Smark Out Moment

Welcome to the first edition of SUPERSTAR SCORES for Smark Out Moment. This is a new segment in the sense that we've never done one of these before, even though it's been sitting on the backburner for years.

This is how Superstar Scores works. Each edition, a wrestler will be put under the spotlight and rated on a 0-100 scale based on 10 categories that have been broken up into 5 umbrella sections: In the Ring Skills, On the Mic Skills, Appearance, Backstage, and Crowd Reaction.

The rating scale is as basic as you can get: 0-1-2-3-4 | 5 | 6-7-8-9-10. It follows the Three-Count Critique method of green being the good, yellow being in the middle, and red being the bad. A perfect 100 is the goal.

What better person to start off with than my favorite wrestler of all time and in my opinion the greatest professional wrestler in history...


Update: On March 20, 2020, we did a recalibration of points for a 25th episode special. In that episode, nearly every wrestler saw some adjustments. Below, you'll see the original scores on the left and then the updated score on the right, with the original description for the original score underneath. For explanation on the updated points, check out the 25th edition podcast.

IN THE RING SKILLS

Athleticism: Does the person have a good signature moveset and finisher? Can they perform a wide variety of moves on a regular basis and not botch them?

My Rating = 10
Sweet Chin Music is an amazing finisher that looks like it could hurt and can come out of nowhere but also build up to it for the fans. Shawn's iron man match shows his stamina. He's always been able to pull off random moves that he throws in the middle of matches to break up the repetition.

Psychology: The wrestler's ability to tell a story in the ring. Do they make you believe it's real or do they forget to sell their injuries properly? Can they make a long match stay interesting and not get boring?

My Rating = 10
Look at the WrestleMania XXIV match with Ric Flair, or the WrestleMania XXV match with the Undertaker. Enough said.

ON THE MIC SKILLS

Charisma: If they get a mic, can they cut a promo without stuttering? Are they repetitive or do they keep things fresh?

My Rating = 8 / 9
Shawn was never the craziest on the mic and he would make the occasional mistake, but he'd bounce back from them and he never looked bad. He could cut one hell of a promo, both serious and silly, and although he is eclipsed by some others that would be rated 9 and 10 (like Piper, the Rock, Chris Jericho, CM Punk) he could hold his own against anybody.

Character: Is their gimmick(s) interesting? Can they pull off being both a heel and a face?

My Rating = 8
The reason I don't give Shawn a 9 or 10 on this is because for the last stretch of his career, he dwindled. After he toned things down, he became less edgy, which hurts him. He was always a great heel and a great babyface and when he had no inhibitions, he was amazing, but once he settled down, he just wasn't as interesting in comparison...though not bad by any stretch of the imagination.

APPEARANCE

Physique: Are they in the proper shape for their gimmick or are they out of shape? (note: someone like Mabel isn't supposed to look like John Morrison, but Matt Hardy gaining weight deducts his points).

My Rating = 8
Not the most muscular, but that wasn't his game. Not the tallest, but that didn't matter. Shawn looked like a physically fit (necessity), attractive (which means his gimmick worked), and agile superstar.

Entrance: Their music, the pyro if they have any, whatever taunts or actions they do to make it interesting.

My Rating = 9
His DX music as well as his solo music are both instantly recognizable, catchy, and awesome. His pyro for DX as well as his pyro for his solo entrance is good. The DX chops, the leg stretch with the arms up, the praying pose, it all works very well. Back in the day, even the stupid dancing worked with his gimmick and made the girls go crazy when he would strip off the ends of his ring attire.

BEHAVIOR

Backstage: Are they a locker room leader or do they cause problems behind the scenes? Are they bogged down in politics? Do they put other people over or screw people over?

My Rating = 5 / 6
This is the one thing that hurt's Shawn's overall score. Despite earning the respect of being called one of the best (if not the best) of all time in the ring, Shawn's made tons of enemies from how he acted over the course of his career. His participation in the Montreal Screwjob, the Kliq controversies, and such hurt him. However, he builds some of that back up because of how he put people over as well, unlike some othhher people tend to do.

Public Relations: Is this wrestler a public relations problem with arrests and such, or are they someone that promotes the company well, does charities, talk shows, etc?

My Rating = 7
If a perfect 10 is John Cena, Shawn has a way to go, but he's not without his points. The guy did Playgirl for God's sake, he deserves credit for that, haha.

CROWD REACTION

Popularity: How loud are the cheers and boos for them? Do they sell merchandise? Are ratings up or down when they're on screen? How many Twitter and Facebook followers do they have?

My Rating = 9
Shawn is one of the most popular wrestlers of all time. His music doesn't go off without a big pop. He doesn't get a perfect 10 because that's reserved for the likes of Austin, Hogan, and others, but there aren't many people that could out-pop HBK.

Credibility: Is this person someone you would see as a main eventer and a future legend or are they doomed to forever be a jobber?

My Rating = 9
HBK worked his way to the point where he could challenge for any title at any time and not only would nobody really question it, but if he won it, nobody would really call bullshit. He didn't win every match, so he doesn't have a 10 in a kayfabe sense, but he could convincingly beat any person in WWE history.

TOTAL SCORE: 83/100 - 85/100

FINAL THOUGHTS: Really the only thing holding HBK back from a perfect score is the backstage aspect to his career, from what we've been told, and in the grand scheme of things, he was never fired from WWE and he was never an outcast or anything of that sort. If he wouldn't have had the attitude back in the day, he would be just a few points shy of a perfect score...but then again, that's one of the things we love about Shawn Michaels!