Shawn Michaels recently opened up about his infamous outfit at Survivor Series 2002, a look many consider to be one of his worst ever.
During a recent appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony, Michaels opened up about the look, which he jokingly acknowledged as bad but was thankful no one told him so, to keep his confidence up.
“The side story that always sort of takes the spotlight is the gear,” Michaels said. “Hunter didn’t say anything, he’s like, looking out of the corner of his eye like ‘Oh my god, what’s he wearing?’ All the people in my life that knew me knew not to say anything.
“They knew if they were to make fun of me or say anything, I just wouldn’t have gone out there…and going to my wife and I was like ‘Does this look okay?’ and she was like ‘You look beautiful,” and I was like ‘Alright.'”
Survivor Series 2002 was an important milestone for Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels wore those ugly brown tights at Survivor Series 2002 in an Elimination Chamber match. Michaels competed in an “unsanctioned” match at SummerSlam 2002. However, Survivor Series marked his first “official” match in WWE in more than four years because of a back injury.
Michaels previously explained the reason for the unfinished tights in his first book, Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story. HBK said his gear was not finished in time because he wasn’t sure how long his WWE return would last. He went on to compete for eight more years, retiring after losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI.
The match itself, despite the reaction to the unfinished tights, is a highlight of Michaels’ career. It saw Michaels win his last WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The Elimination Chamber match also featured the then-champion Triple H, Chris Jericho, Kane, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam.
Despite the actual look being unpopular, Shawn Michaels’ tights were eventually immortalized in action figure form.
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