Good Things, Great Things

An open letter to the one and only Heartbreak Kid.

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, unfortunately. These are just some thoughts of mine, post-Shawn's retirement.

Dear Shawn,

As a member of the WWE Universe, I have been thanked for by you countless times because of my appreciation for your work. I have been thanked for by you for allowing you to entertain me, to "show off a bit", and to let you "feel good about yourself". I have been thanked for still being there to welcome you back after a tragic injury that supposedly made you not able to wrestle anymore. I have been thanked for believing that you are a changed man.

I think you don't really understand what we have been trying to tell you for the past almost 25 years. For 25 years, you walked in and out of the ring a champion in our eyes. You gave it your all in every match, in every promo, in anything and everything that you did night in and night out. You said that you may have not wanted admiration or adulation. All you wanted was to do what you've dreamt of since you were a kid—to wrestle in front of 25 people. And maybe, somewhere in between, you also desired to be repeated and accepted.

Much like everyone else who came before you, you had to give up a lot of things—an education, family, privacy. Though many may say that these are prices you have to pay for to live out your dream, I still see them as sacrifices. Because somehow, I feel that you knew you entertained us with what you did, thus, you kept doing it because you wanted to keep us happy.

You may have not exactly been the perfect role model, especially during the "first half" of your career. You, yourself, can admit that you've had demons in your life in the past—alcohol, drugs, partying, pills. You did have quite of an attitude too, and it was no longer a surprise whenever you got in trouble. But as they say, it's not how many times a man falls down that matters, rather, it's the number of times he picks himself back up, stand proud and move on. And it is when you stood back up not only from the physical tragedy of 1998, but more importantly, from the emotional, social and spiritual downfall that made us look up to you even more. That's what made you dear to me, more than how I initially thought you will be.

Today, you live the perfect life, one that is not exactly problem-free, but one wherein you live in the kind of way you are truly happy with. That's in the presence of those who mean the most to you, your most precious angels Rebecca, Cameron and Cheyenne. That's the kind of life where you live in peace knowing you've forgiven and forgotten past sins committed by others, but more importantly, by yourself. That's the life wherein you carry no more baggage behind your back, that you've learned to let go of all that has got to go, especially those that involve November 1997. That's the life where you live with "absolutely no regrets".

But while you enjoy your life away from the spotlight, know that there are millions of us who are left missing you and wanting to see you back. Maybe it's because when you've witnessed or experienced something so good, you just don't want to ever let it go. You just don't want it to stop.

But as they say, "All good things must come to an end." And when you decided to call it quits, we may have not liked it nor accepted it, but we truly found it in our hearts to try to understand it. And just like how it was from the beginning, we still supported you when "Shawn Michaels has left the building".

Now, we're left to say thank you for still being accessible to us. That even through Twitter, you are still able to keep us entertained. You are still the Showstopper. Thank you, Shawn, for being a part of our lives, with each of us having our own story concerning you. Thank you for allowing us to believe that dreams do come true. That where there's life, there's hope. That we can all serve as inspirations to others, and an instrument of the Supreme Being.

They said "All good things must come to an end." But they never said anything about great things… or great beings. Maybe that's why you're still around. And you'll always be in our hearts.