The hot topic of conversation right now is Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement. We have put together a list of several opponents who we would love to see Michaels face at Wrestlemania 35 if he ends up competing at the event.
9) Shawn Michaels vs Adam Cole
Let’s go with someone a bit off the board, Adam Cole (Bay Bay). With Shawn working backstage in NXT, there is no doubt that he has been able to pass down some of his knowledge to the next generation. Maybe being in the (training) ring with some of these guys have given Michaels the itch to return to the ring for one more match with one of his NXT pupils.
I think that Adam Cole vs Shawn Michaels could be a lot of fun. It would also be one hell of a rub for Cole (and the Undisputed Era as a whole) to be involved in a major feud with Michaels.
Diamond Dallas Page (who is a regular at the WWE Performance Center) says that he sees the similarities between Cole and Michaels. Here is what Page said:
“You look at a guy like Adam Cole, you know, they’re comparing him to Shawn Michaels. That’s who he could be down the line. To say he’s Shawn Michaels right now would be to say some of these young kids in the NBA have to ability to be Michael Jordan, you know. But he really does have the ability, the work ethic, the knowledge. He’s gonna be just a huge superstar up in the WWE, and he’s getting to work with Shawn Michaels down there as well.”
Cole and Michaels have a small history too. Shawn refereed the match between Cole and Drew McIntyre at an NXT live event last year. Maybe Shawn requests to work against Cole? This is more of a pipe dream but I would personally love to see it.
8) Shawn Michaels vs Johnny Gargano
Another dream match would be Shawn vs Johnny Gargano. This would be similar to what I said about Adam Cole, where Shawn got the itch to work with one of his NXT pupils.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Michaels said of potential return matches that “there are the guys in NXT too. Someone like a Johnny Gargano would be fantastic.”
Gargano has also said in interviews that Shawn is the reason why he wanted to become a WWE star:
“The minute I saw a guy like Shawn Michaels, who is a smaller guy, but he has so much charisma, so much athleticism, when I saw what he could do in the ring, I immediately fell in love with it, and I knew that’s what I wanted to be one day”
Gargano vs Michaels would be a lot of fun. A bit unrealistic but fun.
7) Shawn Michaels vs Kevin Owens
It is clear that WWE is high on Kevin Owens. He became one of the first WWE Universal Champions. He also has gotten to beat up Vince and Shane McMahon, something that most WWE stars don’t get to do.
I think a Shawn Michaels vs Kevin Owens match could be a lot of fun. From a heel-babyface dynamic, it works. It also would be a great rub for Owens and his career moving forward.
Owens credits Michaels with being the reason why he became a wrestler and would love to be in the ring with him. Here is what Owens said in an interview from last year:
“Michaels is the reason I became a wrestler in the first place. I saw him when I was 11. I was a scrawny kid at the time. People thought I was seven or eight. So to see the smallest guy on the show be the best guy on the show really spoke to me.
I said if he can do it, I can do it. Now I get to share different pieces of his wisdom with him when he comes to a show here or there. I try to sit as close to him as I can and listen to him and discuss wrestling, family and life. It’s so great to talk about those things with someone I look up to so much. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to have been in the ring with him.”
Owens vs Michaels sounds like it would be fun.
Use the buttons below for more potential opponents for Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 35.