For many wrestling fans and journalists, the list of the very best wrestlers ever on the planet boils down to just one name - Shawn Michaels. He was already one of the most exciting superstars to watch when he was one of the Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty and his skills only rose from there.

Related: Shawn Michaels' Last 10 WWE Championship Matches, Ranked From Worst To Best

While some of the bumps Michaels took over his career were high-impact gasp-inducing bumps, he also had some more nuanced bumps throughout his career as well. They may not be as flashy as a hardcore wrestler’s are per se, but most of the time, HBK’s bumps are much more story-driven.

10 Vs. Undertaker (In Your House: Badd Blood)

Shawn - Badd Blood

Even if he wasn't a hardcore wrestler per say, that doesn’t mean Shawn Michaels didn’t take any hardcore bumps during his career. At the very first Hell In A Cell against The Undertaker, The Deadman beat Michaels all over the ring, and long-darted him into the cage. But all of the damage Michaels took paled in comparison to what happened when HBK was actually able to escape the cage. He climbed to the top of the cell to try and escape Taker. Instead, the Reaper followed him to the top and would stomp on Michaels’ hands to send him off the cage into the table below.

9 Vs. Undertaker (Royal Rumble 1998)

Shawn - RR98

In the Casket Match with The Undertaker at the 1998 Royal Rumble, to Shawn, it probably seemed like it was just going to be a simple backdrop. A backdrop with some extra oomph to it.

Related: 10 Things About Shawn Michaels' Career That Make No Sense

After an exchange between HBK and The Deadman that saw Taker actually catch Michaels off the top in midair throat first, a bump that changed a career happened. Michaels tried to rush The Undertaker, who countered with a massive backdrop right into the casket. But the way Michaels landed would ultimately cost the Heartbreak Kid four years of his career.

8 Vs. Chris Jericho (Jericho Highlight Reel)

Shawn - Highlight Reel

Chris Jericho grew up idolizing Shawn Michaels and like many fans most certainly remembered Shawn heaving his old friend Marty Jannetty through the Barber Shop window.

Years later, after Y2J proved his former idol was a liar and he was in fact an honest man, he delivered a taste of his own medicine. Jericho couldn’t handle the hypocrisy anymore and assaulted The Showstopper in a flurry of punches and a low blow. But that wasn’t enough for Jericho, he launched Michaels face-first into the obscenely large and obscenely expensive Jeritron 5000.

7 Vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X)

Shawn - WMX

In the first major Ladder matches, and certainly the first important one between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels laid out the blueprint for how a Ladder Match should be. To this very day, it’s the measuring stick for how all other Ladder matches are judged. The ending took precision from HBK. As he and Razor were battling it out on the ladder, Razor knocked Shawn off the Ladder, he landed crotch first across the rope and wound up getting his leg twisted in the ropes. The path was clear for Razor to grab the Intercontinental title.

6 Vs. Ric Flair (WrestleMania XXIV)

Shawn - WM24

Nearly every fan knew it was Ric Flair’s final time walkin’ that aisle. All HBK had to do was what he always did - steal the show at WrestleMania to help The Nature Boy close out his in-ring career. In the early goings of the match, Shawn Michaels immediately tried to end Flair’s career with a big-time Asai Moonsault onto Flair on the outside of the ring.

Naitch moved at the last second, leaving the table to unforgivingly catch The Heartbreak Kid’s fall right onto his ribs.

5 Vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania XII)

Shawn - WM12

After nearly an hour of back and forth action, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels came back with a flurry of offense trying to finally land a fall on The Hitman.

Related: Montreal: Every Story To Come Out Of The Screwjob

It might seem like trite little bump nowadays but combined with the near hour worth of buildup, Shawn Michaels trying to deliver a top rope drop kick and instead getting caught in the Sharpshooter stunned the crowd and nearly forced Michaels to submit right at the end of their 60-minute Iron Man Match.

4 Vs. Vader (SummerSlam 1996)

Shawn - SuSl 1996

At their first (and sadly only) encounter at SummerSlam 1996, Vader did all he could to wrestle the title away from Shawn Michaels. Their match actually ended several times, first by count-out and then by DQ, both times awarding the match for Vader.

His manager, Jim Cornette lobbied successfully to get the match restarted. When Vader won the match by count-out, he did so by hoisting the champion up as high as he could and dropping him throat first along the guard rail.

3 Vs. Triple H (SummerSlam 2002)

Shawn - SuSl 2002

HBK’s grand return came in the form of a Street Fight against his former friend, Triple H. After suffering what was first thought to be a career-ending back injury just meant that The Game was going to put Michaels through the ringer. During the brutal war, HHH tried to cripple Michaels with a sidewalk slam right into a steel folding chair.

2 Vs. Kurt Angle (Vengeance 2005)

Shawn - Vengeance 2005

Before it became a Seth Rollins signature move, Kurt Angle practically folded Shawn Michaels in half during their huge WrestleMania 21 rematch at Vengeance.

Related: Every Version Of Kurt Angle, Ranked From Worst To Best

But even before Angle delivered a big then-unheard-of Buckle-Bomb to HBK, he also hit Shawn with a German Suplex on the outside to an announce table that did not want to break.

1 Vs. Vince McMahon (WrestleMania 22)

Shawn - WM22

It was only a matter of time before the maniacal and malevolent Vince McMahon turned his attentions to Shawn Michaels, which set up their No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22. With a handcufffed Shane looking on, HBK decided a normal ladder wasn’t good enough to deliver a big elbow to Mr. McMahon with. Michaels grabbed an even bigger ladder, put The Chairman into a trash can and on a table before delivering a massive elbow into McMahon’s black heart and through the table.

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