This one is sure to invoke some fond memories for wrestling fans. Shawn Michaels has announced his return to the WWE ring after a near nine year absence, and his comeback fight is absolute belter.
Michaels' last fight in the WWE came in Wrestlemania XXVI in 2010, where he faced off against the Undertaker in a loser must retire match, which he lost. He will now once again come toe-to-toe with The Dead Man on his return to the ring.
Michaels will team up with old partner Triple H to reform D-Generation X, and they will take on The Brothers of Destruction themselves: Kane and The Undertaker. The four superstars will come face to face at the WWE Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia on November 2nd.
In other words, an Executive Vice President of a publicly traded company will team up with his long retired friend, a born again Christian from Texas, to take on a 53-year-old "Dead Man", and his "brother", the actual mayor of a town in Tennessee, in Saudi Arabia.
Congrats to Kane on winning the mayor's race in Knox County Tennessee. He has come a long way since being raised in that asylum. #wwe pic.twitter.com/UE7VghL28o
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) August 3, 2018
Between the four men who will take the ring, there is a combined 206 years in age and only Triple H (49) is under 50.
Last week, Triple H took on The Undertaker in front of 70,000 in the MCG in Melbourne, so there is certainly an audience for this this kind of nostalgia act, with the four involved being considered among the greatest of all time within their profession.
During that match, both Shawn Michaels and Kane were watching on from the sidelines.
Triple H would ultimately triumph, with a little help from his partner in crime. Michaels would enter the ring and deliver his signature Sweet Chin Music to The Undertaker, handing his partner the win in the process.
Everything seemed perfectly set up for a headline event between the four, and it has now been confirmed. On last night's episode of Raw, the pair announced they would once again team up for the tag-team match.
ARE YOU READY?? #DX is BACK and will meet The #Undertaker & @KaneWWE at #WWECrownJewel! #Raw pic.twitter.com/8M6xuRokIW
— WWE (@WWE) October 9, 2018
Michaels has been out of the ring for over eight years since and it appeared as though, unusually for a wrestler, his retirement would stick, as, despite many appearances since, he has never set foot in the ring as a competitor since.
The clue to his reappearance might be in the venue for the event. This will be the WWE's second show in Saudi Arabia this year, and it's rumoured the company are receiving a huge amount of money to bring their biggest stars to a new audience.
SHAWN MICHAELS: My career died at WM26 and there's nothing that could make me go back on my vow to stay retired.
VINCE: The Saudis want to give you $10 million for one tag match.
SHAWN: pic.twitter.com/hwe2qd0TW9— Jus🏆in (@Justin_SofOK) October 9, 2018
Our cynical reasoning aside, there's no doubt this surprise reappearance should be a lot of fun. This is the ultimate nostalgic matchup, with a quartet of the biggest stars from the late '90s and early 2000s facing off. Despite being two of the most famous tandems in the history of the WWE, this will actually be the first time that they have squared off against each other.
Even for those who lost interest in wrestling years ago, this one might just pique your interests.
