Shawn Michaels vs. Sycho Sid

[7.0] "A match that was fine as Main Event, the selling of Shawn on point, Sid was great as a character of psychopath and a face with the kids specially, the moment of the match was Jose Lothario, and in general the match did it great as Main Event. 7/10 [****]"

[7.0] "A match that was fine as Main Event, the selling of Shawn on point, Sid was great as a character of psychopath and a face with the kids specially, the moment of the match was Jose Lothario, and in general the match did it great as Main Event. 7/10 [****]"

[8.0] "Four stars out of five. One of the best matches in Sid's career as well as an example of why Michaels was one of the best wrestlers ever. Sid was not known for great matches, but Michaels had the ability to carry inferior workers and that's what he did here. Michaels was really on his game in this match as he bumped all over the place to make Sid look strong. The crowd reactions were so interesting because normally Michaels would have been cheered heavily at the time, but New York was such a different crowd during this show. The bit with the camera was a unique finish as well as a way for Sid to beat him in a controversial way. It's a good ending because it set up the rematch well to make fans wonder what it will be like when they faced off again."

[9.0] "I didn't realize how over the unstable Sycho Sid character was until this match. The crowd had pretty much turned on HBK at this point and he rolls with it which is part of what made HBK a legend. You're not going to see any technical greatness here obviously. Just an authentic powerhouse obliterating HBK (whose selling is great). I'm not going to claim to have seen all of Sid's matches, but I can't imagine a better one."

[9.0] "After this match, Sid WAS the ruler of world. I've always loved this match. The crowd turned on Michaels mid-way, but the truth is that the fans always loved Sid no matter what. Royal Rumble 1992 and now this...this match saw the full destruction of Shawn Michaels, who lost his title, his fans, all while his mentor got assaulted by Sid. This match was surreal, even today."

[7.0] "This was pretty good. The crowd turning on Shawn halfway through and being fully behind Sid was really cool. God those Earl Hebner slow count finishes really pmtfo though."

[6.0] "Sid comes out fist bumping fans, its hard to figure out if the fans really like Sid as much as they hate HBK as the top clean cut babyface. Most are either indifferent or booing Micheals in his entrance, though theres a contingent of female fans cheering him on. Back and forth at the start, Sid showing his power, while Micheals speed is highlighted. Micheals chop blocks Sids leg and starts working on the leg. Most of the crowd is either booing or indifferent to Micheals, while a contingent of female fans are cheering Micheals. Sid cuts off Micheals and starts working on him, the crowd is mostly quiet in the middle of the match. Vince ackowledges the boos on commentary when they do happen. It seems the male boos get louder for HBK right after the female fans get louder for Micheals. At one point after Micheals attempts a comeback, hes chokeslammed by Sid which ellicts a huge pop. Micheals does his classic knip up and is immiedialty closedlined by Sid, nice touch. Sid hits Letherio with a WWF camera, Micheals hits the sweet chin music and doesnt cover Sid, which makes no logical sense really..why wouldnt you just make a quick three count and then pin Sid? aahhh anyway ultimately Sid hits Michaels with the camera when Referee Hebnber is knocked down. Sid hits the powerbomb to the delight of the majority of the MSG crowdwith one particular woman screaming nooooooo in the front row, perfectly symbolic of Micheals female fans reaction that night. This isnt a HBK classic by any means, but its perhaps one of the better matches Sid ever had. HBK is my personal favorite performer ever, but he was a failure as a clean cut babyface, he held the fort down great in the ring, but he's perhaps the most natural heel of all time and northeast crowds like New York saw right through it"

[5.0] "This was a fun match that was tainted by a poorly executed finishing stretch. The main thing that sticks out to me in the finish is the referee's very obviously dumb attempt at ignoring Sid hitting José Lothario (probably timing issue) with a camera. Regardless the hot crowd turning on Shawn and cheering feverishly for Sid is one of a handful of iconic moments showcasing the Ruler of the World's immense charisma and it is a joy to see."

[9.0] "One of my favorite matches as a kid that I still watch back every November as an adult. There is something fascinating about a crowd completely turning on the face at this time in wrestling. The drama of the match was heightened thanks to this and it was an underrated match. My favorite Survivor Series match and def Sid's best. The visual of Sid fist bumping Vlad and other fans after the win will live forever. RIP Sid"

[5.0] "Pretty surreal crowd for this match, Sid does very heel things and is obviously supposed to be the big bad heel, but the crowd just loves him and he loves them right back (aside from the people he swears off that are mean to him). Michaels and Sid have great chemistry together with Sid basically being this hulking giant with these huge over the top strikes and kicks that are believable thanks to Michaels over the top selling. I do think that this match probably should have been shorter and that the ending could have been executed better."

[10.0] "This is a perfect example of wrestling being subjective, because If I had watched this on any other day besides the day Sid passed, this would be an 7 or 8 out of 10, but watching Sid win the big one in remembrance of him, this match absolutely ruled. It also just felt like a HUGE big match feel, and Sid was treated like a huge star by the New York crowd. Honestly I loved this match. Rip Sid."

[7.0] "Is incredible how Shawn could wrestle a doll and make It over, however here it comes the deadlock, would you make Sid, an obviously worse wrestler in ring wise dominate the match, overexposing himself or make the match head to head between both wrestlers, turning the match unrealistic but great to watch? The choice that they've made was the second one. But taking the booking aside, the match is a little overbooked, with Sid attacking shawn's manager and making him lose because of that but is good, not an 8+ but a good match, the ending stretch is better than the rest of the match [3.5*]"

[6.0] "This match is an interesting one to comment on. While the action is quite good for the most part, I find the booking a bit baffling. How am I supposed to believe that Michaels can go head-to-head with Sycho Sid for the entirety of the match's runtime? It would have made more sense to have Sid dominate the start, treating Michaels as the underdog needing to overcome the odds, almost in a David vs. Goliath way. Instead, Michaels battles evenly with Sid right from the start, which is a bit difficult to believe. Sid using the camera to hit Jose doesn't make any sense, and Jose's fake heart attack seemed in poor taste, likely done because Michaels didn't want to lose clean. Additionally, the match included a ref bump and Sid hitting Michaels with the camera, as if someone as big and strong as Sid would need all that chaos and distractions to beat Michaels. It's a shame because, removing those baffling booking decisions, this is a fine Survivor Series main event. The in-ring action is pretty good before the ending, and it is a very interesting match, mostly for the atmosphere and crowd interaction, with most people cheering for the bad guy and booing Michaels. This seems to mark a turning point in how the product and its characters are perceived by the crowd, anticipating what the Attitude Era will bring in that regard."

[7.0] "I felt like this one was headed to a better finish but then it didnt. Crowd is hot and seemed like support was split down the middle for both wrestlers."

[8.0] "I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this match. Sid was over big with the crowd here and Michaels knew how to work with a great match him. It did look impressive when you'd see Michaels build up some momentum and then Sid just cuts him off and the crowd love it. He was still getting cheered even when he hit Jose Lothario with the camera! This was clearly meant to be a heel turn, but the fans cheered louder for him! Sid might not have been the best worker in the world, but he was imposing and had a lot of charisma and the fans gravitated to that. Shawn guides him through the match well and the big power moves seem to come just at the right times and his oversell when Sid gets the boot up was epic. This turned out to be really solid, and probably Sid's finest match as well as his greatest career moment."

[5.0] "The atmosphere saves this match, but it has classic Michaels written all over it, which almost ruins it. It could have been much better if Sid was portrayed as a monster since the first minutes, instead he goes for a technical contest and is dominated by Shawn from the start, which doesn't make any sense. It was visible with Vader, but not to this extent and it really drove me crazy. Apart from that though when Sid was just allowed to do what he does best, which is do power moves and work the crowd it came back on right tracks, but it should have happened way earlier in the bout."

[8.0] "Really enjoyed this match. Doesnt get the credit I feel it deserves had a big fight feel from the start and Shawn was able to carry sid to a damn good title match. Sid obviously played his part good but Shawn was obviously guiding him thru it. Slightly overbooked finish nonetheless a good match. 4/5"

[8.0] "I really enjoyed this match. Big fight feel from the jump. The fans loved Sid throughout this one. Sid is in control for about 70% of this match and most of Shawn's offense is targeting Sid's leg. Some might find the last portion of the match and the finish a bit overbooked, but I personally liked it. I loved the atmosphere for this match. Sid and Shawn worked really well together here."

[8.0] "Sid's finest hour, the fans absolutely love him and you know what, so do I. I love when the referee counts 3 on the pin, you hear a woman scream "nooooooo" as Michaels loses."

[7.0] "Man, Sid is OVER. To the point where the fans are booing Shawn. They tried everything to make the fans boo Sid, even by having him hit poor Jose Lothario with the camera towards the end, and even that didn't turn the fans. I think the right person won here. The fans were very clearly getting bored of Shawn's title run."

[7.0] "We had a big time feel to this with cameras following them backstage before entrance. The match was really enjoyable with a great crowd that is fairly split and slowly but surely gets behind Sid who is over like rover. I HATED all the fake heart attack stuff with Jose because HBK did not want to do a clean job. Look out for the female fan in the background who is heartbroken as the 3 is counted and everyone else is cheering, it is a great visual."

[9.0] "I hate how I have to become a journalist just because other people didn't rate the match high enough and I have to explain myself. It's a drag.The match was very good. Both men worked well together. It was a great fight and both men sold well and made each other look great. Neither worked sloppily and botched too many times at all. Aesthetically, Both looked good physically as far as attire and physique. Any match taking place at MSG is going to have great look and great framing to the match so the match has that going for it. The crowd was also very hot for the match and the match had a big fight feel. It felt like a main event worthy world title match and so I was invested in the match. All in all it was good and and easy watch and therefore I would watch it again enthusiastically and so I give it a 9."

[6.0] "Sid's biggest match of his career and biggest accomplishment. Possibly his best ever too. Michaels goes at Sid and gets punched down. Shawn decides to use wrestling and interesting that he goes for the figure four then gets booed. Sid fights out of it, too early for a submission. Sid takes over and knocks Shawn outside. Shawn skins the cat and Sid catches him with a clothesline sending him to the floor and the crowd loves it! Sid goes after him and pushes him back first into the ring apron then a press slam across the guardrail. Sid punches Shawn until he's actually holding Shawn up. Sid brings out a cobra clutch which is interesting. Shawn gets the ropes after a few moments. Sid hits a choke slam then goes for a powerbomb but gets small packaged for 2. Sid knocks the cameraman down and grabs the camera and Jose gets up on the apron and Sid clobbers him in the chest with it. Oh man, not another "heart attack" angle. Shawn super kicks Sid then goes out to tend to Jose. Shawn goes back in and cross bodies the ref by accident then goes back outside to Lothario. Sid goes out after him with the camera and cracks Shawn across the back. Jose has been laying out there for 2 minutes now with a potential coronary attack and NO EMT's are showing up. Sid rolls Shawn in and hits the power bomb and pins Shawn for his first world title. Sid's supposed to be the heel now I guess, but he still kinda gets cheered."

[7.0] "The crowd is clearly on the side of the Sid over Shawn here as they overwhelmingly cheer what he does over Shawn. Shawn doesn't control most of this at all but when he did he focused on Sid's leg, which Sid sold fine but ignored later in the match. Shawn would bump all over the place for Sid to make him look, but despite dominating this Shawn wouldn't quit. The ending of this was not good it was overbooking for the sake of overbooking. The crowd was excited to see Sid win the title.***1/2"

[6.0] "The first three quarters of this match were awesome, undoubtedly the best Sid had ever wrestled. I'm still not sure why the crowd loved Sid so much though. Unfortunately the last portion of the match was a tasteless overbooked mess, as Sid attacked an old man, Shawn's trainer Jose Lothario, and took advantage of Shawn's concern for him to repeatedly attack him from behind. He then hit one of the worst powerbombs I've ever seen to win the title. Not the best end to Shawn's reign, although he did everything he could to make this look good."

[7.0] "God DAMN Sid is so over. I found this to be a very solid match! It wasn't going to beat Bret/Austin, but this is one solid match, and one of Sid's best."

[4.0] "A pretty alright. Very weird because of how mixed the audience was. Sid had a dominating performance and looked like an unstoppable monster, Michaels did his comeback sequences. However Shawn gets distracted when his manager gets injured and this results in him being overwhelmed and defeated. Alright, but nothing special at all and kind of a letdown for a main event. **"

[5.0] "Convoluted, overbooked and tasteless. The way they decided to do the final stretch of this match did no one any good, can't fathom why they thought that was a good idea for the main event."

[7.0] "The crowd mostly turning on HBK in favor of Sid is what makes this match so interesting. After nearly a year of Vince force-feeding HBK as this smiling, crowd-loving babyface, MSG wasn't having any more of it. And what a perfect night for them to turn on him too, with Sid going over as the new champion. Perhaps not the greatest match ever wrestling wise but extremely interesting in terms of storyline and crowd dynamic."

[3.0] "Well, HBK made Sid look as good as humanely possible, but I suppose you can only polish a turd so much. Shawn bumped like a mad man and tried to make him look like a beast, but Sid just looks so lost most of the time. Every attack looks awkward and many look light as a feather, you can actually see Shawn having to talk him through certain spots, and then all that stupid stuff with Jose Lothario’s “heart attack”, which was very silly. It’s a testament to how tired fans were of white meat HBK that they decided to cheer Sid instead."

[7.0] "It's probably the best match of Sid carreer and not because of him. Shawn Micheals selled moves like a magician, giving a lot of cheers from the crowd for his rival. Everything seemed solid from Sid, but I believe it's HBK who did every trick in the book. A long main event that worked out well. ***1/2"

[6.0] "Not a great match but the talent of Shawn Michaels and the charisma of Sid, which got him over with the Madison Square Garden audience, make for a entertaining watch."