I remember how much pain HBK was in when he had to drop on one knee, before sitting down to give Austin some mounted punches. Sitting down and getting up, something we do EVERYDAY made HBK feel like shit . Yet he performed a WrestleMania match.
Considering he had serious back problems going into this match...and then took this bump....and still carried on wrestling at a level higher than most could even hope of fully healthy, thats testament to how good HBK was
Shawn Michaels wrestled this match with 3 herniated discs in his back. He retired after this match, he didnt know if he'd ever wrestle again. He was gone for over 4 years. Basically he wrestled stone cold steve austin with a broken back.
One of my favorite matches ever. Maybe not a great match, not even the greatest match these two had, but the sheer willpower of HBK is amazing. There are many close ups of Shawn and you can see he is in a great deal of pain.
I never really saw this as a botch, and I don't think the audience did either. He was just thrown too fast, so it made sense if he didn't go up the turnbuckle like he normally does.
as much as I hate to say it, I believe it was Shawn's fault. he was trying to curl up the turnbuckle and went too high. The lower part of his butt, not his tail-bone, was supposed to hit the turnbuckle while his legs curl around the top ropes and shoot him upward and around the turnbuckle. We've all seen him do it; I just guess that either it was too much speed or a bad spot. Still, one of the VERY FEW mistakes this great man has ever done IMO.
for shawn michaels to put his injured body on the line to pass the torch to stone cold was really special. so much respect for him. and then his comeback was just epic! im so glad he got to come back 4 years later and give us another 8 years of hbk magic!
This match almost ended HBK's career, but HBK is legit and came back, putting on 5 star matches, making people look good, and ending it with an amazing match with Taker at WM.
HBK's always been the top of the game, spanning phases of wrestling. Innovating and being relevant, while still being HBK.
@hotgirlsarehot The casket match with Taker at Royal Rumble is what hurt Shawn's back....he went 2 months promoting this match and did the match in pretty bad shape, but for a guy with a destroyed back he put on one hell of a match. 4 years later, he returned into our lives again full time :)
his back was injured at that time and that injury cost him 4 years of his career, he broke 3 spinal discs being thrown by undertaker onto the edge of a casket
@JASM4collection HBK had to lose the belt to Austin he was the only true supper-star at the time to put Austin over. HHH wasn't a star yet. The Rock was a mid-carder and Undertaker had his rivalry with Kane going on
@ExplodingBeavers lol wtf? for the fans? how the fuck is that for the fans? who wants to see some dickhead flip like an idiot when he gets irish whipped? no one pays to watch that ridiculous shit
@ExplodingBeavers lol u gotta be joking. hes just making his wrestling ridiculous by overselling. all the other wrestlers dont sell irish whips, they just take it how it really is.
It's kind of amazing that Shawn still did this spot, considering how much pain his lower back was causing him, i remember seeing the pain in his face for simply climbing in and out of the ring.
I am a Bret Hart fan so this match was great. Shawn loses, he is in alot of real pain in this match, Mike Tyson drops him at the end, and his first retirement starts.
@nanrektomred If that is true that is a damn shame. I know that Shawn had an ego issue around this time but come on. Vince should have trusted Shawn enough by 1998 that he would drop the belt to Austin if asked to do so. Besides, with a severed disk in his back and another injured one already going into this match, even HBK wouldn't risk prolonging his reign as WWF Champion past WrestleMania 14.
oooooooo.......LLMAAOO
Hooligaaanz 2 weeks ago
im irish why the fuck dont i know that move!!!
darkshadow2341 1 month ago
michaels and triple h always eget irish whiped to the corner in an awkward manner
80s90sOriginal 3 months ago
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Deathsupon 3 months ago
Was he trying to do a Ric Flair?
AlexDCl 4 months ago
LMAO . It looks like Stone Cold Is laughing after shawn hit his back 0:07
JosiahB23 4 months ago
owww
jeffhardyfanjb 4 months ago
ow my god
1206473 4 months ago
He does that at some matches lol not the first time
jamelpingo 5 months ago
@jamelpingo Yeah but did you see the way his head almost hitted? And then after he almost got out of the ring.
MrTakemeawaynow 4 months ago
@jamelpingo yeah but this one hit more harder than usual.
Gorrrillla5 4 months ago
I remember how much pain HBK was in when he had to drop on one knee, before sitting down to give Austin some mounted punches. Sitting down and getting up, something we do EVERYDAY made HBK feel like shit . Yet he performed a WrestleMania match.
vansdreamVSD 5 months ago
Considering he had serious back problems going into this match...and then took this bump....and still carried on wrestling at a level higher than most could even hope of fully healthy, thats testament to how good HBK was
9InchWarrior 6 months ago
Shawn in this match had more talent with a damn near broken back than a lot of guys ever have.
RyanPelley1 6 months ago
Stone Cold was laughing. XD
ezraholmes01 6 months ago
Shawn Michaels wrestled this match with 3 herniated discs in his back. He retired after this match, he didnt know if he'd ever wrestle again. He was gone for over 4 years. Basically he wrestled stone cold steve austin with a broken back.
WWF4200 6 months ago
@ SAD33333333333333 No shawn michaels was
imAwesome4lyfe 6 months ago
was Austin a heel at this time?
SAD33333333333333 6 months ago
@SAD33333333333333 fuck no. he was the biggest face of all tie at this point, even bigger than hogan.
toadman842 6 months ago
One of my favorite matches ever. Maybe not a great match, not even the greatest match these two had, but the sheer willpower of HBK is amazing. There are many close ups of Shawn and you can see he is in a great deal of pain.
tonyAJ420 6 months ago
over sold lol.
josephdawg 6 months ago
damn
fooffa8 6 months ago
Huhuhuh
randyorton2221 7 months ago
Austin just smiles. :L VELOCITY!
Tornjah 7 months ago
Comment removed
Tornjah 7 months ago
god alright! i didnt know
alvinfan1000 7 months ago
JR: what velocity, what what..... VELOCITY!!!
13Blaster31 7 months ago
by Snitsky??
alvinfan1000 7 months ago
@alvinfan1000 you dont know who that is?
Stone Cold Steve Austin maybe??!!
MrWrestlingfan2010 7 months ago
notice that wwe sign actually covers the wwf sign
balucci94 8 months ago
What velocity :)
ROBLOXains 8 months ago
stone cold had that look on his face. like "oh shit. got damn!"
screwstontexas12345 8 months ago 6
Austin looks so big here. That was probably a heel Austin
module15 8 months ago
I never really saw this as a botch, and I don't think the audience did either. He was just thrown too fast, so it made sense if he didn't go up the turnbuckle like he normally does.
TheoHuxtable07 8 months ago
as much as I hate to say it, I believe it was Shawn's fault. he was trying to curl up the turnbuckle and went too high. The lower part of his butt, not his tail-bone, was supposed to hit the turnbuckle while his legs curl around the top ropes and shoot him upward and around the turnbuckle. We've all seen him do it; I just guess that either it was too much speed or a bad spot. Still, one of the VERY FEW mistakes this great man has ever done IMO.
byuu9999 8 months ago
Damn, Shawn botched that one up bad. Didn't throw his upper body up...just wonder how many vertebrae cried out in pain on that one.
stoffalicious 8 months ago
Dale que no soy yo
TheGameThePlay 9 months ago
What velocity! What...What VELOCITY!!
MrJuventino1987 9 months ago
And the then the show Velocity was born. Thanks J.R! :)
hotchettos247 9 months ago 45
Ok, Ow
ilikethecoke 9 months ago
Lol stone cold was laughing haha
Tawhguy 9 months ago
Ooooooh and with an already hurt back.
ryanhitmanfury 10 months ago
did anyone see steve austin laugh lmao?
DjRivero96 10 months ago
Hbk passed the torch because the undertaker was gonna whoop his ass if he didnt.
jpowers55 10 months ago
Stone Cold laughed. XD (Looked a lil fat then, too)
ezraholmes01 10 months ago
this was when shawn knew that he was in alot of trouble
alrightlol 10 months ago
for shawn michaels to put his injured body on the line to pass the torch to stone cold was really special. so much respect for him. and then his comeback was just epic! im so glad he got to come back 4 years later and give us another 8 years of hbk magic!
PeteMcD923 10 months ago
Ouch man... :(
shrecky1 10 months ago
the only part of his body which gets damage here is his shoulder.thats it.fail attempt of a classic flair move
BelaFarinRod84 10 months ago
0:05 Austin's like "....whoa."
mrmctommy 10 months ago
Flair Flop Fail
Nordfelt 11 months ago
This match almost ended HBK's career, but HBK is legit and came back, putting on 5 star matches, making people look good, and ending it with an amazing match with Taker at WM.
HBK's always been the top of the game, spanning phases of wrestling. Innovating and being relevant, while still being HBK.
hotgirlsarehot 11 months ago
@hotgirlsarehot The casket match with Taker at Royal Rumble is what hurt Shawn's back....he went 2 months promoting this match and did the match in pretty bad shape, but for a guy with a destroyed back he put on one hell of a match. 4 years later, he returned into our lives again full time :)
jtoatoktoe 6 months ago
Heh, pause at 11 and look at Austin's crotch. >_>
Scold544 11 months ago
@Scold544 I know,whot does that mean?!That they censored his boner?!
melvinman11 11 months ago
@melvinman11 some person in the audience was wearing a shirt that had "WWF" on it
mexicanbysa 11 months ago
I love the smile on Austin's face after it.
KennethKaniffFromCT 11 months ago
well tht xplains his back problemss
codeman494 1 year ago
considering he had like 2 ruptured disc's in his back at the time he had to be on some damn good pain killers to not just give up right there
TheSilverPhoenix100 1 year ago
ahh good times when he used to wear that old school attire. i never really liked the stuff he started to wear after.
steveoscer 1 year ago
OOOOOOOUCH ! HOLLY !@#$%
24Victorshaft24 1 year ago
i heard that this match alone gave him like a year more of time out man, that was fucking awful
logstrain 1 year ago
@logstrain more than that...
TheHeartbreakKid74 1 year ago
@TheHeartbreakKid74 he already needed surgery after this match, that move just made it worse
logstrain 1 year ago
@logstrain i know lol thats what i was trying to say
TheHeartbreakKid74 1 year ago
@logstrain but it was longer than a year it was 4 years
TheHeartbreakKid74 1 year ago
@TheHeartbreakKid74 i know man, i watched the attitude era
logstrain 1 year ago
@logstrain lol cool same
TheHeartbreakKid74 1 year ago
simply one of the greatest talents of all time.
grate4life 1 year ago
That was absolutely brutal
Pepotamo1985 1 year ago
he was the only wrestler to have miss possibly the greatest era in professional wrestling history
TheMan750 1 year ago
Stone Cold did not give a damn he just picked him up and tried again... lol
zatanzilla 1 year ago
smacked his skull and back off a turnbuckle owch
jeffhardydx2345 1 year ago
his back was injured at that time and that injury cost him 4 years of his career, he broke 3 spinal discs being thrown by undertaker onto the edge of a casket
crysis001villa 1 year ago
He sold that like a fucking pro.
ChoujiMan 1 year ago
Damn, with a bad back. Thats what i call selling
CaptainChunks 1 year ago
I like Stone Cold, but Shawn never should have lost the belt to him
JASM4collection 1 year ago 3
@JASM4collection HBK had to lose the belt to Austin he was the only true supper-star at the time to put Austin over. HHH wasn't a star yet. The Rock was a mid-carder and Undertaker had his rivalry with Kane going on
MrChicago17 8 months ago
"What velocity!... what... what VELOCITY!!" We need JR back.
JThrashYT 1 year ago
and people still think wrestling is fake it's not fake it's just scripted
rijveemezbahuddin 1 year ago
lol hbk always does that. why the fuck does he do it for? fucking faggot
2buck4dH8rz 1 year ago
@2buck4dH8rz for the fans you idiot. And how does it make him a fag if his giving people their moneys worth?
ExplodingBeavers 1 year ago
@ExplodingBeavers lol wtf? for the fans? how the fuck is that for the fans? who wants to see some dickhead flip like an idiot when he gets irish whipped? no one pays to watch that ridiculous shit
2buck4dH8rz 1 year ago
@2buck4dH8rz well its way more cooler than to look some guy sell an irish whip normaly
ExplodingBeavers 1 year ago
@ExplodingBeavers lol u gotta be joking. hes just making his wrestling ridiculous by overselling. all the other wrestlers dont sell irish whips, they just take it how it really is.
2buck4dH8rz 1 year ago
@2buck4dH8rz He's a showman you idiot. showmen usually over sell
ExplodingBeavers 1 year ago
@2buck4dH8rz and so what if he used to be a dick head? he is still one of th greatest to ever step in to the ring
ExplodingBeavers 1 year ago
@2buck4dH8rz selling
CaptainChunks 1 year ago
It's kind of amazing that Shawn still did this spot, considering how much pain his lower back was causing him, i remember seeing the pain in his face for simply climbing in and out of the ring.
TheDalinkwent 1 year ago 20
0:10 stone cold ask him : u okay?
Euaui12 1 year ago
Don't forget stone cold had a bad neck. Crazy, these guys could preform at 110% while their bodies were injured and it would be awesome to watch.
Real blood sweat and tears in the ring back then.
MrWWFattitudefan 1 year ago 3
shaun micheals always does that wen he gets irish whipped
sucka54 1 year ago
he has a special move where he flips up it n den comes bak dwn n he'll run into sum 1's finisher jus a mistake
shh0014 1 year ago
@shh0014 yup just like ric flair
Ckypwnd 1 year ago
Is Austin smiling? lol!
Shryke2010 1 year ago
Makes you wonder how great his in ring performance would have been at this time if his back was close to being healthy
LUTS67 1 year ago
I am a Bret Hart fan so this match was great. Shawn loses, he is in alot of real pain in this match, Mike Tyson drops him at the end, and his first retirement starts.
rmathew2 1 year ago
@rmathew2 LMAO someones still a little bitter.. even they put the past behind them and moved on.. maybe you should too
purplepurp07 1 year ago
@purplepurp07 I believe we will continue to chant "You screwed Bret", atleast that is if Shawn ever comes back.
rmathew2 1 year ago
he did that on purpose, he oversells that Irish Whip ....
superhardasrock 1 year ago
God almighty!!!!!
Strangepete 1 year ago
why is HBK always trying to spin at the turnbuckle?
AssassinsWay 1 year ago
cause of his back
thehangoverthatuget 1 year ago
@AssassinsWay
It's a way to sell a move. It's also probably homage to Ric Flair.
xgooglex 1 year ago
@AssassinsWay, in a word, showmanship.
LUTS67 1 year ago
HBK sells moves like no one else
bigDman0777 1 year ago
HAHAHA... oooooh god
HAHAHHAHAHA
thecanadian1313 2 years ago
this number 8 on wrestlemania greatest 10 greatest matches
alrightlol 2 years ago 4
Really? Wheres the list? D: I wanna see :D
HighLiteOfTheNight 2 years ago
well just write wrestlemania greatest 10 greatest matches
alrightlol 2 years ago
HBK is amazing doing this match with a broken back.
fmthebaron 2 years ago 9
Apparently undertaker was waiting backstage if michaels didnt drop the title to austin!!
nanrektomred 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@nanrektomred If that is true that is a damn shame. I know that Shawn had an ego issue around this time but come on. Vince should have trusted Shawn enough by 1998 that he would drop the belt to Austin if asked to do so. Besides, with a severed disk in his back and another injured one already going into this match, even HBK wouldn't risk prolonging his reign as WWF Champion past WrestleMania 14.
HBKvsTazMUDM 1 year ago
0:04 OWNED!!!
morganfoster27 2 years ago
ha damn
snapper842002 2 years ago
shit!
RainingSunshine11 2 years ago
And he had a bad back at the time...man...
gameheadsince93 3 years ago 105
goes to show you even with a damn near broken back he was still 10x better then anyone today!
nickloks 2 years ago 104
@gameheadsince93 last match until ss 02
CrueFest411 1 year ago
@gameheadsince93
he wasn't allowed by his doctor to go into that match. he had 1 crushed disc in his back, the second disc was in a bad shape too.
but he still did it and took such crazy bumps.
goodbyeshawn 1 year ago
@gameheadsince93 yeah man... I mean this could injure a normal back, let a alone a bad back.
kftherasmus17 9 months ago
@gameheadsince93 yeah man... I mean this could injure a normal back, let alone a bad back.
kftherasmus17 9 months ago
@gameheadsince93 it wasnt just bad it was a BROKEN BACK during this WHOLE MATCH
erickgm15 9 months ago
@gameheadsince93 but he kept going. Like Shawn himself said, "he is Superman".
buckbumble 8 months ago