Originally, Vince McMahon saw Shawn Michaels as an arrogant, pretty-boy heel. Throughout the early-to-mid 90s Vince’s brass pleaded with him to turn Shawn into a face; arguing he was someone they could build the company around. Vince, as was his custom, stubbornly refused. And he continued to position the Heartbreak Kid as a selfish, vain jerk (which, in fairness, wasn’t too far off from Shawn’s real-life personality at that time). Until… WrestleMania 11. At that show in Hartford, Shawn wrestled Diesel in what was unquestionably the match of the night. Diesel later accused Shawn of making the match all about himself and trying to blow him up, but it worked: despite the loss, Vince was so moved by the performance he decided to make Shawn the "face that runs the place." Cue Vince completely changing the script for Raw the next night (as was his custom). At that show in Poughkeepsie, New York, in the first true Raw After WrestleMania moment, we saw the beginning of a Shawn Michaels face turn: Sid Vicious, his bodyguard, turned on him by calling him a little puke and powerbombing him, suddenly creating sympathy for HBK. The only problem: the powerbomb happened during a commercial break, so fans only saw it via a replay. Welcome to mid-90s WWE. Why was it the first-ever Raw After WrestleMania moment? First off, it was only the third Raw After WrestleMania at that time, with the show premiering in 1993. But the previous two installments didn't set up major angles or foreshadow the year ahead, like the show does today (and what Sid's turn on HBK accomplished). With the attack, the seed was planted, and WWE slowly built Shawn Michaels to become the biggest face in the company in the months that followed. It all crescendoed a year later at WrestleMania 12, where “the boyhood dream came true” as HBK beat Bret Hart in their Iron Man Match main event to become WWE champion for the first time. Because of Shawn’s insufferable personality at that time and Bret’s insecurity about holding onto the top spot, that main event also created tension between the two that would intensify over the next 18 months. It ended with the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series ‘97, arguably the most controversial match in wrestling history. There you have it: the first Raw After WrestleMania moment, and the many ripple effects it had. It would hardly be the last Raw After WrestleMania moment to have that sort of long-lasting impact.   submitted by   /u/PaulPetroneWWE [link]   [comments]