The Story Of How Shawn Michaels Got His Lazy Eye, Explained

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Shawn Michaels Isn't The Only Wrestler To Suffer Physically Because Of Their Career

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How WWE Referenced Shawn Michaels' Lazy Eye

HBK's Lazy Eye Is Actually From 2004

Can Shawn Michaels Fix His Lazy Eye?

Many Wrestlers Have Suffered From Physical Alterations

The last few years of Shawn Michaels' career saw him having a noticeable difference to his eyes. Michaels had a "lazy eye" at some point suffered in the ring that was obvious to fans watching the product. His best friend Triple H made fun of Michaels' eye in a few promos as they often joked on each other during their time in D-Generation X together. The various comments and questions created speculation about what exactly caused it in WWE. Bret Hart was the one to directly ask Michaels during the filming of their documentary special. Michaels gave details about what exactly caused the lazy eye, and it was not the reason WWE tried to pass it off as in the past.

UPDATE: 2022/11/07 10:55 EST BY Andrew Kelly

Shawn Michaels Isn't The Only Wrestler To Suffer Physically Because Of Their Career

Shawn Michaels is a legend of the professional wrestling industry, with him carrying forth his wisdom to NXT, where is one of the leading heads involved with the developmental brand. Fans will have likely noticed that his appearance has changed over the years, with him no longer sporting luscious blonde locks, replacing that instead with a balding gray head, which showcases his age. This is just an example of how wrestlers are like any other person, and that they get older too, despite their ‘larger than life’ image. With Michaels, fans may have also potentially noticed that his lazy eye looks more obvious as time has gone on, with this likely to continue gradually throughout his life without surgery or other procedures. Michaels’ lazy eye came about due to the risks involved with the sport, with many wrestlers over the years suffering from an array of injuries and noticeable physical alterations also.

How WWE Referenced Shawn Michaels' Lazy Eye

The heated rivalry between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho was one of the best of Michaels’ iconic career. Both men were gifted technical wrestlers, but they chose to use emotion and violence over athleticism as the main source of storytelling in this feud. WWE utilized the lazy eye of Michaels as a small part of their battles. There was a slow build of matches dictated by sportsmanship with tension growing for the big moment.

Jericho officially turned heel by attacking Michaels and throwing his face into a television screen during The Highlight Reel talk show segment. The two would have many violent exchanges like that trying to physically harm the other beyond the barriers of a wrestling match. WWE claimed that Michaels suffered a serious eye injury and used the coincidence of his lazy eye as a small way to tie it together.

HBK's Lazy Eye Is Actually From 2004

Bret Hart being the one to get the real scoop from Shawn Michaels is a fun twist given their history. The two former enemies finally made peace when Bret returned to WWE in 2010 and it caused them to work together in multiple ways. WWE produced a documentary looking back at their work on-screen and it led to them just having conversations in depth for the first time as friends. Hart directly asking Michaels about his eye represented the curiosity of wrestling fans wanting a full explanation. Michaels revealed it had nothing to do with Chris Jericho or their battles at all. A match against Kane at Unforgiven 2004 led to him suffering a hit to the face that felt wrong and led to a muscle that attaches his eye moving a little out of place.

The incident was not anything major at the time, but it continued to grow a little worse throughout the years. It gradually reached the point of becoming more noticeable a few years later as a Triple H punchline. No fan would have even noticed anything wrong during that Michaels vs Kane match, but it ended up changing his appearance forever.

Can Shawn Michaels Fix His Lazy Eye?

The bigger question asked by Bret Hart to Shawn Michaels was if he could do anything to fix the lazy eye and get it back to normal. Michaels revealed that a procedure could correct it, but he didn’t feel the risks were worth it. The funny revelation that vanity was a huge part of his life in the '90s and meant nothing now showed just how much he changed while talking to Hart of all people.

Michaels even has fun with the lazy eye when referencing it in promos on television or in interviews. The comfort level of Michaels about is the real reason Triple H can joke about it. Michaels continued to have classic matches and created lifelong memories even with the lazy eye changing his appearance.

Many Wrestlers Have Suffered From Physical Alterations

Shawn Michaels’ lazy eye looks to be becoming more obvious, even if it doesn’t affect him too much from a day-to-day perspective, with it being more of a visual issue than a practical one. He isn’t the only one to have had his features altered in the business though, as there are many other veterans, legends, and more who have had issues too. Those who bladed too much during their careers can be seen to have a scarred forehead, with notable examples being the likes of Dusty Rhodes, D-Von Dudley, and Abdullah The Butcher. Mick Foley also doesn’t even have an ear anymore due to wrestling, and speaking of ears, Brock Lesnar, likely due to his other sporting avenues too, can be seen with cauliflower ear.

Even current wrestlers often showcase the wounds of war, with a scar on Cody Rhodes head still being visible after three years, when he cut his head open during an AEW World Championship match against Chris Jericho. The list of examples goes on and on, with Michaels’ lazy eye being one of many examples of how wrestling can have significant wear and tear over the body, with it being such a physically demanding career to pursue, with it sometimes even arguable as to whether it is worth it. Shawn Michaels managed to have a hugely successful career regardless of potentially career-ending injuries, and he isn't even a stranger to eye injuries, with him also picking up a torn eyelid back in the 90s, although this was due to his own doing rather than it being a wrestling injury, as he got involved in a bar fight.