This is where the Screwjob comes into play

This isnt just another typical article about HBK; in this article I will be putting forward my argument as to why Shawn Michaels is the greatest face of any promotion in history.So, I thought there was no better place to start, than with a moment that in many ways summed up Shawns career, and defined a groundbreaking new era which Shawn lead forward.Professional wrestling was at somewhat of a crossroads, there was a new number one promotion in town, and they were drawing fans and wrestlers alike.World Championship Wrestling (WCW) had been around for a long time, but by 1997 they had established themselves as the top dog, and they were involved in a very hostile real-life war with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and WCW was comprehensively winning the ratings battle. Of course, this hadnt gone unnoticed by the wrestlers, and some inevitably wanted to jump ship to the dominant promotion. One of these wrestlers wanting to move to WCW was the WWF champion at the time, Bret Hart.This is where the Screwjob comes into play.Bret Hart had agreed to join WCW, and with WWFs financial problems, it was a deal that suited everyone. But there was just one problem; Hart was still WWF champion, and he had no intention of giving it up. Hart's final match with the WWF would be a title match against his rival, Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series in Montreal.Hart did not want to end his WWF career with a loss to Michaels in his home country; so WWF chairman Vince McMahon agreed to Hart's idea of letting him retain the championship and forfeiting the title at a later date.But, as you all should know, things didnt quite go down like that. Despite what Bret promised, McMahon was still worried that he Hart wouldnt give up the title and that he would take it to WCW TV.

But of course, McMahon couldnt do it alone, he needed someone to pull the trigger, and the only man who he could ask to do that, was Shawn Michaels himself.This put Shawn in a very difficult position; he had his boss asking himself to do something for the good of the company, but he knew that what he was being asked to do could have serious consequences for himself. Not many men would have the courage to do such a controversial thing just because it was the right thing, but then again, not many men are Shawn Michaels.Of course, Shawn did do the right thing, and he did leave Montreal as WWF champion. He still receives a lot of criticism from some people for the Montreal Screwjob, but many of the people who condemn HBK for what happened are big WWF/E fans who would have hated to see them suffer during the Monday Night Wars with WCW.The fact is, Shawn put his reputation and safety on the line just so the WWF would benefit, and they did. Once Bret Hart had left for WCW, Shawn Michaels finally took over as the face of the WWF, which was embarking on a new era; The Attitude Era.Ok, so it wasnt until after Wrestlemania XIV that the attitude era officially began, but the origin of this era was largely down to the events of the mid '90s, led by HBK. In contrast to the usual, more traditional, family-friendly content WWF fans were used to, the Attitude Era sought to attract young adult viewers by transforming the product into an edgier and more controversial form of entertainment; and no one did edgy and controversial better than the Showstopper.

We are D-Generation-X, you make the rules, and we will break them. They were D-Generation-X, they did break the rules, and they were the definition of attitude during the '90s. Now, the DX of the '90s was a far cry from the PG version of DX we see in the WWE today. There were no lame fart jokes or leprechauns, they didnt plug merchandise at every opportunity, and HBK wasnt Triple Hs lackey. No, in the '90s DX were hilariously funny, shockingly controversial, and they completely revolutionized the world of professional wrestling.The things they got up to were unheard of in pro wrestling at the time, and it shocked not only us wrestling fans, but the whole world.They did everything from baring Shawns bare-as on live TV, to distasteful, borderline racist comments; they even accused Bret Hart of being a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, sometimes they took things too far and crossed a line, but no-one could ever say that they failed to entertain, and their antics shaped the future of pro wrestling for the better.Ok, so maybe it was a slight exaggeration to say DX shocked the world, but the USA Network, along with a lot of non-wrestling fans, didnt see the funny side of their actions.At one point Vince McMahon and the WWF were threatened that they would be taken off the air if the antics continued. When most would have apologized and promised to cut-down on the inappropriate behavior, Shawn and Triple H did the exact opposite; they just gave them more of what they didnt want.It was a risky tactic.