Shawn Michaels shocked Triple H when he announced on Raw
SuperShow that he will serve as the referee for The Game’s Hell in a Cell Match
against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVIII.(MATCH PREVIEW)
The new wrinkle of Mr. WrestleMania-as-ref adds to the
already multidimensional rivalry between Triple H and The Phenom. There is
reason to believe that HBK – who has stepped inside Hell in a Cell with both
Superstars before (HELLISH HISTORIES INSIDE THE CELL) – is emotionally invested in the outcome
of this match.
For those wondering about the potential for HBK to be an
objective official, look no further than the many matches that HBK has refereed.
Although Michaels acknowledged this week that his ability to call it down the
middle may be in dispute (WATCH), it’s worth noting that officiating a match is
nothing new for The Showstopper. In fact, he’s done it at least 10 times prior.
Bret Hart vs. The
Undertaker, SummerSlam ’97
The Showstopper’s first time in the zebra stripes came as he was entrenched
in a three-way rivalry involving The Undertaker and World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer and then-World Wrestling Entertainment
Champion Bret “Hit Man” Hart. And in the first example of a pattern that would
play out over the years, HBK could not help but to get involved in the action.
During the contest’s climatic closing moments, Hart struck
The Phenom with a chair while Michaels, who was inadvertently knocked down
moments before, had his back turned. Although he missed Hart’s illegal use of
the chair, Michaels became suspicious when he saw the object in the corner. He
then questioned Hart, who spat at Michaels, prompting HBK to swing the chair with
Jose Bautista-like gusto. “Hit Man,” however, ducked, and HBK ended up laying
out The Phenom. (PHOTOS | WATCH)
Despite perhaps having the best of intentions, HBK’s
instincts took over once he was provoked. It would not be the last time.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock Mr.
McMahon vs. The Undertaker, Triple H Shane McMahon – Raw, May 10, 1999 
By May 1999, HBK – on hiatus as an active competitor due to injuries – had
assumed the role of World Wrestling Entertainment commissioner. During this short but chaotic brawl,
Michaels did little to enforce the tag rules, but he also steered clear of
direct involvement in the action. After The Texas Rattlesnake downed Shane
McMahon with the Stunner, HBK counted the pinfall, without incident.
Triple H vs. The
Undertaker vs. Chyna – Raw, Aug. 9, 1999
Michaels’ officiating duties in this match – a no-disqualification,
no-countout Falls Count Anywhere bout – were far from exacting. As guest commentator
Jesse Ventura quipped, “All the referee’s got to do is stay out of the way and
count to three.” HBK largely stayed out of the fray, only interjecting briefly in
a failed attempt to prevent Stone Cold from running interference.
Triple H vs. Mankind
– Raw, Aug. 16, 1999
Forget about having too many chefs in the kitchen; this brawl was afflicted by
too many refs in the ring. Here, HBK shared the job – barely – with rival and
then-World Wrestling Entertainment owner Shane McMahon. While The Game and Mankind clobbered each other,
the two refs bickered. When Triple H readied to bring a chair down upon
Mankind, HBK inserted himself into the action and blocked the attack, leading
to yet another argument with McMahon.
In the end, the dual-ref concept proved flawed: After Triple
H suplexed Mankind onto a chair, the two exhausted fighters each draped an arm
over the other. As McMahon counted down Mankind’s shoulders, Michaels
simultaneously counted down Triple H’s, resulting in a less-than-conclusive finish
and two No.1 contenders to the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship. (PHOTOS)
Triple H vs. The Rock – SmackDown, Aug.
26, 1999
On the premieer episode of SmackDown, Commissioner Michaels again found
himself called into action as a referee. At first appearing completely impartial,
HBK let his true colors show once it looked as though the match was The Rock’s
for the taking.
With The Game laid out on the canvas, The Great One removed
his elbow pad and signaled for his trademarked People’s Elbow. However, as The
Rock sprang off the ropes, Michaels greeted him with a stiff Superkick, enabling
Triple H to win the match and retain his World Wrestling Entertainment Championship. With HBK and The
Game apparently in cahoots all along, an outraged Jim Ross decried The
Showstopper as a “crooked commissioner.” (PHOTOS | WATCH)
Triple H vs. The Rock
– Judgment Day 2000, May 21, 2000
HBK’s prowess as a referee was put to the test, as The King of Kings and The Most
Electrifying Man in Sports-Entertainment locked horns in an epic World Wrestling Entertainment Iron Man
Match, in which the winner would be the Superstar who scored the most falls in
a 60-minute period. Before the night was over, HBK had called a total of 11
falls – six in Triple H’s favor, and five in The Rock’s.
The decisive 11th fall was
undoubtedly the most significant, and controversial, of the contest. With
Triple H’s support team of Road Dogg, Shane McMahon and X-Pac ganging up on The
Rock, and HBK recovering on the outside after he was accidentally knocked off
the ring apron, The Undertaker came to The Rock’s aid. However, by then HBK had
regained his senses. Reluctantly, and to a chorus of boos from the World Wrestling Entertainment
Universe, The Showstopper disqualified The Rock after The Undertaker dropped
Triple H with a chokeslam and Tombstone. (PHOTOS)
Triple H vs. Rob Van
Dam – Raw, December 2, 2002
Standing tall in late 2002 as the World Heavyweight Champion, Michaels was
in the catbird seat when he was called upon to officiate a No. 1 Contenders
Match between Triple H and Rob Van Dam. Throughout the bout, HBK did his best
to derail The Game, be it by deliberately slow-counting pinfalls or blocking
the ropes (thus, preventing a rope break) whenever Triple H was locked in a
submission hold. After Rob Van Dam inadvertently kicked Michaels – momentarily
incapacitating The Showstopper – The Cerebral Assassin blasted Rob Van Dam with a
chair. Again, it was with tremendous disappointment that HBK counted the fall
and declared Triple H victorious.
Elimination Chamber –
New Year’s Revolution 2005, Jan. 9, 2005
For the fourth time in his career, Michaels guest-refereed a match won by
Triple H. In this case, The Game topped five other Superstars – including Chris
Jericho, Randy Orton and 2012 World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer Edge (Adam Copeland) – to win the vacant World
Heavyweight Championship. As was the case in several previous outings, it was
not long before HBK unwittingly became swept up into the action. At one point,
Michaels Superkicked Edge (Adam Copeland) after getting into an argument with The Rated-R
Superstar, who had accidentally Speared HBK only moments before.
Later in the match, Ric Flair – who was at ringside, acting
as Triple H’s second – fought with Michaels, distracting him long enough for
Batista, another of The Game’s allies, to attack Orton. The run-in set up
Triple H for the win and left HBK scratching his head in frustration. (PHOTOS)
Kane (Glen Jacobs) vs. Rob Conway –
Raw, May 1, 2006
HBK offered no pretense of objectivity here. Prior to the contest, Conway irked
Michaels, prompting HBK to do all he could to channel Kane (Glen Jacobs)’s rage against the
arrogant Conway . Although Conway at one point tried to run through the World Wrestling Entertainment
Universe to escape Kane (Glen Jacobs)’s wrath, Michaels corralled him back into the ringside
area, feeding him to the destructive Big Red Machine. (PHOTOS)
John Cena vs. Kenny
of the Spirit Squad – Raw, May 1, 2006
The Spirit Squad – a five-Superstar troop of trampoline-bouncing male
cheerleaders – had thoroughly annoyed the soon-to-be reunited D-X team of HBK
and Triple H by the time Kenny sought to unseat World Wrestling Entertainment Champion John Cena.
Although Triple H started out as the match’s referee, he left the festivities
midway, allowing HBK to put on the black-and-white stripes for the second time
that night. After repeat interference from the rest of the Spirit Squad, and
being verbally berated by Kenny, HBK unleashed an onslaught to even the odds for
Cena. (PHOTOS)
As he’s demonstrated time and time again – both as a
competitor and as a referee – Michaels is absolutely unpredictable. His track
record as a World Wrestling Entertainment official clearly shows that he will not shy away from
confrontation, nor is he necessarily above collusion. Further, even when it
appears that HBK is trying to do what’s right by the World Wrestling Entertainment Universe, his
unrelenting pride has caused him to toss objectivity out the window.
At WrestleMania XXVIII, though, HBK will be in a predicament
boiling over with emotion. When he steps into the Sun Life Stadium in Miami on
April 1, will the admittedly visceral Michaels be able to put personal
differences – and distant memories – aside?
Article source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2012-03-05/25063576
The storyline featured Tracy asking Lawler, portrayed as “Jerry King,” to help take down a criminal wrestler named Thunderchild, who was responsible for stealing money from a charity. Alongside reformed classic Tracy villain The Mole, Jerry King and Dick Tracy step inside the squared circle to slam crime.
“In the 1950s, the villain T.V. Wiggles was a wrestler, so we didn’t exactly break new ground, but we featured more of the actual competition.” Curtis told World Wrestling Entertainment .com.
Dick Tracy has always been known to have a set of villains defined by their distinctive physical features, character traits and the names that complement those features. World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars also have their own distinct physical traits that define who they are, in and out of the ring. Staton and Curtis agreed that if they were to create a World Wrestling Entertainment Superstar with a specific trait it would be “someone nefarious and sneaky, perhaps invulnerable to a steel chair.”
R-Truth (Ron Killings) Kofi
Mark Henry def.
In charge of SmackDown for the night and ready to make an
The message has set off speculation that Laurinaitis plans
urnaments – the Loyola University men’s team and the
