In 2005, WWE booked a battle of two legends from different eras. Much like years before, when Hulk Hogan battled The Rock, this time, the legendary Hogan returned and started a feud with The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. However, what resulted was a thing of legend that people still talk about to this day, one of the most controversial moments in wrestling history.
Through the years, Michaels talked about the moment, and Hogan mentioned it here and there, but to a lesser extent. It was a battle between two of the most selfish wrestlers in WWE history, although, at the time, Hogan was ending his career, and Michaels had seemingly turned a corner in his life. However, this feud brought out the worst in both men.
10 A MATCH BETWEEN TWO LEGENDS
The plan started in 2005 when Hulk Hogan was back in WWE, and Shawn Michaels was putting on some of the best matches in his career. HBK was on fire. By the time he retired, he had turned in five-star matches with everyone from Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle to The Undertaker twice. However, when it came to Michaels taking on an older, soon-to-retire Hulk Hogan, this match between two legends never lived up to fan's expectations.
9 HBK WANTED IT TO BE FACE VS. FACE
Shawn Michaels said he wanted this to be a babyface vs. babyface match. The idea was that Michaels was a face, working the best matches of his career, and he wanted to know if he could beat the legend that ruled WWE before him in Hulk Hogan. The idea was for Michaels to go out and try to slay the legendary giant of the industry, and eventually fall short, but earn Hogan's respect. That is not what happened because Michaels said Hogan wanted the feud to see HBK turn heel.
8 THEY STARTED WORKING AS A TEAM
The angle started when Hulk Hogan came back and started to team up with Shawn Michaels in a tag team. The two fought the team of Muhammad Hussain and Shawn Daivari at Backlash 2005. Later there was a six-man match where the two men teamed with John Cena to battle Christian, Chris Jericho, and Tyson Tomko. It was fun to see, but it was all leading to the HBK heel turn.
7 SHAWN MICHAELS TURNS ON HULK HOGAN
Shawn Michaels turned heel on Hulk Hogan. This was nothing new, but it was not something Michaels wanted to do. HBK wanted this to be a battle of respect, but he said Hulk Hogan thought they could make more money if it were a babyface vs. heel match, and Vince McMahon talked Michaels into it.
It was Monday Night Raw, and Michaels and Hogan were teaming up against Carlito and Kurt Angle. Hogan got the hot tag and pinned Carlito after the leg drop. As the two celebrated, Michaels hit Hogan with the Superkick out of nowhere.
6 MICHAELS MOCKS HOGAN'S AGE
Shawn Michaels is no stranger to heel turns. Remember, this is the guy who superkicked his long-time friend and tag team partner Marty Jannetty through a window. This is the guy who attacked John Cena to force a match. Michaels also got to play a villain again, which he is perfect at. One example that seemingly came straight out of the Attitude Era came when Michaels went on a fake Larry King show, pretending to be Hogan, talking about how old he was.
5 THE MONTREAL PROMO
However, the all-time best moment in the feud came on an episode of Monday Night Raw in Montreal. The Canadian fans still hated Shawn Michaels, and he cut the best promo of his entire career, as he mocked Bret Hart and then stood in shock as Hart's music stared and the fans went wild. That is when Michaels admitted he did it on purpose and that Hart would never be back in WWE. Hogan's music started, and Michaels was laughing on the mat because he did it again. This was vintage heel HBK and was one of the best moments in WWE history.
4 THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A TRILOGY
The big reason that Shawn Michaels was so angry about the entire situation was that Hulk Hogan was making all his demands about the feud. Hogan shot down the face vs. face dynamic that Michaels wanted. Finally, depending on who you listen to, Hogan also shot down the fact that Michaels wanted a trilogy.
Michaels said he wanted Hogan to win, then Michaels would win, then they would have a cage match, which Hogan would end up winning. Hogan said in later interviews he was all for that, but Michaels sabotaged it due to his actions. Whatever happened, the trilogy turned into one single match.
3 THE SUMMERSLAM MATCH
The match took place at SummerSlam 2005. The idea was that either Hogan would win here, which would lead to a rematch the next night on Monday Night Raw, where Michaels would win to even things up. However, things went bad the night of SummerSlam. Michaels claims Hogan had already nixed the idea of the trilogy, and McMahon had to convince HBK to lose. Hogan denies this, but what happened next will live in infamy.
2 MICHAELS OVERSOLD EVERYTHING
Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels started the match, and Michaels was in heel mode, trying to avoid Hogan and not wanting to get into the ring. It was going a little overboard, but the best was yet to come. When Hogan finally got his hands on Michaels, HBK bumped and flopped around like he was getting shot out of a cannon. Hogan would hit him, and HBK would fly across the ring, flip over the ropes, or bounce around like a madman. The match ended early, but not before Michaels made Hogan look like an idiot.
1 SHAWN MICHAELS SAYS HE REGRETS IT
The next night on Monday Night Raw, Hogan claims that he was ready for the second match of the trilogy. However, it seems no one told Michaels, who came out and said it was time to return to regular television and started a feud with Chris Masters. In the years since the match, Michaels admitted he was in the wrong with how he acted at SummerSlam. Hogan and Michaels have even shared a ring since that time, but it was clear that in 2005, there was no love lost between Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels.