He may have meant well, but Wade Keller's proposal that it is time for Shawn Michaels to get a "makeover" on TV has got to be the most ridiculous, horrible idea I've heard since last year when WWE began considering hiring Goldberg.
Wade's theory is that Shawn is no longer his young, flamboyant self, but is now a "38 year old with thinning hair and Jesus t-shirts" and as such, needs a new look, new theme music, a new persona, new everything. Basically the only thing that Wade got correct in his entire article (which you can click here to read) was the part about Shawn being 38 years old with thinning hair and Jesus t-shirts.
First of all, change Shawn Michaels' theme music? Are you kidding me? Shawn has had been using this theme music for about a DECADE now. It is what he is known for. The Shawn Michaels' theme, when it hits the arena speakers, is one of the very few themes which has the instant effect of bringing the crowd to their feet and getting them pumped up. When this music hits, you as a fan know you are about to be entertained. Wade claims that Shawn needs a more "contemporary intro song that fits his 38 year old veteran personality". Theme music changes might be good to reinvigorate the personas of current, younger stars, but when you reach the level of a Shawn Michaels- if it ain't broke, don't "fix" it. Changing Shawn's theme music would be the equivalent in stupidity of changing Ric Flair's. Why would anybody do that? No other song could possibly encompass the energy for Shawn that his current, personalized theme does. Leave it alone.
Wade's second issue is that HBK needs a "mission statement". He complains that Shawn doesn't have drawing power because the assumption that most of today's fans know who he is is false. My counter to that would be to point, again, to Ric Flair. Ric doesn't have a "mission statement"- he's just there to make the show entertaining (and does a damn good job of it, too). And, clearly today's fans know who Ric is, or his DVD wouldn't have become the highest grossing WWE DVD to date. If today's fans know and love Flair on this level, what makes Wade think that most of them aren't familiar with Shawn? You only have to listen to his pops when he comes out to know that, obviously, the man is more well-known than Keller seems to think. Maybe it would "enhance" Shawn's on-air roles to give him a "purpose"- or maybe not. Personally I don't think it's necessary. Shawn is doing great right now and is easily one of the highlights of Raw and one of the most popular superstars on the Raw roster.
Continues Wade, "...if he seems like an old guy stopping by for a cup of coffee whose best days are behind him, he's not going to be the draw he can be." It seems to me that Keller wrote this column about, um, SIX MONTHS AGO or so and just left it lying around in case he needed to put up an article but had no ideas at hand. When in the past few months has Shawn ever come across on Raw like his "best days are behind him"? He consistently puts on among the best matches of anybody on the roster, his PPV matches have been the highest-praised. True, he's not the Shawn Michaels of 1996... BUT NOT BY MUCH.
Looks like another missfire by the Torch (what else is new) from where I sit. Giving Shawn Michaels a "make-over" would be like giving Ric Flair one- it's not needed and it would only take away from the popularity that he currently has. Shawn, like Ric, has been nothing but GOLD since his comeback, and the live crowds' responses to him tell me that most fans think so as well. Like I've already said above... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
And HBK is far from broke.
