BILOXI, MS – Just when it seemed as though the main event for January 9th’s New Year’s Revolution couldn’t possibly get any bigger, it did, as Eric Bischoff shocked the world by introducing Shawn Michaels into the fray on Monday night. He will serve as the special guest referee for the six-man Elimination Chamber Match.
Fans at Mississippi Coast Coliseum leaped out of their seats upon hearing HBK’s “Sexy Boy” theme song begin blaring from the speakers high above the ring. After competing in one of the most dramatic performances of his career (at Taboo Tuesday), Michaels was forced to undergo knee surgery to fix his torn meniscus, and has been out of action ever since. In fact, the last time fans saw the Heartbreak Kid, he was sporting a pair of crutches.
"Wow, it feels really good to be back here,” Michaels said upon returning to the backstage area after his trip to the ring. “It was nice being off, and I got to spend the holidays with my family, but as always, I’m anxious to come back, and jump in with both feet. I want to find out how everything’s working, and just get back to having fun – enjoying my life and my job. The problems [with my knee] that were there are gone, so now it’s just a matter of seeing how it holds up.
"You know I wrestled for fifteen years with one knee feeling better than the other, and now they both feel the same. I was actually just joking with somebody the other day, saying that with two bad knees and a bad back, just now, it’s going to be a fair fight – now everybody else has a chance.”
What’s ironic about Shawn’s participation in the upcoming Elimination Chamber Match, is that Shawn actually won the first-ever contest Chamber Match, when he captured the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series 2002. So picking Shawn for the role as guest referee wasn’t just a popular choice, it was also a wise decision, as he knows exactly what to expect inside the demonic structure.
While the thousands of Mississippians were overjoyed to hear Bischoff’s shocking announcement, certain other individuals were not. Considering he’s had issues with each of the Superstars in the match, none of them can be too happy about the news. HBK’s rivalry with Triple H is well documented, and over the last year, he’s competed against all of the five other contestants, except for Edge, whom cost Michaels his World Heavyweight Championship match at Taboo Tuesday. However as much as “the Showstopper” may like or dislike the six individuals involved in the match, he claims he will call it right down the middle.
"I don’t know, I guess I’ll be about as impartial as I can be,” Michaels revealed, before heading off down the hall. “I mean of course I have an opinion about things, but Bischoff picked me because he felt I could do a good job. So I’ll just be as impartial as I can be, and see how it goes.”