WWE Rumors: Plans For Shawn Michaels At ‘Wrestlemania’
Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Mick Foley are all slated to appear at Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas on the first Sunday of April. A strong contingent of legends, no doubt. Not to mention likely appearances from the newly enshrined Hall of Famers, including Sting. News has been scarce so far as to what roles these legends will play during the big show, but now, a little light has been shed on what HBK will be doing at AT&T Stadium.
Shawn Michaels, aka “Mr. Wrestlemania,” was the most recent guest on ESPN’s Off the Top Rope segment with Jonathan Coachman. During their interview, Michaels confirmed that’ll be in the building but failed to elaborate, either by choice or because he truly didn’t know what WWE had planned for him. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter via Wrestling Inc. is reporting that the Heartbreak Kid will be involved in one of two angles come Wrestlemania.
The first idea pitched to Hall-of-Famer Shawn Michaels is an idea the Inquisitr reported on last month. Michaels would once again don the black-and-white striped shirt to be the special guest referee in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Triple H and Roman Reigns. This has long been speculated and makes sense, seeing how close Shawn is with the current champion. That wouldn’t take a whole lot for WWE Creative to incorporate into the current storyline and might only require one or two appearances on Monday Night RAW from the Showstopper.
The idea would remain that Triple H and, to some extent, The Authority continue to stack the odds against Roman Reigns, with Shawn Michaels clearly displaying a bias towards his friend and former running mate. It’s not as insurmountable as it may have been before the return of Shane McMahon, however, as the majority of the McMahon family focus has been on Shane’s Hell in a Cell match with the Undertaker. It’s certainly feasible that if Michaels is the ref, then The Rock could be in Reigns’ corner in some capacity to even the odds.
The other idea pitched to Shawn Michaels is of the fresher variety (as far as Michaels’ rumored involvement this year) and would more closely resemble Michaels’ involvement in last year’s Wrestlemania. A year ago, HBK and DX faced off with the nWo during the Triple H-Sting encounter, a symbol of the final WWE vs WCW battle. Michaels would deliver a sweet chin music to Sting, providing one of many memorable spots during the match.
This time around, would Michaels have backup like he did with DX last year? Well, the Road Dogg and XPac are certainly available. Road Dogg, of course, is still employed by WWE, so that wouldn’t be difficult. Billy Gunn, on the other hand, will not be available, as he was released from the company after failing a drug test in 2015. The report suggests that Michaels would be involved in a run-in that would include other legends, but no specific details on who else are available yet, so everything is pure speculation.
It wouldn’t make a ton of sense for Shawn to be involved with The Rock or Mick Foley. Michaels and Stone Cold certainly have Wrestlemania history together. Could those two megastars share the spotlight for a few minutes? And would Austin even sign off on a run-in given his inactivity? The other question mark becomes what match Michaels would interfere. If he doesn’t act as the special guest referee in the main event, he could potentially run in during it. Or perhaps, Shane McMahon has him in his pocket in order to exact some measure of revenge against the Undertaker. The fact that WWE and Shawn Michaels are keeping the lid on it gives hope that his involvement will be special.
[Image via WWE]
