WWE's Shawn Michaels & The Rock's Real Life Animosity, Explained

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The Heat Between The Rock & Shawn Michaels Was Referenced On NBC's "Young Rock" Show

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Shawn Michaels Didn't Treat The Rock Well In His Rise To The Top Of WWE

The Rock Turned Down A Match With Shawn Michaels

*"Young Rock" Indicates That The Bad Blood Has Not Cooled Between The Rock And Shawn Michaels

When you think of generational dream matches in WWE, there are a few prominent ones that spring to mind. Cena versus Hogan. Jake Roberts versus Randy Orton. Rowdy Piper versus CM Punk. The majority of these matches never had a prayer of materializing in the first place as the superstars were decades apart, but one dream match in particular rarely gets mentioned, despite the fact that at one point in time, it was a very real possibility and had it happened, we'd be talking about it to this day. The Rock, The Great one, versus Shawn Michaels, Mr. WrestleMania. But why exactly do these two WWE legends not get along?

UPDATE: 2023/02/23 09:00 EST BY ANDREW KELLY

The Heat Between The Rock & Shawn Michaels Was Referenced On NBC's "Young Rock" Show

The professional wrestling industry is one which houses plenty of huge personalities, and this can lead to very real heat behind the scenes between those who hold the most influence. For years, Bret Hart and Vince McMahon were sworn enemies of one another, Triple H and CM Punk held a lot of contempt for each other, and even those without proper feuds have had backstage fights due to emotions boiling over. Even though The Rock and Shawn Michaels are two of the biggest stars of all time, they were two men who just couldn’t stand each other, and that hatred may very well still exist to this day.

Shawn Michaels Didn't Treat The Rock Well In His Rise To The Top Of WWE

You take the greatest entertainer of all them in Rock and put him up against the greatest in-ring performer and you get a match made in heaven. Everything about this dream-match screams perfection as the Rock can carry a feud on the microphone like no one else and Michaels is on another level when it comes to in-ring prowess.

The Rock rose to prominence after the retirement of Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14 and by the time HBK returned to the squared circle, Rocky was a part-time wrestler as most of his focus was on Hollywood. That being said, from mid-2002 to 2004, a match between these two was definitely feasible. Imagine them squaring off at WrestleMania 20. That was certainly doable as both Michaels and Rock competed on the card and yet, we never got the match.

Vince McMahon himself was probably salivating as much as the fans at the prospect of these two GOATs going at it on the mic and inside the ring but turns out, the match never materialized as there was quite a bit of bad blood between the two. The Rock had a run-in with Michaels when he was a teenager and not even an active member of the WWE roster. According to reports, Michaels disrespected the maternal grandmother of Dwayne Johnson during a show in Hawaii. The Rock was incensed and the comments nearly led to a clash. Years later, Rock made his debut in the WWE, and unfortunately, Michaels held quite a lot of influence backstage.

According to Bret Hart in his autobiography, both Michaels and Triple H held intense dislike towards The Rock. Despite being bogged down by an abysmal gimmick, Rocky Maivia was talented and Michaels felt that he would take the place intended for his best friend, Triple H. Michaels urged Vince McMahon to get the Intercontinental title off of a young Rocky and hilariously, he wanted Bret Hart to beat Rock for the title. Hart refused to win the match and insisted on a DQ finish, thwarting the plans of HBK. The rest is history as by 1999, the Rock was such a massive star in the industry that neither Michaels nor Triple H had any hope of stalling his domination of the industry. Despite this, Michaels tried once again and suggested that McMahon replace Rock with Triple for WrestleMania 15, but McMahon said no.

During an in-ring segment in 2000, Michaels did get a little bit of petty vengeance on the Rock when he caught the megastar on the jaw with sweet chin music, a little harder than usual. The Rock took issue with the stiff kick backstage after the show and Michaels told him to quit the industry if he could not handle the pain. This time, The Rock got his hands on Michaels and pinned him to the ground but the nearby folks interfered and broke up the melee.

The Rock Turned Down A Match With Shawn Michaels

More recently, AEW superstar Chris Jericho spoke on the matter when it was brought up to him. Jericho recalled the tense interaction between Rock and Michaels during the show in Hawaii and mentioned that the company actually had plans to go through with the Rock and HBK storyline. This was when Michaels returned to the company after his temporary retirement, but the Rock turned down the storyline as he wanted nothing to do with Michaels. The bad blood was still present, and the Rock was a big enough star to say no and he did.

In recent times, Rock and HBK are on friendly terms, and the same goes for Triple H and the Great One but back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Rock and HBK did not get along well. Unfortunately, this backstage animosity led to us missing out on perhaps the most entertaining dream match of all time but then again, considering what had happened between the two, it is understandable that Rocky did not want to be in the spotlight with Shawn Michaels.

*"Young Rock" Indicates That The Bad Blood Has Not Cooled Between The Rock And Shawn Michaels

When it comes to real-life wrestling rivalries, time has been known to heal wounds. Bret Hart has made amends with Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels, for example, and that came after one of the biggest controversies in wrestling history. For The Rock and Shawn Michaels, this may not be the case. The “Young Rock” TV show has been quite a popular project, and it has seen many wrestlers from the past featured, including the likes of Steve Austin, The Nation of Domination, Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, and countless others.

Someone who hasn’t been portrayed is Shawn Michaels, even though he was in and around the several eras covered in the show. Instead, a completely new character has been created to fill the shoes of The Heartbreak Kid. “Chad Frost” is an original character in the show who makes life difficult for The Rock backstage, and talks badly about him to officials. His various outfits are all but clear proof that this is supposed to be Shawn Michaels. It is unclear whether or not it is a case of not wanting to defame Michaels, or simply due to the fact that the hatred between the pair runs so deep that The Rock doesn’t want him anywhere near his show.