Shawn Michaels has left the building

Shawn Michaels has left the building.

All good things must come to an end. And in the end, it was Michaels, one of the greatest workers to ever step inside a wrestling ring, thanking his fans for making him a much bigger star than he ever imagined he’d be.

It was a far cry from the days when Michaels was the epitome of arrogance, a pill-popping prima donna who seemingly took enjoyment out of ruffling the feathers of choice adversaries, found a number of innovative ways to avoid doing clean jobs, and helped shape backstage politics through his leadership role in the infamous Clique and later as part of Degeneration X.

The Shawn Michaels fans got to see over the past decade was different. He was a changed man, a fact he attributed to a born-again relationship, one that not only strengthened his family life with his wife and children, but helped him come to grips with issues that had plagued him his entire life.

One thing that never changed, however, was his amazing ability inside a wrestling ring. Michaels will go down in history as being one of the best, if not the best, in-ring performer of the modern generation of pro wrestling. He never failed to excel in the “big match,” most notably at Wrestlemania, where his reputation earned him the nickname of “Mr. Wrestlemania.”

And that was never more apparent than at last Sunday’s Wrestlemania 26, his final, where he lost a career match against The Undertaker. Like last year, this one was a classic, but it will be remembered even more for being what most likely is the final match in Michaels’ illustrious career.

And unlike Ric Flair, who dropped a career match two years ago at Wrestlemania, Michaels said he owed it to the fans and to The Undertaker to make this one stick.

There are a number of reasons to believe Michaels is telling the truth. He’s the father of two young children, and he wants to be around to see them grow. He’s financially set, having been the recipient of lucrative WWE contracts for a number of years, and doesn’t need a weekly paycheck anymore.

Michaels returned to the ring, against the wishes of doctors, nearly a decade ago after having suffered a serious back injury in the prime of his career that kept him out of the business for several years.

Doctors at that time had recommended that Michaels never wrestle again, pointing out that the pounding he took during his career had virtually destroyed two disks in his back, and that further pressure could cause permanent damage. After a grueling operation, Michaels agreed that a return to the ring wasn’t worth the risk.

“It’s time to say it’s a wrap,” he said at the time.

But Michaels returned. And he returned with a new outlook and a new perspective. He no longer identified himself as a wrestler, but as “a Christian man and a husband and a father.” Left behind were the pills and the profanity, the haughty demeanor and professional jealousy.

“I’m thrilled that the Lord brought me back to do this one more time, so that I could do it differently this time,” he said. “He wouldn’t have sent me back (into wrestling) if He didn’t want me back there for a reason.”

Now nearing the age of 45, Michaels knows it’s a race against time, and his body has grown weary after 26 years of taking spectacular bumps. It was time to say goodbye, and he said it eloquently — inside the ring Sunday night as a competitor on the grandest stage of them all, and on the microphone Monday night in an emotional speech to the fans.

There’s no denying that the business will look a lot different without a Shawn Michaels in it. In many ways he’s been Vince McMahon’s go-to guy when the company needed a lift. Michaels routinely would take time off after Wrestlemania, but he’d always return when business was down and needed a boost.

HBK walked away Monday night with no regrets. He made peace with his longtime in-ring and out-of-ring rival, Bret Hart, admitting that he “drove that man crazy in the ’90s” and that Hart “had every right to say everything he ever did” about him. He thanked Hart for forgiving him and giving him the opportunity to be his friend again.

His emotional 14-minute speech said it all. His final words were the same ones he used when he first turned heel nearly 18 years ago.

“Shawn Michaels has left the building.”

-- One person who’s understandably glad to see Shawn Michaels leave WWE is TNA president Dixie Carter.

In a veiled reference to the company’s disappointing .6 rating for last Monday night’s Impact show, which went up against Raw and Michaels’ farewell address, Carter posted on her Twitter page: “Thank goodness he can only retire once ... hopefully. Shawn, congrats on an amazing career!”

-- Bret Hart also gave Michaels some props on his Facebook page.

“I know we’ve had our differences, but nobody can ever take away his greatness in the ring and, without him, it will truly never, ever be the same.”

-- Veteran pro wrestler Tom Burton passed away Monday.

Burton, who worked mostly regional and independent circuits during the ‘80s and ‘90s, is perhaps best known for his Tennessee-based team with Tony Anthony as The Dirty White Boys, and as Tom Davis as part of a tag-team with Maniac Mike Davis as The Dirty Davis Brothers in the Global Wrestling Federation.

Burton was a longtime companion to women’s wrestling star Candi Devine, but the two were never married.

-- The Nasty Boys (Jerry Saggs and Brian Knobbs) and Consequences Creed were released by TNA last week.

-- Saggs’ daughter, Chloe Seganowich, was profiled in an article in the Tampa Tribune last week. She is a star high school pitcher at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Catholic High School, and is headed to her dream school, Notre Dame, which offered her a scholarship when she was a junior.

She was an all-state pick her first three years of high school, hit .559 with nine home runs and struck out 240 batters last season.

Saggs (Jerry Seganowich) coached his daughter’s team in her Little League days.

“He was a really good coach,’’ Chloe said of her dad, who now coaches his 10-year-old son Seve. Another daughter, Madison, plays shortstop on her sister’s high school team.

-- WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross faces a deadline this month to renew his short-term contract extension.

Ross, who is likely to be reassigned to talent scouting or development, was sorely missed in the broadcasting booth at Wrestlemania 26. He said on his blog that he “was passed over for the gig just like several wrestlers who did not have much more than a cup of coffee, if that, at WM26.”

“Do I think that I could have added a little something to the presentation this past Sunday? Oh, hell yeah,” he added.

-- WWE TV cameras return to the North Charleston Coliseum for the first time in more than two years with a Smackdown taping on May 4.

Mike Mooneyham can be reached by phone at (843) 937-5517 or by e-mail at mooneyham@postandcourier.com.