Shawn Michaels ‘Confirmed’ To Wrestle One More Match

WWE is returning to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and they’re pulling out all the stops for the show – including coaxing Shawn Michaels out of retirement.

According to the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it’s been “confirmed” that Michaels will team up with Triple H to take on The Undertaker and Kane at WWE Crown Jewel in November. As of this writing, WWE itself has not confirmed the match; but the seeds have already been planted. Triple H and ‘Taker are slated to square off at WWE Super Show-Down in Australia next month, with Michaels and Kane in their respective corners. That match will undoubtedly lay the groundwork for the tag team match at Crown Jewel.

This is huge news. Michaels hasn’t wrestled since 2010 when The Undertaker retired him at WrestleMania XXVI – a point that ‘Taker hammered home in his surprise appearance on Raw earlier this month.

However, as beloved as the Heartbreak Kid is by fans, the reaction to his imminent in-ring return has been… lukewarm, to say the least:

I hate to say it – but I agree. HBK’s retirement had meaning, and I’d hoped that both he and WWE would respect that; but, as Alfred Konuwa tweeted above, everyone has a price – and Michaels will likely get a multi-million dollar payday for the match at Crown Jewel.

I’m more excited to see Kane back in the ring now that he’s been officially elected Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Of course, his appearances are coming at a price, too, but a much more altruistic one: WWE will donate $100,000 to the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation. That’s something I can respect.

Unfortunately, when it gets down to brass tacks money is king – and Saudi Arabia is giving WWE veritable boatloads. Yes, it sucks that Michaels’s retirement is now meaningless, and – as a female wrestling fan – it sucks even more that WWE is being persuaded by the almighty dollar to do more business with a country where women are considered second-class citizens. All that being said, I’m going to choose to look at the glass half-full,and hope that WWE will use their influence and millions and millions of earnings to affect change, even if in the smallest of ways.