WWE vs. TNA 10.21.06: AJ Styles vs. Shawn Michaels

[HEIDENREICH]

Category 1: Key Wins/Titles

AJ Styles: Now normally the wrestler from WWE will greatly exceed the wrestler from TNA when it comes to title wins. However, TNA's poster boy actually has more title wins that the legendary Shawn Michaels. To his credit he is a 1-time ROH World Tag Team Champion (with Amazing Red), 1-time ROH Pure Wrestling Champion ,3-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, 4-time NWA World Tag Team Champion (1-time with Jerry Lynn, 1-time with Abyss, 2-time with Christopher Daniels), and a 5-time TNA X Division Champion. Holy crap. He is also a three time Triple Crown winner and Mr. TNA three years running. Wow. And I havent even mentioned his key wins. Let's see…… he was the first X-Division Champion when he beat Psycosis, Jerry Lynn and Low-Ki in a fatal four way match, and then one week later won the Tag Titles with Jerry Lynn. Lynn soon turned on him, and they had a best of 3 match, but it ended in a draw. He then won the X-Title from X-Pac. Then, in one night, he beat three other teams in a tag scramble match and then won the ROH WTT Championship with Red. His first NWA World Heavyweight title win was against Raven and Jarrett in a Triple Threat match. In one instance, Styles was forced to team with his rival, Abyss, and they won the titles, but then Abyss beat AJ in a match to gain control of the titles. Two and a half monthes later, however, Styles beat Jarett in a Cage match to win the NWA WHT again! In that time period, he won the ROH Pure Championship, too. He has also taken part in the first two "King of the Mountain" matches, and in the first one he lost his title to Jeff Jarrett, and the second time he lost his title to Raven. One week later, however, he beat Kazarian for his third X title win, which he later lost to Michael Shane and Kazarian in an Ultimate X match, who were the co-title holders. At Final Resolution in 2005 AJ won and Ultimate X to earn his fourth X title win. He then beat Abyss in a Number One Contenders match in the Six Sides of Steel, and then beat Jarrett for the NWA Title for his third time!!! As I mentioned before, he lost that title to Raven in the second KOTM match. In his last X title reign, so far, he beat Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels in a triple threat match. At Slamiversary in 2006, Styles and Daniels beat AMW for their first tag title win together. They then won the titles back from LAX in an Ultimate X match. I went through three boxes of hot pockets writing that portion.

Shawn Michaels: Wow, does HBK have a hard act to follow or what? But if one person can do it, it has to be The Showstopper. He has won the WWF Championship (3 times), World Heavyweight Championship (1 time), WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times), WWF European Championship (1 time), WWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Kevin Nash (2) and Steve Austin (1), and the first ever Grand Slam Champion. He was also in the first Ladder, Hell in a Cell, Ironman, and Elimination Chamber matches. Yeah, I'd say that is a pretty good résumé. Let's start from the beginning. He and Marty Janetty actually won the tag titles off of Jim Neidhart and Bret Hart, but the title change was called void, therefore it is forgotten. After the Rockers split, Shawn enjoyed much, much, much success as a singles superstar. He first beat the British Bulldog to gain the Intercontinental Title which he lost to former partner Janetty, but then won it back shortly after. He then acted like a pompous jerk that he used to be and refused to drop the title, so he was suspended and there was a new IC Championship and a new champion: Razor Ramon. This led to the first Ladder match on PPV, which Shawn lost. I guess if you are in the Kliq, Shawn will do the job. Really? Anyways, he started managing Diesel who won the IC Championship (Wha…?). Diesel and HBK then won the Tag Titles, but soon after Diesel beat Bob Backlund for the WWF Title, so he left HBK and forfeited the tag titles. He was the first superstar in the 1995 Royal Rumble, but still won. He lost to Diesel at WM 11, though, and then they became friends again. At In Your House II, he beat Jeff Jarrett to win his third IC Championship. That same year, Razor and HBK had their ladder rematch, which Michaels won. HBK and his best buddy Diesel won the tag titles again, too. He took some time off after getting jumped (in real life). He then won the Royal Rumble for the second year in a row, and went on to beat Bret Hart in one of the best WM matches ever, the 60 minute Ironman match. He held the title for seven and a half months, only to lose it to Sid by nefarious means. Two months later he beat Sid at RR to regain the title, but was forced to vacate the title due to knee injuries. Like Styles, HBK formed a tag team with a rival (Stone Cold) and won the Tag Titles, but later vacated them because, you know, they were rivals. He moved onto a rivalry with Undertaker when he accidentally hit him with a chair and cost him the WWF Championship. Accidentally. He went on to beat UT in the first ever Hell in a Cell match. He then won his third WWE Championship from long time rival (in kayfabe and real-life), Bret Hart, in the infamous Montreal Screw Job. WE all know the story, right? Anyways, Michaels was put on then shelf due to nagging back injuries, so he dropped his title to the one of the biggest names of the Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin. He made his miraculous return in 2002 with the short lived nWo, and then went to Raw on the brand split. He tried to reform DX with HHH, but HHH turned on him and they had numerous great matches, which brings me to my next point. He beat five other men, including HHH, to win his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Since then he hasn't tasted any gold, but has had many entertaining matches that I will touch on later, and has re-formed DX with Triple H. There go four more boxes of ‘Caliente' Pockets. God I love my job.

Category 2: Sweet Rivalries

Shawn Michaels: Throughout HBK's long run in professional wrestling, I can only pick four rivalries to cover so it doesn't take so long. I'll give you some time to guess.

OK, ready? Let's start with the first. Bret Hart. The Excellence of Execution. Everyone knows about the backstage hatred between these two. Perhaps it was that that fueled their remarkable matches to of the most remembered are the Wrestlemania XII Ironman Match and the 1997 Survivor Series match. The Ironman Match was nothing short of spectacular, with HBK refusing to tap out when the time ran out. Then Gorilla Monsoon ran down and made it a Sudden Death match, and HBK pulled out a Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere and won. Needless to say, the night was full of emotion. Wow, HBK and AJ are really similar. The HBK/Hart Survivor Series wasn't necessarily a great match, but it is just remembered for the controversy surrounding it. The next notable rival for The Showstopper is Stone Cold Steve Austin. Both were the images of the "Attitude Era," and they had great chemistry. Many people remember the match they had at Wrestlemania XIV. It had a lot of emotion, too, and only God knows how Michaels made it through that match. The next person is HBK's real life friend, Triple H. It all started when HBK made his return to Raw and tried to reunite DX, unsuccessfully, of course. HHH then mauled HBK in the parking lot, and from there their Non-Sanctioned match was ready. Nobody knew how HBK would do since it was his first match back. Needless to say, they didn't disappoint. They pulled off a four star classic that left many fans wanting more. And boy did they get more. Michaels did the unthinkable and defeated HHH in the first ever Elimination Chamber to win his Fourth (well, technically first) World Title win. He later lost it in their brutal Three Stages of Hell. Their rivalry was set aside for a while until they crossed paths once again around the time of the '04 Royal Rumble. They went to a draw in a hellacious Last Man Standing Match, and stole the show with Chris Benoit in their ridiculously awesomely phenomenal match at Wrestlemania XX. They would tangle one more time, this time in a Hell in a Cell to settle their rivalry once and for all. Right. The fans voted HBK into a match at Taboo Tuesday, where he pulled through his knee injury to put on a great match. Once he returned, he had a new rival, and the last one I'm going to mention. During the Royal Rumble in '05, a certain superstar wasn't too happy about being eliminated by HBK, and he came back to get his revenge. That person was none other than the Wrestling Machine, Kurt Angle. These two fighting in the squared circle was only a fantasy for most people, and, once again, HBK stole the show at Wrestlemania 21. Even though HBK lost, the match was one of, if not the, best match either of these men have had. Their rematch at Vengeance was also a great one where HBK finally got the win over Angle. Overall, HBK has had many, many great rivalries that have spawned numerous awe-inspiring matches. Sweet Jesus I'm writing a lot. It all for you, though.

AJ Styles: In the early years of TNA, AJ's two greatest rivalries were against Jerry Lynn and, ummm, Jeff Jarrett? Yup, Jarrett. Okay. So Lynn and Styles took part in many of the first great matches in the X-Division, pretty much pioneering it along with Low Ki. They had the first ever X-Division Match in the fatal four way that was so freaking awesome. They also took part in the Triple Threat Ladder match that blew my mind. They also had a pretty good tag team going until Lynn turned on AJ. Jarrett and AJ also had a long running rivalry where they exchanged the NWA World Heavyweight Title on numerous occasions. Now when talking about current day TNA, only two names come to mind: Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe. Anytime you got any combination of these three men together, you knew you would see something awesome. AJ and Daniels have battled a few times in the Ultimate-X match, but what stands out in my mind is their 30-Minute Ironman Match for the X-Division Championship. It had everyone on edge with its high number of near falls, and the place erupted when Styles won. Samoa Joe and AJ Styles also have had several awesome matches, and one of their matches with Daniels is their greatest in several people's minds. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter named their triple threat match at Unbreakable a five star match, and I assume many people would have to agree. Recently, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels have had awesome matches in their tag team, feuding with both AMW and LAX.

Category 3: Finishers

AJ Styles: When Styles gets someone in position for his patented Styles Clash, which is a belly to back inverted slam. If that doesn't work, then he'll just do a Super Styles Clash, which is the same thing, just off the second rope. Styles also has numerous innovative moves, such as a moonsault off of the second rope, land in position to hit a reverse DDT. Or the Pele Kick, a backflip where he kicks his opponent square in the cranium. Or the Spiral Tap, which is a somersault corkscrew senton. Or a Shooting Star Press to the outside. Or any aerial move, for that matter. Anyways, The Styles Clash is a move that leaves few coming back for more.

Shawn Michaels: Shawn Michaels is one of the only superstars to get the crowd so riled up for a finishing move. When HBK is ‘tuning up the band,' the place goes ballistic. Few superstars have been able to kick out of the Sweet Chin Music, which is a vicious super kick. HBK has also perfected the Flying Elbow Drop, where he flies through the air with much grace. He has also been know to moonsault, and is one of the best at it.

The Final Result:

If anyone doesn't want to see this match, they deserve to be shot. A match between these two would be nothing short of a four star event, and everyone knows these guys can go. I would personally like to see an Ironman Match between these guys, because we all know that these guys can pull off an extraordinary match. I don't think HBK would go down without a fight, but if Styles could nail the Super Styles Clash in the last minute, I would have to assume that he would win the match. So how about you? What match would you like to see these guys in? Who would win? Send me some feedback and I will answer you. Or if you just wanna, you know, talk. It's all good in the hood.

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[Shawn_Michaels]

Тоя мач надали ще го бъде някога ,а за да победи Styles HBK трябва да е минал 50-те иначе не виждам вариант :)