Why Shawn Michaels Wore Ugly Brown Gear At Survivor Series 2002, Explained
Mia Walsh Read update
- Although Shawn Michaels has never really said much or opened up about his iconic (for all the wrong reasons) poop brown attire at Survivor Series 2003, there is still a lot to talk about when it comes to the look. From smaller details that some fans may have missed, such as uncomfortable wrestling footwear and the design on the tights themselves, to WWE’s acknowledgment over the years of this attire, there is more to be said for sure. In fact, 2023 has seen WWE introduce something new for fans in relation to Michaels’ infamous brown clothing, which can be learnt about below.
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“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels is someone who has hugely notable ring gear which many have imitated over the years, with him having an iconic look. He is someone who managed to present himself like a star and look like a million bucks every time he walked into the ring, which helped him on his way to becoming a multi-time WWE Champion and legendary Hall of Famer. However, there was one infamous night when he had an off day when it comes to his look and ring gear, and that was at the 2002 Survivor Series PPV. On what was a momentous night for him, he wore truly ugly brown gear. Some fans may wonder as to why this was the case, as it was so different to what he would normally wear to the ring.
UPDATE: 2023/10/07 07:30 EST BY ANDREW KELLY
Although Shawn Michaels has never really said much or opened up about his iconic (for all the wrong reasons) poop brown attire at Survivor Series 2003, there is still a lot to talk about when it comes to the look. From smaller details that some fans may have missed, such as uncomfortable wrestling footwear and the design on the tights themselves, to WWE’s acknowledgment over the years of this attire, there is more to be said for sure. In fact, 2023 has seen WWE introduce something new for fans in relation to Michaels’ infamous brown clothing, which can be learnt about below.
Shawn Michaels Returned To Full-Time Action At Survivor Series 2002
It had been four years since Shawn Michaels had last had a “sanctioned” WWE match. After he was ruled out indefinitely due to injury four years prior, Michaels made a stunning comeback to the ring, and after defeating Triple H at SummerSlam in a bloody Unsanctioned Match, he set his sights for Survivor Series and the World Heavyweight Championship. The 2002 show was a major one, as it introduced a brand-new concept - the Elimination Chamber.
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Michaels was set for a huge night, with him being booked to be crowned as the brand new World Heavyweight Champion. The field was a star-studded one, as he went up against Triple H, Chris Jericho, RVD, Booker T, and Kane. The match was a huge success, solidifying the Elimination Chamber gimmick match as one which would continue onwards to the point where it has even become its very own PPV event in WWE’s yearly calendar. The moment of Michaels winning the match was an absolute classic, with him holding World Title gold for the first time in over four years. However, when looking at what people remember about the event today, Michaels’ brown wrestling gear is almost as much talked about as the victory.
Shawn Michaels’ Ugly Brown Gear Was Due To Slow Production
Michaels made his entrance with his classic entrance gear over the top of his ring gear, though it was modeled with a brown color to match that of his tights. However, in contrast to his old snazzy, colorful, and in-your-face design that he had in the past, they were mostly all brown with just a bit of blue and white on the crotch, hip, and behind areas, which displayed a HBK-type logo. The colors didn’t match, and the dominating presence of the poo-brown was hard to look at. Simply put, it was horrific (not to mention his disastrous haircut which makes his bald-head look at Crown Jewel 2018 look good, but that's a whole different conversation).
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The reasoning for this is quite simple - Michaels’ gear wasn’t ready in time for the show. Michaels had commissioned them to be made, but the production was slow and he had to wear this unfinished product for Survivor Series. It is hard to imagine the final product looking good though based on the colors, as brown, blue, and white simply don’t mesh well together. Of course, it could have been okay, but the chances are it wouldn’t have worked out given the design of it.
Either way though, Michaels would win the World Heavyweight Championship and put in a great performance whilst doing so. These tights will forever live in infamy as being among the absolute worst attires in professional wrestling history, which is a shame given how massive of a moment it was for Michaels and his WWE comeback, as it would be the final time he ever won a World Title, since his second WWE run was mostly filled with non-title feuds, highlighted by all-time classic matches.
Details Fans May Not Have Noticed About Shawn Michaels’ Attire
The infamous Shawn Michaels attire is known for the awful brown pants, but many overlook the boots he was wearing too. Eagle-eyed fans will have noticed that Michaels wasn’t wearing actual wrestling boots - he was wearing cowboy boots! Michaels arrived at the arena in these cowboy boots, according to Bruce Pritchard, but due to those other issues with his ring gear, Michaels would decide to wear his own boots rather than wrestling boots. It certainly won’t have been comfortable to wrestle in for sure.
Fans will also notice that Michaels’ unfinished trunks had the letter “H” on each side. It is likely that both sides were going to have “HBK” down the sides, but instead it was just “H”. Double-H, if you will.
WWE Will Release An Action Figure Of Shawn Michaels' Brown Tights
The brown pants weren’t something that just the fans watching in the arena and at home noticed and made fun of over the years, but Michaels’ colleagues did too. On Shawn Michaels’ DVD, Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story, there was a small section focusing on this show and his gear, and several wrestlers made fun of the attire, with it being something that no one ignored and that no one would forget for a long time.
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Even though these are among the very worst tights of all time, WWE are going to make the most of this now historic and memorable look. Fans can currently pre-order an action figure of this infamous Michaels look (fit with awful hairdo and all), which will be released under the WWE Elite series in November 2023. It comes with the World Heavyweight Championship too, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see many collectors scrambling to get a hold of this.
