My Oh My Oh My, I just rewatched one of the greatest matches of all time, especially in RAW history. I hadnÂ’t seen in years but had to because HBK is always trending on social media (heÂ’s so over, his legacy is everlasting) and this match always comes up.
Shawn Michaels vs John Cena - 2007 non-title Wrestlemania return.
If I can recall correctly, this wasnÂ’t meant to happen from the top of my head or at the very least, for the length of time it did; Orton/Edge one or both couldnÂ’t be at the show or had to be cancelled, I think it was more to do with their availability.
Anyway this was during the peak Cena hatred era and especially the profound criticisms on his wrestling capability. It was actually a massive blessing in disguise that HHH got injured I think in 2006 because the big plan for WM 23 was for Cena to face HHH in a rematch. Enter Shawn Michaels, who had the big duty to get Cena over at WM and this started their rivalry. Shawn did more for Cena then HHH was ever going do, he literally helped change his career forever. WM 23 was a classic match, whether true or not, there were reports Shawn didnÂ’t shake CenaÂ’s hand because he wasnÂ’t happy with Cena not selling his leg enough, anyway this played nicely into their match in London. You felt as though the animosity and hatred was real, from Cena talking smack backstage before the match, to the little sh!t talking in the ring and each man not being afraid of pulling out all stops even as faces (using the steps, ring side pole, announcers and general environment to their advantage) helped take the match to another level.
This match was deeply psychological and there were some great call back spots to their WM 23 encounter. Shawn tapped to the **** so it made sense for Cena to get under ShawnÂ’s skin going for this early and targeting ShawnÂ’s neck with power moves who attempted to counter this by trying to take away CenaÂ’s strength by attacking his arm and shoulders, it was essentially a battle between ShawnÂ’s technique and CenaÂ’s power, but both trying to outsmart each other because there was a strategy behind their work. Both sold exceptionally well and Cena was trying his utmost to, even though it wasnÂ’t his strength. The match had flow and they werenÂ’t just spamming big move after big move, in fact in a near 60 minutes, I canÂ’t recall many big spots if at all, their striking was excellent, their mat work was brilliant (even from Cena) and the overall ring generalship was incredible, the action kept moving along and you could say the big spots involved their signatures and it made sense.
The audience was pretty shocked I think by CenaÂ’s performance, Shawn did the heavy lifting but Cena more than played his part even calling some spots, I donÂ’t think people genuinely felt Cena was capable of being involved in a technical match for 60 minutes. And the finishing stretch was beautiful, the counters from both guys were organic throughout but that transition from the FU into the Sweet Chin Music was so beautiful and thrilling, the crowd was stunned again because I donÂ’t think they felt Shawn was going over. HBK never won the title outside 2002 in his return but this was as big as winning another world championship, he elevated his legacy to another level altogether and did more for CenaÂ’s recognition as a top guy then any other worker on the roster, I wish the two worked a bit more then they did.
5* classic and better then majority of singles matches which go past the 40 min mark these days, you watch it now and it holds up well beyond todays standard of repetition of moves and recycled formulaic spots/structure.
