Shawn Michaels admitted that he regrets re-entering the ring for what became a high-profile storyline, a return match that, he says, ended up regrettable.
Shawn Michaels reflected, in a 2021 interview with the New York Post, on the decision to step back into action in 2018 alongside Triple H as D‑Generation X against The Brothers of Destruction, The Undertaker and Kane, at Crown Jewel. Michaels said that if he’d known how it would turn out, that the match would disappoint so many people, given the legacy of everyone involved, he might have declined the offer.
Looking back, he admitted the return didn’t live up to expectations, calling the decision a mistake in hindsight, even though at the time it seemed like a big moment for fans and the company alike.
When Did Shawn Michaels Retire?
Shawn Michaels’ full-time WWE career came to an end at WrestleMania 26 in 2010, when he lost to The Undertaker in a Streak vs. Career match. That bout is widely regarded as his official retirement match, closing out a run that stretched back to the mid-1980s.
Although he made a brief in-ring return in 2018 for the Crown Jewel tag match alongside Triple H, Michaels has consistently maintained that his true retirement remains the 2010 WrestleMania match, with no plans for a full comeback.
