SummerSlam 2005 saw Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan in their first-ever face-off. The match ended up as a disappointment.
When we talk about dream matches in WWE, Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan was one such match that fans always wanted to see. Both WWE Legends faced each other at SummerSlam 2005. The biggest star wrestling in the 1980s vs a huge star of the 1990s did not live up to the expectations. Instead, it is only known for HBK over-selling the moves and cutting a harsh promo about Hogan the night after Summerslam.
“And in the last minute, Hogan backed out…” says Shawn Michaels
According to HBK, he pitched a three-match feud that would end in a cage match. The feud was meant to be good guy vs good guy which would revolve around Michaels finding out if he could defeat the Immortal Hulk Hogan? But unfortunately, that never happened. During the match, HBK bumped all over the place overselling the moves.
Shawn Michaels said that it was the Hulkster who rejected the face vs face premise. Hogan wanted Michaels to turn heel. In a Q&A in the UK a few years ago, Michaels talked about the incident.
He said:
“We were going to do a best of three and in the last minute, [Hogan] backed out. So that day, and I will admit this… I poked the bear all day.”
“I already knew what I was gonna do — I was gonna go out there and do business, but I was gonna make him earn it, just to be a pain in the butt all day. And that was something I did just for my own enjoyment. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t professional.” Michaels further added.
Michaels also stated that no matter what happened, it was an honor to work with an icon like Hulk Hogan.
Hulk Hogan denies what Michaels said about the infamous dream match
The Hulkster’s version of the story is very different from what Michaels said. According to Hogan, it was all Vince McMahon’s plan and it was Vince who wanted Hogan to be over HBK.
Hogan said.
“If you really go behind the scenes on the Shawn Michaels thing, I just sat back. I mean, this is Vince’s show, Vince’s thing, and when we went to the dressing room, Vince came in and said, ‘Okay, I want Hogan to go over.’ No big deal.”
The Hulkster also went on to state that he had lost more matches just to help guys like Triple H, The Rock, and The Undertaker get over.
He said:
“And those were Vince’s wishes. If he had told me to take the superkick and do the one, two, three, even though everybody says I’ve never done a job, if you go back and look at my career, I’ve pretty much lost more matches [in the last 15 years of my career] than I’ve won, trying to get guys over from Triple H to The Undertaker to The Rock, you name it.”
Whether it was Hogan refusing to lose or Michaels overselling the moves, it was the fans who had to pay. The controversy ended up ruining one of the biggest dream matches of pro wrestling history.
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