On World Tour 1991, Shawn Michaels (then one-half of The Rockers) went one-on-one with Mr. Perfect (the reigning Intercontinental Champion) in a hard-hitting singles encounter that blended technical wrestling with physical brawling. The bout opened with traditional chain wrestling as Perfect targeted Michaels early with holds and strikes, but Michaels fired back, including a suicide dive to the floor that, despite bumping hard on the guardrail, energized the contest. Perfect regained control with a series of power- and technical-based maneuvers, including a standing dropkick and sustained corner offense, keeping Michaels on the defensive for much of the early going. Throughout the match there was outside involvement—Michaels’ partner Marty Jannetty rushed the ring, Perfect took shots at him, and Bobby Heenan also appeared at ringside—which reflected the era’s penchant for over-the-top distractions. In the closing stretch, after several back-and-forth moments, The Big Boss Man ran in and struck Mr. Perfect with his nightstick, breaking up Perfect’s offense and causing the match to end by disqualification in Michaels’ favor. The bout, just over ten minutes, was noted for its intensity, physicality, and the crowd reaction to a relatively rare televised singles matchup between the two rising stars at that point in WWF history.
