Was HBK's Tweener Turn in Attitude Era justified?

[Trent Valentine]

To this day from a kayfabe standpoint..I don't see how he's suddenly the bad guy after what happened in Summerslam 1997.

As you saw in Summerslam, HBK was the Special Referee in the match with Bret Hart and The Undertaker for the WWF Championship. The stip was that if he showed any favoritisim to Taker, he'd never be allowed to wrestle in the United States again. And I say he did one hell of a job..up until Bret decided to try and nail Taker with a chair. Shawn wouldn't have none of it and stopped him from it. Bret spat right in his face which got Shawn mad enough to swing like mad at Bret with a chair...only he got Undertaker. He had no choice but to make the pin.

Then..he was suddenly known as the bad guy. When he came out to matches he was booed a lot. When before that he was cheered wildly. Just because he makes one mistake..he's suddenly a traitor.
I honestly didn't blame him for this new attitude. But was it justified?

[Nuke The Whales]

No, but hey, I guess it worked.

[Stupidstuff]

Yeah I never really understood that, I first started getting into wrestling around Wrestlemania 12 and I was a huge HBK fan(still am)... anyway I remember when he lost to Sid at Survior Series '96, and everyone was booing him and being 11 years old I couldn't understand why. I think during 96-97, before he started DX, that the majority of older males and "smart" fans hated him, and then you throw in him hitting Undertaker with a chair when the whole America vs. Canada thing was going on and you get a mixed reaction from the crowd.

[erik316wttn]

Wrestling fans are a strange bunch, sometimes.

[Matt Dunn]

Late 1997 was a clusterf*** in terms of heel/face alignment. Especially with DX vs Hart Foundation.

[noleafclover1980]

At first, it was kinda weird. Don't forget though, he sealed his fate afterwards when he nailed Undertaker w/ a chair on Raw. That was one of my favorite moments actually. Shawn nails the Undertaker, lays him out and stands over him with a look of "What the hell did I just do?" on his face, like he's got the little devil and angel arguing in his head... then 'Taker sits up and Shawn realizes he's at the point of no return and just blasts him with another shot and leaves him busted open. Say what you want about HBK, but the man knows how to make a heel turn.

[luiscurse]

Yeah I recall Shawn having a promo later on saying he didn't regret doing what he did to the deadman.

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

It was the style of the time in 1997. HBK's tweener turn has nothing on Bret's turn, he had been screwed multiple times and the fans were booing Bret.

Aug 11, 2010 20:59:38 GMT -5 Matt Dunn said:

Late 1997 was a clusterf*** in terms of heel/face alignment. Especially with DX vs Hart Foundation.

It may have been a clusterf***, but 1997 was the best year for wrestling. And I'll admit part of the reason it was so good is that in the World Wrestling Federation, a lot of the heels had a motive and reasoning for everything.

[Nikita]

Besides nailing 'Taker with the chair on Raw which actually completed the turn, it's good to remembet that he started to turn in to a complete dick weeks before Summerslam and turned it up after the events of 'Slam.

[Matt Dunn]

Aug 12, 2010 3:05:59 GMT -5 Jedi-El of Tomorrow said:

It was the style of the time in 1997. HBK's tweener turn has nothing on Bret's turn, he had been screwed multiple times and the fans were booing Bret.

Aug 11, 2010 20:59:38 GMT -5 Matt Dunn said:

Late 1997 was a clusterf*** in terms of heel/face alignment. Especially with DX vs Hart Foundation.

It may have been a clusterf***, but 1997 was the best year for wrestling. And I'll admit part of the reason it was so good is that in the World Wrestling Federation, a lot of the heels had a motive and reasoning for everything.

I never said it wasn't a good year.

[Big Daddy Bad Booking]

Aug 12, 2010 5:43:01 GMT -5 Nikita said:

Besides nailing 'Taker with the chair on Raw which actually completed the turn, it's good to remembet that he started to turn in to a complete dick weeks before Summerslam and turned it up after the events of 'Slam.

Again, it was the USA/Canada thing, so Michaels could act like a dick up to level 10 and it would be just part of that storyline.

I did notice him pointing to his crotch before his usual pose in the ring on that episode however. And at Summerslam. Foreshadowing perhaps?

[pepsimax]

I was watching this match earlier today. When Shawn was counting to 3, I remember JR like "I don't understand this! Why Shawn why? Why did Shawn count the 3" Always thought JR was a dumbass at that point.

[Big Daddy Bad Booking]

Aug 12, 2010 15:08:45 GMT -5 @pepsimax said:

I was watching this match earlier today. When Shawn was counting to 3, I remember JR like "I don't understand this! Why Shawn why? Why did Shawn count the 3" Always thought JR was a dumbass at that point.

Especially if Shawn didn't, he wouldn't have a job (kayfabe). Well, in America anywho.

[Trent Valentine]

Aug 12, 2010 2:22:10 GMT -5 noleafclover1980 said:

At first, it was kinda weird. Don't forget though, he sealed his fate afterwards when he nailed Undertaker w/ a chair on Raw. That was one of my favorite moments actually. Shawn nails the Undertaker, lays him out and stands over him with a look of "What the hell did I just do?" on his face, like he's got the little devil and angel arguing in his head... then 'Taker sits up and Shawn realizes he's at the point of no return and just blasts him with another shot and leaves him busted open. Say what you want about HBK, but the man knows how to make a heel turn.

I remember that...it was during a tag match I think. He nailed him with a chair and I swear..he started mouthing "oh shit...oh shit.." over and over again. When he rose up again, he realized he was screwed anyway and and did it again..this time opening him up. That pretty much sealed his turn.