WWE: The Showstopper Returns!

Last night, I caught the final 10 minutes of Monday Night Raw, and was completely surprised to see how the show ended. Mr. McMahon stood in the middle of the ring and introduced new W.W.E. World Champ, Randy Orton. McMahon had been promising all night that every wrestler on the Raw roster would shake Orton's hand and congratulate him on his title victory. So each member of Raw stood on the stage waiting to be called up the ramp and into the ring to "congratulate" the new champ.

Orton took the microphone and said that he could see the jealousy in the eyes of all the wrestlers. Meanwhile, McMahon realized that one wrestler was missing from all that had gathered on the stage. Triple H was not out, having been "injured" earlier in the night in a handicap match against Orton and Umaga. Upon realizing Hunter Hearst Helmsley was nowhere to be found, McMahon screamed into the mic that if Triple H didn't come out immediately that he would send Orton backstage to drag him out to the ring.

After a few moments passed without the appearance of Triple H, Orton began walking down the ramp toward the locker room area when all of a sudden, familiar theme music began playing. Out of the shadows came "The Showstopper," "The Heartbreak Kid (HBK)," a true legend: Shawn Michaels! To say the crowd went crazy is an understatement! Orton retreated back to the ring with Michaels giving chase and spearing Orton in the middle of the ring.

Randy Orton, who is known as the "legend killer" had allegedly put Michaels out of action due to a concussion some months back. Really, Shawn Michaels took time off to rest and have some work done on his knee. Getting back to what happened, Michaels set Orton up for "sweet chin music," which is a kick to the guy's chin. Michaels did just that and knocked Orton out. McMahon sat at ringside in stunned disbelief with Orton lying in the center of the ring out cold.

Shawn Michaels is one of the best wrestlers ever, in my book. He's a high-flyer with great mat skills and he's also one of the best talkers in the business. He's held every title in the W.W.E. and incredibly never jumped to the competition. He came up with the old American Wrestling Association as part of a tag team known as the Midnight Rockers. He and his partner, Marty Jannetty, jumped to McMahon's organization around 1988 when tag team wrestling was hot. The two became known simply as The Rockers were one of the top teams for a few years before splitting up. Jannetty never becoming a great singles wrestler, while of course, Michaels went on to great fame.

It had been rumored recently that Michaels was going to retire. Well, apparently those rumors are false. Michaels makes his opponent look better than he really is in the ring and I expect he'll have some classic bouts with Orton. Some of the most memorable contests inside the squared circle that I have ever seen involved Shawn Michaels. Such as his matches against Bret Hart, John Cena, Davey Boy Smith, Ric Flair, Owen Hart, The Rock, Steve Austin, and even Hulk Hogan. With Chris Jericho's return rumored to be a few weeks from now at Cyber Sunday, the W.W.E. could be on the upswing with some heavy hitters vying for the W.W.E. Championship.

Speaking of Cyber Sunday, one of the main events is all set. It will be W.W.E. Champ Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels or Mr. Kennedy or Jeff Hardy. Fans get to vote at wwe.com. Although Kennedy and Hardy against the champ make for some interesting bouts, I have no doubt that the "Showstopper" will be main eventing against the third generation superstar, Randy Orton.

THREE COUNTS
- Another cryptic video aired last night and according to some is more confusing than ever. To me, there's no doubt it is meant to hype the return of Chris Jericho. There's no chance they would waste this much time promoting the "new" Hart Foundation or anyone else.

- So I got to see a recent classic on W.W.E. 24/7 involving Bret Hart. It took place at Madison Square Garden in late July of 1997. Hart who was adored in Canada at this time, while simultaneously despised here in the U.S. was addressing the M.S.G. crowd during an episode of Monday Night Raw. He stood in the middle of the ring and said thank God he was able to have a sit down discussion with Mark Messier in helping him to decide which team to sign with. Messier had just recently inked a deal with the Vancouver Canucks. You could imagine the crowd's response when Hart said this. That, my friends, is great stuff!

Keep it in the Ring!