Today, I am making the likely unfair assumption that many of my current readers have little to no clue what "Sweet Chin Music" even is...or was, up until Sunday, March 28, 2010. Sunday night was one of the single most unhappy nights for literally millions of television viewers in 145 countries. It was quoted to be the 'end of an era' and many such phrases. It is quite rare for me to fully agree with the massive throngs on matters I consider to be trivial. I am all for celebrating the lives and triumphs of others, but in a world where it is not uncommon to celebrate one person's victory despite the work his teammates put in, it is rare that I find a sports figure that I can truly celebrate myself. Though it may seem unusual or weird to many of you, I am talking about one of my favorite wrestlers; the WWE superstar, the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels.
While most media and WWE commentators are busy focusing on the "Showstopper's" career, I prefer to show my readers a different side of "Mr. Wrestlemania." Several months ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to buy a DVD set entitled Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story. A few months before that, HBK had returned to WWE and to rejoin the infamous tag-team Degeneration-X (DX). DX is well-known for their pranks and being the well-intentioned 'trouble-makers' of RAW. They did what no one else would do, and they found funny ways to do it. Shortly after Michaels' return, something caught my eye. Up to that point, I had not been very familiar with Shawn Michaels. I had only just begun watching WWE with my husband, though I had always had a minor interest in it. I had, however, seen Youtube clips of past DX shenanigans. It seemed to me that for whatever reason, Michaels was not participating in some of the more crude jokes his tag-team partner, Triple H (Paul Levesque / The Game) began. I remember one scene in particular when DX was having a 4th of July barbecue because Mr. McMahon banned them from the building. (Scene below.)
When my husband and I watched Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story, I found myself somewhat surprised that the Heartbreak Kid is a Christian. Usually, when I find that a celebrity is a Christian, my heart sinks a little. This may seem wrong to many of my readers who have long known me to be a Christian myself. My heart sinks because I've watched so many people give a God they don't even believe in the supposed glory just so that they can get the popularity from the Christians. My heart even sinks because of the spiritual abuses I have witnessed within churches today, and it has made me wary of most other Christians. But somehow, Shawn Michaels was different...
As I have watched Shawn Michaels perform each week on WWE RAW, I have begun to realize what makes him so special. It's not that he has 'great charisma' or even that he is usually the 'smaller guy' and therefore considered the underdog of sorts. It is simply that he is 100% real with the people he meets and performs for. There is no doubt who he is or what his beliefs are, nor does he shove his religious beliefs in anyone's face. He's still the same guy, he just added Jesus to the mix, and let Jesus take the garbage out of his life.
In learning about Shawn Michaels' lengthy career, I have discovered that most people can definitely relate. He's the 'bad boy'. The guy who went against the grain of the business. I honestly believe it was HBK that made WWE RAW what it is today. The 'Show Stopper' did not always have the support of fans, but he stood by what he felt to be the right way to go, even if it meant battling authority in some cases. Furthermore, he did not have the support of many Christians simply because of the question, "How can you be a Christian and still wrestle?" It would serve these people well to remember that anything done in God's name and in God's will is a wonderful thing indeed. Were this not the case, how would Michaels' be this successful?
In 1997, a clique of rebels formed within WWE. They soon became known as Degeneration X (DX). No amount of words (outside of their book, Are You Ready? The Unauthorized History of DX) can truly do their antics justice. Triple H and HBK have such a brotherly chemistry, that it has been a true joy to watch them. Together, they have taken on the world of wrestling and have done so without creating much damage within their own relationship as friends or a team. Meanwhile, the rest of the tag teams are constantly changing partners and entering new eras of battling old partners. Best friends are torn apart and made to fight one another, whether by choice, or by the professionally written lines of a well known drama. It has been refreshing to see them sacrifice for one another throughout their careers, though there were a few scuffs along the way.
My thanks to Shawn Michaels for having been more than just a performer, and for having been the kind of role model many can follow.
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