[1998-01-05-WWF-Raw] Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[soup23]

Michaels comes out for his typical gloaty promo but I will say at least he is staying on task and addressing Taker directly. The DX casket gets rolled down and Shawn assumes that it is HHH and Chyna playing the same prank on him that he pulled last week. A wheelchair laden HHH and Chyna come out on the stage and Taker emerges from the casket to bring Shawn down into it as the show closes. Good to see HBK get his comeuppance for once.

[Kevin Ridge]

Michaels is not too scared about having to face Undertaker in a Casket Match. Well, Taker does not have exactly a perfect record in that type of match. Shawn still has his female fans in audience.

[Loss]

Shawn is cutting quite the heel promo - more focused than a lot of his stuff usually is. I don't think he's as viscerally hated as he was before Bret departed, but he still has lots of heat. The casket is wheeled out, but Shawn has done lots of pranks in weeks past, so he seems amused by this. But this time, Undertaker pops up and pulls Shawn into the casket. And yeah, agreed that it's nice to see Shawn actually get some comeuppance like a real heel.

[PeteF3]

We're in the era of the Main Event Interview now. Shawn is so much more bearable without HHH and Chyna, as much as Chyna amuses me. He does a good job of setting himself up here for a fall, for once.

[TravJ1979]

This otherwise fun angle is ruined for me by Shawn's reaction as he is being pulled into the casket. He continues to hold the mic like he's doing an interview, without struggle and has the insincere "oh, no. not the Undertaker!" expression and vocals as he's pulled in.

 

Rating: At least he's gone in a couple of months.

[Exposer]

Good segment. Shawn cuts his typical heel promo talking about himself & tells Taker to get his "dead ass" out there for a confrontation. The druids come out & place the DX casket at ringside again & Shawn thinks it's HHH & Chyna playing another prank. In a great moment, they show up at the entrance & try to get him away from the casket. He realizes this & Taker pops out of the casket & drags him into with him. The screen goes to black & JR tells us we're in the casket. Strong build to the Rumble. Shawn showing ass is always better than him doing crotch chops & lousy beat downs in his underwear.