Review: The Heartbreak Kid: Becoming Shawn Michaels

If you've seen one Shawn Michaels documentary, you've seen them all. There was the "Heartbreaks & Triumph" DVD, and then the "My Journey" DVD that came out after Michaels's retirement. 

The latest entry, "The Heartbreak Kid: Becoming Shawn Michaels" hits all of the usual beats of HBK's story, while ping-ponging between his past, and his present, where he coaches and produces the stars of "WWE NXT." Michael Hickenbottom discovers territory wrestling at his grandmother's house, trains, joins the AWA, and eventually ends up in WWE with Marty Jannetty. He throws Jannetty through the window of Brutus Beefcake's "Barber Shop" set and then goes on to singles stardom. He meets Kevin Nash. He forms The Kliq. Nash and Scott Hall leave. Michaels spirals into depression and drug abuse, until the physical toll of wrestling forces him into retirement, sports broadcasting, and the arms of The Lord. He rises from the ashes to become a veteran presence during the Ruthless Aggression Era, before retiring in 2010 after a pair of heralded matches with The Undertaker.

Chances are good that you already know the story, but the documentary does a serviceable job of bringing newbies up to speed, while providing just enough new footage -young and old- to make people who've "been there and done that" not check out.

According to this documentary, Shawn Michaels never returned to wrestling, and especially didn't wrestle a maligned tag match with Triple H in Saudi Arabia. I'm not sure I can blame WWE for wanting to trim that part of HBK's legacy, though I think the thorough humbling could've helped frame Michaels's later career as the head of WWE's NXT developmental show. The footage of him in the Performance Center is fascinating, but it feels like it never quite gels with the lessons of his past the way the editing would suggest.

This is not the best Shawn Michaels documentary that the company has produced. It is too awash in soulless, corporate doublespeak during the many talking head interviews, and it's got a lot more Pete Rosenberg than I expected. Still, when it gives HBK a chance to be vulnerable, or his kids a chance to needle him, it's incredibly sweet, and fans of "NXT" will have a fun time with all of the b-roll of the many faces of the brand's past and present.

"The Heartbreak Kid: Becoming Shawn Michaels" is now available to stream on Peacock.