The 18 Best Shawn Michaels Matches According To Dave Meltzer

Shawn Michaels is on many people’s lists of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. It is pretty obvious that because of this, he has been in some incredible matches throughout his career. Below are the best Shawn Michaels matches of all-time. The ratings are from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. These are all matches that received more than 4.25 stars.

The Best Shawn Michaels Matches According To Dave Meltzer’s Star Ratings

Honorable Mentions (The following matches all received 4.25 stars)

  • Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels vs Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard – WWF MSG Show (March 18th, 1989)
  • Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart – WrestleMania XII
  • Shawn Michaels vs the British Bulldog – King Of The Ring 1996
  • Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels vs The British Bulldog and Owen Hart – RAW (May 26th, 1997)
  • Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – SummerSlam 2002
  • Booker T vs Chris Jericho vs Kane vs Rob Van Dam vs Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – Survivor Series 2002
  • Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho – WrestleMania XIX
  • Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Rob Van Dam, and Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho, Christian, Mark Henry, Randy Orton, and Scott Steiner – Survivor Series 2003
  • Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – RAW (December 29th, 2003)
  • Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit – RAW (February 16th, 2004)
  • Chris Benoit vs Shawn Michaels – RAW (May 3rd, 2004)
  • Shawn Michaels vs John Cena – RAW (April 23rd, 2007)
  • Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels – Unforgiven 2008

Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart

Event – Survivor Series 1992 | Rating – 4.5 stars

Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart faced off in the main event of Survivor Series 1992. This was for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

Bret retained the Title via submission after locking in the Sharpshooter.


Shawn Michaels and Diesel vs Razor Ramon and The 1-2-3 Kid 

Event – Action Zone #2 | Rating – 4.5 stars

Shawn Michaels teamed with Diesel to take on Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 kid back in 1994. This is a fun, hidden gem of a match on ‘Action Zone’.

Michaels picked up the pin after Diesel connected with a big boot to the 1-2-3 kid.


Shawn Michaels vs Jeff Jarrett 

Event – In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks | Rating – 4.5 stars

Shawn Michaels faced off against Jeff Jarrett at the In Your House 2 event back in 1995. This was for the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

Michaels hit Jarrett with a Superkick to become the new Intercontinental Champion.


Shawn Michaels vs Diesel

Event – In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies | Rating – 4.5 stars

Shawn Michaels and Diesel faced off in the main event of the In Your House 7 event in 1996. This was a No Holds Barred match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

Michaels hit sweet chin music to retain the Title.


Shawn Michaels vs Triple H vs Chris Benoit

Event – Backlash 2004 | Rating – 4.5 stars

Shawn Michaels faced Chris Benoit and Triple H at Backlash 2004. This was for the World Heavyweight Championship. This was a rematch from Wrestlemania XX a month prior, where Benoit won the Title.

Benoit forced Michaels to submit with the Sharpshooter to retain the title.


Shawn Michaels vs Shelton Benjamin 

Event – Monday Night RAW (May 2nd, 2005) | Rating – 4.5 stars

Shawn Michaels and Shelton Benjamin faced off on the May 2nd, 2005 edition of Monday Night RAW. This was a Gold Rush Tournament Quarter Final Match.

Michaels ended up winning after about 15 minutes.


Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle

Event – Vengeance 2005 | Rating – 4.5 stars

Shawn Michaels faced off against Kurt Angle at the 2005 Vengeance PPV. This was a rematch from Wrestlemania 21, where Angle defeated Michaels via submission.

This time, Michaels was able to get the better of Angle. Michaels won after hitting sweet chin music.


Shawn Michaels vs Edge vs John Cena vs Randy Orton

Event – Backlash 2007 | Rating – 4.5 stars

The main event of Backlash 2007 was the Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Championship. John Cena put his title on the line against Shawn Michaels, Edge, and Randy Orton.

The match was eventually won by Cena.

On a related note, check out the list of the best John Cena matches, which is in the same format as this.


Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho

Event – No Mercy 2008 | Rating – 4.5 stars

Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho faced off in the main event of the No Mercy PPV in 2008. This was a Ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Jericho retained the Title after hitting Michaels with a headbutt on top of the ladder.


Shawn Michaels vs Marty Jannetty  

Event – Monday Night RAW (July 19th, 1993) | Rating – 4.75 stars

Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels faced off on the July 19th, 1993 edition of Monday Night RAW. This was for the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

Michaels ended up retaining after some help from Diesel on the outside of the ring.


Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon

Event – Summerslam 1995 | Rating – 4.75 stars

Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon faced off at Summerslam 1995. This was a Ladder match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. This was a year after their epic Ladder match at Wrestlemania X.

This time it would be Michaels picking up the win.


Shawn Michaels vs Mankind

Event –  In Your House 10: Mind Games | Rating – 4.75 stars

The main event of the In Your House: Mind Games event in 1996 was between Shawn Michaels and Mankind. This was for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

The match ended in a disqualification after Vader interfered. This was followed by interference from Sycho Sid and the Undertaker. As a result, Michaels retained the title.


Shawn Michaels vs Triple H vs Chris Benoit

Event – Wrestlemania XX | Rating – 4.75 stars

Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chris Benoit faced off in the main event of Wrestlemania XX. This was for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Chris Benoit would go on to win his first World Title in WWE. He celebrated in the ring with Eddie Guerrero to close the show.


Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle

Event – Wrestlemania 21 | Rating – 4.75 stars

Wrestlemania 21 featured an inter-promotional match between SmackDown star Kurt Angle and Raw star Shawn Michaels. This feud began at the Royal Rumble a few months prior, where Angle attacked Michaels after he eliminated him from the Rumble match.

Angle forced Michaels to submit to the Ankle Lock after about 27 minutes.


Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker

Event – Wrestlemania XXV | Rating – 4.75 stars

Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker faced off at Wrestlemania XXV. The Undertaker defeated Shawn after about 30 minutes to move his legendary undefeated streak to 17–0.

This won Match of the Year from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.


Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker

Event – Wrestlemania XXVI | Rating – 4.75 stars

Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker faced off again at Wrestlemania XXVI. This time, Shawn Michaels put his career on the line against the legendary undefeated streak of the Undertaker. The Undertaker would go on to win, ending the career of Shawn.

This won Match of the Year from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.


Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon

Event – Wrestlemania X | Rating – 5 stars

Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon faced off at Wrestlemania X in 1994. This was a Ladder match for the Undisputed WWF Intercontinental Championship. Both Razor and Shawn came into the match claiming that they were the rightful Champion.

Shawn would go on to win the match. This was the first WWE match to ever receive a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer.  This won Match of the Year from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.


Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker 

Event – In Your House 18: Badd Blood | Rating – 5 stars

Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker faced off in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match back in 1997. This match was to determine the #1 contender to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series.

This match featured the debut of Kane, who ripped the cell door off its hinges and attacked the Undertaker. This allowed Shawn to win the match.


Thank you for checking out the list of best Shawn Michaels matches of all time. Let us know what your favorite is. If you enjoyed this, check out the best Triple H matches, which is in the same format.