he got it together
Let's face it. Shawn can never be the top guy, the face of the company like HHH, Austin, Cena and Orton.. but he sure was the best wrestler on every roster he was in and in every match he fought. Whether he was in the first match of the card, his matches are must see and probable the match of the night, just because of his greatness
Orton was never a face of the company 😂😂
So sweet shawn i miss you shawn Michaels
I lose my smile every morning I gotta get up for work lmaooooo
Its stories like these that really portray wrestlers as their own worst enemies. Shawn was second to none
“Shawn Michaels “the wrestler” was loved by most, but Shawn Michaels “the person” was hated by most” should be his epitaph
It's almost 12.30 a.m. here in India when you upload the video but I always wait around.❤️
Glad that you've given us a schedule of sorts😂. Keep on keepin' on mate👍🏽
Tuesday,
Thursday
(RAW/WCW)
and Sunday
This channel has been the best binge worthy content about wrestling for me during this lockdown.
Thank you for the videos.
Shawn had a big ego back then, but at least he changed his attitude during the 2000s and reconcile with Bret in public in 2010
You really do belong in some sort of RUclips hall of fame you know! Your videos are beyond great, they are so well put together and you really Master the fine of art of quality and quantity of your videos. Can I ask do you have a team working with you or do you do all of this on your own? You are the man!
6:39 I find that lighting gorgeous. Feels like a Japanese show.
THIS!!! This right here is why I watch wrestling bios keep up the great work
Good video as always. Sounds like to me, Shawn had too much personal stuff/demons going on in back in ‘96, to carry the company long term. By the way it would be great if you could do a video on Booker T’s WCW run. Hell of a performer.
Subbed. Very good information here. This channel is amazing. ❤
I remember this episode with the Infamous I lost my smile. Like looking back I never knew why he forfeited the title, I just thought of it as him taking time off. I ain’t know he didn’t wanna drop it to Bret til years laters. I remember back then Bret and Shawn had intense for hatred for each other. Cause Bret Hart was more of old school type of wrestler while Shawn Michaels was more into being a showman full wit glitz and glamour. At this time Shawn and The Kliq had so much pull wit Vince that he let them do whatever they wanted and they halted a lot guy’s pushed in then WWF. Bret and Shawn would go it in the 90s. After Shawn forfeited Sid won the vacated title then he lost it to Undertaker at Mania who lost it to Bret at SummerSlam of that year. After Shawn got the belt back at Survivor Series the infamous Montreal Screwjob. Which ended their rivalry and Bret goin to WCW. Bret and Shawn would never speak to each other til 13 years later and they put it all behind them
I'll never stop watching your channel. I'm going to support the patreon next payday! You're doing gods work!
How could anyone dislike these videos? The quality of them are excellent!
God such a great video I needed this with everything going on. Great memories, I was so torn between Shawn and Bret between 92 all the way to 97. I couldn't boo neither. Truly the two greatest in ring performers. I def couldn't find my smile during this feud.
Imagine if Shawn Michael's didn't lose his smile in 97...he would of faced bret Hart at Mania 13 ..he probably would been booked to lose and turn heel
Wasn't he
Maybe a heel vs heel match with a chip on the shoulder.
how come people don’t seem to remember Shawn went into Taboo Tuesday 2004 with a torn meniscus and completed a 17 minute match with Triple H? He could easily have had the match with Bret.
So that what Paul E. Dangerously meant during his shoot on Vince McMahon back in November 2001. "You stole Shawn Michaels' smile, took your company public and made yourself a billionaire..."
Cant imagine this channel have 163 k subs only...I have never seen such a content on any other channel in so much detail...
For those who don't know what was going on with Shawn, it's called withdrawal. they were going town to town, he was doing a lot of his drug of choice.. some towns he'd find his drug, and other times he wouldn't find his drug, hence him being locked in a bathroom all day. I can imagine that it was Vince himself that was forced to help Michaels find those drugs on the streets of those towns using all his resources, most likely being other wrestlers. Shawn's knee probably was a lil bit messed up but it was the constant withdrawal from those pills that caused him to "lose his smile" I know there's a few idiots who will come on here and tell me that the WWF/WWE had doctors lined up to prescribe those pills for Shawn, and you're right there were.. but how many pills do you think those doctors are gonna give you before they start fearing jail time. Even if Shawn knew how to Dr. shop, and had 5 different scripts from 5 different Docs, its never enough because your tolerance only gets bigger with each passing day.. Shawn finally hit rock bottom, and Vince paid for rehab. I still love and respect Shawn as if it never happened, and he's in my top 10 favorite Wrestlers of all-time.
Shawn wouldn’t need a prescription or to go to the pharmacy to get pain pills. WWE, MLB, NBA, NFL etc…. they all have team doctors that can give athletes whatever medication they want and whatever amount they want, without going to a pharmacy. They have the drugs already at the team’s training facility. I don’t know the ends and outs how the doctors/teams legally get around having all that medication at their disposal to handout to athletes however, they do and as long as an athlete tells the doctor what’s bothering them and the doctor does an examination, they’ll get the medication they need from the team doctor. That’s part of the reason why they pay for rehab for all their athletes who want it. My neighbor is a retired baseball player and he always got his medication by going to the team facility and talking to the team doctor. His first time having a prescription and going to a pharmacy happened after he retired from baseball.
I believe this channel has renewed my interest in Wrestling. I had given up completely on it, now I find myself flipping the channel to AEW, and WWE,, thank you Wrestling Bios.
I dont really watch television. So coming home from work on tuesdays and thursdays to fresh videos from @wrestlingbios is my appointment television!
He should have looked for his smile in Sunnys mouth, after all, it wouldn't have been the first thing of his in there.
I think Shawn Michaels just didn’t want to lose the title to Bret Hart and that’s why he forfeited it when he “lost his smile”. Shawn did have a big ego back then.
When you weigh up all the evidence, speculation and opinion, I think it's fair to say that most people would agree with your statement. It's certainly the most obvious excuse.
@Ultra Instinct 94 Shawn was just a hot mess in 1997. Unfortunately it did not make things easy for business, and Vince was hell bent on pushing him no matter what.
Still does
@@johnepants He wasn't an asshole until '95.
@Kevin Jay I think the shoot move sounds pretty dumb, however, he could have pilmanized his leg first. It could have worked if Brett and Shawn go 45 minutes and Shawn refuses to stay down, Brett snaps knowing that he can’t really beat him, so he breaks his leg, then puts on the shoot move. Bam, there is your heel turn.
Its crazy when you think about how much happened during 19967 in both WCW and WWE. When you look back its almost like 2 years worth of storylines.
13:30 the boy who cried knee*
He only dropped the WWE.WWF title to Stonecold at Mainia 14 because Taker told him if he didn't Taker was gonna drop him backstage
Undertaker basically taped his fists and told Shawn to be a good boy and let Stone Cold win the WWE title unless he will end up with a broken nose, black eyes or maybe mangled ribs and broken teeth
Your documentary videos are better than most WWE documentaries.
This video title reminds me of an episode of The Rugrats.
"The Land Without Smiles"
ya i never understood that whole i lost my smile and everything around it
God i love new upload fron this channel. Being a lifelong wrestling fan i love these. Someday i hope your able to do a rock n wrsetling video on that aweful cartoon from my childhood lol
I'm glad it worked out the way it did. I loved the Austin feud with Bret
Can we get a video on the BWO? Maybe Jushin Lyger with Dave knows wrestling.
Your the best Wrestling Bios!!! Love all these thank you! You make my days
without this, the double turn wouldn't even occur and the greatest match in the entire pro wrestling wouldnt even existed in handsight
Maybe
Can you do a video on bruiser brody sometime
Being from Philly and also coming up in the ECW era and going there. Look at the fans crying as Shawn spoke. You would never see that today. Even when Romain Regins who is great today had cancer people didn't cry like this. But since the product really does anything special and it always seems same guys fight at every event it still doesn't compare to things like this.
Another good thing that came out of this, is that the Undertaker got to have a wrestlemania moment when he recaptured the WWE title after a long time.
HBK definitely used the situation to dodge losing to Bret. He was injured. But he could’ve lost to Bret at WM13, and then gone away to have surgery etc. Let Bret have his win back, and ‘go away’ just like Bret did the year prior.
Excellent video. You really get to see the issue from all sides. Fair and balanced.
The consistency of new content on this channel makes me keep my smile.
Thank you for this!
If Shawn wasn’t as good as he was, WWE would have closed the doors in 96
8:04 - Loved that feud. So much great stuff in the WWF in 1997.
i remember being there as a kid gotta love lowell memorial
i remember hearing the crowd chant for sid lol
Mate you deserve all the subscribers do you have your videos are so much more researched and referenced than anything else out there good stuff!!
If someone doesn't feel that they are ready for a match its not worth having him wrestle
21 minutes of shawn michaels cringe. oof. Great vid, as usual.
Shawn feared Bret
Sid was SO F*CKING OVER in New York in 1996. That Madison Square Garden crowd lost their minds when he hit that powerbomb on Michaels at the Survivor Series.
Your channel is so well done my man.
I loved Bret and was a fan of Shawn, despite the opinions there are about this scripted AND real life feud.
I can't see wrestling ever touch this level of intensity again. Miss those days. And even the old school days before that era. Everything after attitude (maybe ruthless agression) sucks, hence why I only watch old clips on youtube sometimes.