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Taken from 1wrestling.com
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He is truly one of the top headliners of all time for WWE. Shawn Michaels, a man who headlined WrestleMania 14 with Steve Austin in what he thought might be his last match ever, he has come back. He is not sure how long this run will last, but he is certain it won't be forever. Shawn Michaels talks about Montreal five years later, this Sunday's pay per view, WWE Survivor Series, his thoughts on the current state of WWE, and so much more. The following is a transcript from my pre recorded radio interview I aired Friday evening with Shawn Michaels, which I conducted Thursday morning.
First off how are you?
"I am doing very well."
Before we get into the pay per view this Sunday, I have to ask, why did you decide to come back, and in coming back, defeating one of your close friends HHH at WWE Summerslam, and how much longer do you think you will be wrestling before calling it a retirement?
"I just had this feeling that I wanted to do one more match, and then try to help the company in any way I could. It was great to be a part of it, and win the match, and for it to go well. That was the most gratifying thing, for the match to go really well, and for the fans to receive it well, which I think they did. As far as when I think I will retire, not too far down the road. I don't know how many more I have of these in me, but I am going to go as long as I feel I am allowed to go that way. I am really just trying to do the best job I can, and we will see how it all ends up."
This Sunday at WWE Survivor Series you're in the Elimination Chamber with HHH, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam. Do you think this is the time for you to have one last WWE World Championship run, or what do you think your impact will be if you don't win the championship?
"It was my feeling when I got called a couple weeks ago to do this, and it was certainly my feeling that they were going back into New York, and perhaps maybe they could bring someone in that fans are familiar with or just someone for a little bit that you think, 'Hey, he has a chance'. I can't see it being another run for me, and I really don't desire to have another run. I am thrilled with what I am doing in my life, and I think it is just a chance to put me in there with HHH which certainly gives that rematch effect, and also it gives me a chance to work with some other guys, and bring the match more up to a competitive level."
Jim Ross, during one of the TLC Matches, echoed the thoughts of fans when he mentioned how Jeff Hardy was considered to be the "Next HBK." What are your thoughts of Jeff, the current state of his career, and if people were right in making that statement?
"Well, I think he is more talented then I ever was as far as what he can do in that ring. I often wonder if being compared to somebody else is ever helpful to a young guy. I don't know Jeff Hardy that well, but this is a comment that I feel generally of the talent in the locker room. I think the talent is better then it ever was. I think the only thing that our young guys lack is the passion and the drive to make things happen in their career. I say that, implying that they don't care enough, but at times you have to be unpopular and forceful to get your point across. This is a very tough business, and for me I was not liked an awful lot because of that overbearing passion that I had for this business. I am not saying you need to go as far as I do, but you have to push, and you have to fight behind the scenes for everything you want. That is what I think our talent lacks, and I am not trying to cause a big locker room uproar. I think you have to show that initiative outside of the ring, sometimes, more."
This past week marked the five year anniversary of the Montreal Screw Job with Bret Hart at WWE Survivor Series. On WWE Confidential you admitted to be in on the situation that night. How do you think that event changed professional wrestling, what are you thoughts on the situation being involved in it, and what are your thoughts on Bret Hart today?
"I don't think it changed wrestling too much. I think it worked well for Vince McMahon in developing the Vince McMahon character which helped build him as a wonderful antagonist for Steve Austin. I think the result is obvious as it was the big box office numbers. I think in that respect the timing and the attitude was right on with everything else. At that time me and Bret Hart, we had talked a lot that day, and we put the bad feelings aside as we came to a conclusion that it was something that got out of hand. I think our egos and pride got out of hand, and we both admitted fault in the situation that he and I had personally. That particular night had nothing to do with the personal conflict that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had earlier in their career. That was just the circumstances that it happened to be that me and Bret Hart, two guys in there who had a history of not liking each other, and this event coming down which obviously added to the magnitude of the entire event. We had put our differences aside, and certainly on my part, and his part too, I generally realized we had worked ourselves into a shoot for absolutely no reason. It was always a good match, and we enjoyed working with each other. I think once the passions and the egos got the better of us, it stayed the entire time were around each other."
At WrestleMania 14 you wrestled Steve Austin with special enforcer Mike Tyson at ringside. The Undertaker has mentioned in a recent TV interview about five to six months ago that you were worried about the match itself, and losing the title that night, and The Undertaker said he made sure you fulfilled your obligations. What are your thoughts on what the Undertaker said, and did you think that that was going to be your last match?
"I can't honestly remember that. I know that The Undertaker has always been the common force in the voice of reason in that locker room. I think that I was certain that was going to be my last match, and I know that was having a huge effect on me mentally. I knew that I was going to lose the match, and drop the belt to Steve Austin. That was something that I wanted to do, and I think the best I can recall is that physically I wasn't going to be able to do it as well as I could have. It bothered me so much that I was irrational about it, but I was irrational about every decision I was making in my life at that time. It was very difficult for me to believe that was the last one, and that the last one wasn't going to be very good from a performance standpoint. Everything in my life at that time, if I put on my performance in that ring I could live with myself, and if I didn't, it would have a bad effect on me. The Undertaker has always been the common reasoning force, and I think he spoke the truth, and made things plain and simple that you have to do this, and get out there and do it. Whether it is reasoning or whether it is wrong if someone 310 pounds tells you to do something, I might be a dummy, but I will do it."
After WrestleMania 14, you came back on WWE TV with the Commissioner Michaels character. Who came up with the idea, and did you enjoy that time as you were an on air TV personality in power and not wrestling?
"I was going through the motions there, and they didn't know what they wanted from me. I didn't know what I wanted from myself, but it was just sort of something to throw in there, and they didn't want to use it on a regular basis. They didn't have an intention of using it, and they knew I didn't want to be around at that time. It was just something you could break down to busy work, and those kinda things don't work in the business because you have to have a real feeling behind characters for them to work in our line of work."
When the Clique did the Madison Square Garden Shoot, did you guys plan it out, or was it just one of those things that you just decided to do, and did HHH take a lot of heat for the situation?
"Yes, HHH did take a lot of heat for that, and we had talked about it a couple weeks in advance on a European tour on how it would be neat to do. That was sort of the end of it, and it is one of those things that you're on the road, and it would be something neat to do, and that would sort of be it. That night before me and Kevin Nash went out to the ring Hunter came up and said, "Are we doing the thing?" We said we didn't know, and that was truly it. I just went out and had a match, and Hunter told us later that he asked Vince McMahon, and Vince said sure go ahead. I know that Vince McMahon okayed it, but he didn't know how it was going to end up. I think his vision was just us standing there and looking at each other. I don't think he envisioned us hugging and everything else. Vince liked all of us, and appreciated the friendship that we had, so from a pressure standpoint he had to do something, so he couldn't punish me, and pretty much Hunter got blamed for it. He ended up putting guys over for the next year I guess, and it was one of those things where you would be surprised things that are really big in the wrestling business nine times out of ten they are not planned out in depth as everybody thinks they are."
After HHH took over Degeneration X and you left WWE TV for a little while, did you truly expect HHH to be the top guy he is today, and what are your personal thoughts on him and the recent controversy that seems to surround him these days which includes a necrophilia angle?
"Yes, I thought he would be big. He was way too talented not to be big, and I am not surprised at that at all. I didn't like the necrophilia angle, and I don't know any other controversy that surrounds him other than it is something that happened. When you're extremely talented, and everybody believes you're extremely talented, and when you get to the top they put you under a microscope, and pick out every flaw you got. That is just part of the business, and of course people are welcome to their opinions. I didn't like the necrophilia angle, and HHH didn't like it. He was in a very tough position, and he does the same thing I have always done when Vince McMahon tells you to do something, you do it even if you dislike it. He didn't like it, but Vince McMahon asked him to do it, so he did it. It is much easier for everybody else, and we do the best we can, and we are going make mistakes so you hope you can recover from them. I don't know any solution to everything, and strangely enough, I don't think Vince McMahon, Hunter, and a lot of folks in that locker room know everything. They do the best they can."
Moving back to your early days as the tag team The Rockers with Marty Jannetty, what were you best experiences from that time, and why did you guys break up?
"The best thing about that time was breaking new ground as tag teams are concerned. We started doing things other people wouldn't do, and they started to take notice of that. It was really fun, and Marty taught me what goes on in that ring, you should be having fun, and it shouldn't be a struggle. I always tried to make sure that the rest of my life wasn't going to fall apart, and the things in that ring were going to be fun, and that I am going to enjoy it. The reason we broke up was because it ran its course, and Marty was happy with doing the tag team thing. I wanted to be a singles wrestler, and me and Marty talked about that from the first day we were together till the last. We tried it out to see if it worked, and we eventually had matches against one another. It was something that got done, and reached the point, so I went on from there."
What are your thoughts on Steve Austin, and do you think he will come back to WWE soon enough?
"I have absolutely no idea if he will come back. I think it will be a decision that him and Vince McMahon make, and I would love to have Steve back."
What do you think your impact will be or your role will be at WrestleMania 19?
"I don't know. I really have no idea, and I am just hoping I have the same impact I hope I am having now. I am just hoping it is positive, and I hope it helps. It is guys like you who know more about the business then I do, and you sure know more about what my role is. I do the best job I can, and then I come home, and mow the lawn, clean the garage, and I change diapers, and stuff like that. That is about the extent of it."
Finally, tell me how religion and God have touched your life.
"Religion hasn't touched my life as I have it since the day I was born. The fact that I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ on a daily basis for me it is something that is wonderful that has strengthened me. I have created a belief in myself that I have never had, and he has created an outlook on my responsibilities to my wife and to my son that is second to none. It is my responsibility which I take very seriously, and they deserve to have the absolute best that I can give them each and every day. I know that I can't do it by myself, and I know that I need help. Unlike everybody else I don't want to start to compromise like 'oh it is a little of this and a little of that' or 'it doesn't matter everyone is doing that'. I don't want that stuff for my son, and if I want him to be a good person I am going to have to be one myself 24 hours a day. I am not going to use my job to make an excuse to go on TV, and say 'oh I am just playing a role'. I am in the role I choose to play, and that is a Christian guy that happens to be a wrestler."
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Interesting read, huh? Hope his back holds up in the Chamber...
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He is truly one of the top headliners of all time for WWE. Shawn Michaels, a man who headlined WrestleMania 14 with Steve Austin in what he thought might be his last match ever, he has come back. He is not sure how long this run will last, but he is certain it won't be forever. Shawn Michaels talks about Montreal five years later, this Sunday's pay per view, WWE Survivor Series, his thoughts on the current state of WWE, and so much more. The following is a transcript from my pre recorded radio interview I aired Friday evening with Shawn Michaels, which I conducted Thursday morning.
First off how are you?
"I am doing very well."
Before we get into the pay per view this Sunday, I have to ask, why did you decide to come back, and in coming back, defeating one of your close friends HHH at WWE Summerslam, and how much longer do you think you will be wrestling before calling it a retirement?
"I just had this feeling that I wanted to do one more match, and then try to help the company in any way I could. It was great to be a part of it, and win the match, and for it to go well. That was the most gratifying thing, for the match to go really well, and for the fans to receive it well, which I think they did. As far as when I think I will retire, not too far down the road. I don't know how many more I have of these in me, but I am going to go as long as I feel I am allowed to go that way. I am really just trying to do the best job I can, and we will see how it all ends up."
This Sunday at WWE Survivor Series you're in the Elimination Chamber with HHH, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam. Do you think this is the time for you to have one last WWE World Championship run, or what do you think your impact will be if you don't win the championship?
"It was my feeling when I got called a couple weeks ago to do this, and it was certainly my feeling that they were going back into New York, and perhaps maybe they could bring someone in that fans are familiar with or just someone for a little bit that you think, 'Hey, he has a chance'. I can't see it being another run for me, and I really don't desire to have another run. I am thrilled with what I am doing in my life, and I think it is just a chance to put me in there with HHH which certainly gives that rematch effect, and also it gives me a chance to work with some other guys, and bring the match more up to a competitive level."
Jim Ross, during one of the TLC Matches, echoed the thoughts of fans when he mentioned how Jeff Hardy was considered to be the "Next HBK." What are your thoughts of Jeff, the current state of his career, and if people were right in making that statement?
"Well, I think he is more talented then I ever was as far as what he can do in that ring. I often wonder if being compared to somebody else is ever helpful to a young guy. I don't know Jeff Hardy that well, but this is a comment that I feel generally of the talent in the locker room. I think the talent is better then it ever was. I think the only thing that our young guys lack is the passion and the drive to make things happen in their career. I say that, implying that they don't care enough, but at times you have to be unpopular and forceful to get your point across. This is a very tough business, and for me I was not liked an awful lot because of that overbearing passion that I had for this business. I am not saying you need to go as far as I do, but you have to push, and you have to fight behind the scenes for everything you want. That is what I think our talent lacks, and I am not trying to cause a big locker room uproar. I think you have to show that initiative outside of the ring, sometimes, more."
This past week marked the five year anniversary of the Montreal Screw Job with Bret Hart at WWE Survivor Series. On WWE Confidential you admitted to be in on the situation that night. How do you think that event changed professional wrestling, what are you thoughts on the situation being involved in it, and what are your thoughts on Bret Hart today?
"I don't think it changed wrestling too much. I think it worked well for Vince McMahon in developing the Vince McMahon character which helped build him as a wonderful antagonist for Steve Austin. I think the result is obvious as it was the big box office numbers. I think in that respect the timing and the attitude was right on with everything else. At that time me and Bret Hart, we had talked a lot that day, and we put the bad feelings aside as we came to a conclusion that it was something that got out of hand. I think our egos and pride got out of hand, and we both admitted fault in the situation that he and I had personally. That particular night had nothing to do with the personal conflict that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had earlier in their career. That was just the circumstances that it happened to be that me and Bret Hart, two guys in there who had a history of not liking each other, and this event coming down which obviously added to the magnitude of the entire event. We had put our differences aside, and certainly on my part, and his part too, I generally realized we had worked ourselves into a shoot for absolutely no reason. It was always a good match, and we enjoyed working with each other. I think once the passions and the egos got the better of us, it stayed the entire time were around each other."
At WrestleMania 14 you wrestled Steve Austin with special enforcer Mike Tyson at ringside. The Undertaker has mentioned in a recent TV interview about five to six months ago that you were worried about the match itself, and losing the title that night, and The Undertaker said he made sure you fulfilled your obligations. What are your thoughts on what the Undertaker said, and did you think that that was going to be your last match?
"I can't honestly remember that. I know that The Undertaker has always been the common force in the voice of reason in that locker room. I think that I was certain that was going to be my last match, and I know that was having a huge effect on me mentally. I knew that I was going to lose the match, and drop the belt to Steve Austin. That was something that I wanted to do, and I think the best I can recall is that physically I wasn't going to be able to do it as well as I could have. It bothered me so much that I was irrational about it, but I was irrational about every decision I was making in my life at that time. It was very difficult for me to believe that was the last one, and that the last one wasn't going to be very good from a performance standpoint. Everything in my life at that time, if I put on my performance in that ring I could live with myself, and if I didn't, it would have a bad effect on me. The Undertaker has always been the common reasoning force, and I think he spoke the truth, and made things plain and simple that you have to do this, and get out there and do it. Whether it is reasoning or whether it is wrong if someone 310 pounds tells you to do something, I might be a dummy, but I will do it."
After WrestleMania 14, you came back on WWE TV with the Commissioner Michaels character. Who came up with the idea, and did you enjoy that time as you were an on air TV personality in power and not wrestling?
"I was going through the motions there, and they didn't know what they wanted from me. I didn't know what I wanted from myself, but it was just sort of something to throw in there, and they didn't want to use it on a regular basis. They didn't have an intention of using it, and they knew I didn't want to be around at that time. It was just something you could break down to busy work, and those kinda things don't work in the business because you have to have a real feeling behind characters for them to work in our line of work."
When the Clique did the Madison Square Garden Shoot, did you guys plan it out, or was it just one of those things that you just decided to do, and did HHH take a lot of heat for the situation?
"Yes, HHH did take a lot of heat for that, and we had talked about it a couple weeks in advance on a European tour on how it would be neat to do. That was sort of the end of it, and it is one of those things that you're on the road, and it would be something neat to do, and that would sort of be it. That night before me and Kevin Nash went out to the ring Hunter came up and said, "Are we doing the thing?" We said we didn't know, and that was truly it. I just went out and had a match, and Hunter told us later that he asked Vince McMahon, and Vince said sure go ahead. I know that Vince McMahon okayed it, but he didn't know how it was going to end up. I think his vision was just us standing there and looking at each other. I don't think he envisioned us hugging and everything else. Vince liked all of us, and appreciated the friendship that we had, so from a pressure standpoint he had to do something, so he couldn't punish me, and pretty much Hunter got blamed for it. He ended up putting guys over for the next year I guess, and it was one of those things where you would be surprised things that are really big in the wrestling business nine times out of ten they are not planned out in depth as everybody thinks they are."
After HHH took over Degeneration X and you left WWE TV for a little while, did you truly expect HHH to be the top guy he is today, and what are your personal thoughts on him and the recent controversy that seems to surround him these days which includes a necrophilia angle?
"Yes, I thought he would be big. He was way too talented not to be big, and I am not surprised at that at all. I didn't like the necrophilia angle, and I don't know any other controversy that surrounds him other than it is something that happened. When you're extremely talented, and everybody believes you're extremely talented, and when you get to the top they put you under a microscope, and pick out every flaw you got. That is just part of the business, and of course people are welcome to their opinions. I didn't like the necrophilia angle, and HHH didn't like it. He was in a very tough position, and he does the same thing I have always done when Vince McMahon tells you to do something, you do it even if you dislike it. He didn't like it, but Vince McMahon asked him to do it, so he did it. It is much easier for everybody else, and we do the best we can, and we are going make mistakes so you hope you can recover from them. I don't know any solution to everything, and strangely enough, I don't think Vince McMahon, Hunter, and a lot of folks in that locker room know everything. They do the best they can."
Moving back to your early days as the tag team The Rockers with Marty Jannetty, what were you best experiences from that time, and why did you guys break up?
"The best thing about that time was breaking new ground as tag teams are concerned. We started doing things other people wouldn't do, and they started to take notice of that. It was really fun, and Marty taught me what goes on in that ring, you should be having fun, and it shouldn't be a struggle. I always tried to make sure that the rest of my life wasn't going to fall apart, and the things in that ring were going to be fun, and that I am going to enjoy it. The reason we broke up was because it ran its course, and Marty was happy with doing the tag team thing. I wanted to be a singles wrestler, and me and Marty talked about that from the first day we were together till the last. We tried it out to see if it worked, and we eventually had matches against one another. It was something that got done, and reached the point, so I went on from there."
What are your thoughts on Steve Austin, and do you think he will come back to WWE soon enough?
"I have absolutely no idea if he will come back. I think it will be a decision that him and Vince McMahon make, and I would love to have Steve back."
What do you think your impact will be or your role will be at WrestleMania 19?
"I don't know. I really have no idea, and I am just hoping I have the same impact I hope I am having now. I am just hoping it is positive, and I hope it helps. It is guys like you who know more about the business then I do, and you sure know more about what my role is. I do the best job I can, and then I come home, and mow the lawn, clean the garage, and I change diapers, and stuff like that. That is about the extent of it."
Finally, tell me how religion and God have touched your life.
"Religion hasn't touched my life as I have it since the day I was born. The fact that I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ on a daily basis for me it is something that is wonderful that has strengthened me. I have created a belief in myself that I have never had, and he has created an outlook on my responsibilities to my wife and to my son that is second to none. It is my responsibility which I take very seriously, and they deserve to have the absolute best that I can give them each and every day. I know that I can't do it by myself, and I know that I need help. Unlike everybody else I don't want to start to compromise like 'oh it is a little of this and a little of that' or 'it doesn't matter everyone is doing that'. I don't want that stuff for my son, and if I want him to be a good person I am going to have to be one myself 24 hours a day. I am not going to use my job to make an excuse to go on TV, and say 'oh I am just playing a role'. I am in the role I choose to play, and that is a Christian guy that happens to be a wrestler."
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Interesting read, huh? Hope his back holds up in the Chamber...
Yey.
They weren't the best questions that could have been asked, but yeah, very interesting read indeed.
Taken from 1wrestling.com
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He is truly one of the top headliners of all time for WWE. Shawn Michaels, a man who headlined WrestleMania 14 with Steve Austin in what he thought might be his last match ever, he has come back. He is not sure how long this run will last, but he is certain it won't be forever. Shawn Michaels talks about Montreal five years later, this Sunday's pay per view, WWE Survivor Series, his thoughts on the current state of WWE, and so much more. The following is a transcript from my pre recorded radio interview I aired Friday evening with Shawn Michaels, which I conducted Thursday morning.
First off how are you?
"I am doing very well."
Before we get into the pay per view this Sunday, I have to ask, why did you decide to come back, and in coming back, defeating one of your close friends HHH at WWE Summerslam, and how much longer do you think you will be wrestling before calling it a retirement?
"I just had this feeling that I wanted to do one more match, and then try to help the company in any way I could. It was great to be a part of it, and win the match, and for it to go well. That was the most gratifying thing, for the match to go really well, and for the fans to receive it well, which I think they did. As far as when I think I will retire, not too far down the road. I don't know how many more I have of these in me, but I am going to go as long as I feel I am allowed to go that way. I am really just trying to do the best job I can, and we will see how it all ends up."
This Sunday at WWE Survivor Series you're in the Elimination Chamber with HHH, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam. Do you think this is the time for you to have one last WWE World Championship run, or what do you think your impact will be if you don't win the championship?
"It was my feeling when I got called a couple weeks ago to do this, and it was certainly my feeling that they were going back into New York, and perhaps maybe they could bring someone in that fans are familiar with or just someone for a little bit that you think, 'Hey, he has a chance'. I can't see it being another run for me, and I really don't desire to have another run. I am thrilled with what I am doing in my life, and I think it is just a chance to put me in there with HHH which certainly gives that rematch effect, and also it gives me a chance to work with some other guys, and bring the match more up to a competitive level."
Jim Ross, during one of the TLC Matches, echoed the thoughts of fans when he mentioned how Jeff Hardy was considered to be the "Next HBK." What are your thoughts of Jeff, the current state of his career, and if people were right in making that statement?
"Well, I think he is more talented then I ever was as far as what he can do in that ring. I often wonder if being compared to somebody else is ever helpful to a young guy. I don't know Jeff Hardy that well, but this is a comment that I feel generally of the talent in the locker room. I think the talent is better then it ever was. I think the only thing that our young guys lack is the passion and the drive to make things happen in their career. I say that, implying that they don't care enough, but at times you have to be unpopular and forceful to get your point across. This is a very tough business, and for me I was not liked an awful lot because of that overbearing passion that I had for this business. I am not saying you need to go as far as I do, but you have to push, and you have to fight behind the scenes for everything you want. That is what I think our talent lacks, and I am not trying to cause a big locker room uproar. I think you have to show that initiative outside of the ring, sometimes, more."
This past week marked the five year anniversary of the Montreal Screw Job with Bret Hart at WWE Survivor Series. On WWE Confidential you admitted to be in on the situation that night. How do you think that event changed professional wrestling, what are you thoughts on the situation being involved in it, and what are your thoughts on Bret Hart today?
"I don't think it changed wrestling too much. I think it worked well for Vince McMahon in developing the Vince McMahon character which helped build him as a wonderful antagonist for Steve Austin. I think the result is obvious as it was the big box office numbers. I think in that respect the timing and the attitude was right on with everything else. At that time me and Bret Hart, we had talked a lot that day, and we put the bad feelings aside as we came to a conclusion that it was something that got out of hand. I think our egos and pride got out of hand, and we both admitted fault in the situation that he and I had personally. That particular night had nothing to do with the personal conflict that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had earlier in their career. That was just the circumstances that it happened to be that me and Bret Hart, two guys in there who had a history of not liking each other, and this event coming down which obviously added to the magnitude of the entire event. We had put our differences aside, and certainly on my part, and his part too, I generally realized we had worked ourselves into a shoot for absolutely no reason. It was always a good match, and we enjoyed working with each other. I think once the passions and the egos got the better of us, it stayed the entire time were around each other."
At WrestleMania 14 you wrestled Steve Austin with special enforcer Mike Tyson at ringside. The Undertaker has mentioned in a recent TV interview about five to six months ago that you were worried about the match itself, and losing the title that night, and The Undertaker said he made sure you fulfilled your obligations. What are your thoughts on what the Undertaker said, and did you think that that was going to be your last match?
"I can't honestly remember that. I know that The Undertaker has always been the common force in the voice of reason in that locker room. I think that I was certain that was going to be my last match, and I know that was having a huge effect on me mentally. I knew that I was going to lose the match, and drop the belt to Steve Austin. That was something that I wanted to do, and I think the best I can recall is that physically I wasn't going to be able to do it as well as I could have. It bothered me so much that I was irrational about it, but I was irrational about every decision I was making in my life at that time. It was very difficult for me to believe that was the last one, and that the last one wasn't going to be very good from a performance standpoint. Everything in my life at that time, if I put on my performance in that ring I could live with myself, and if I didn't, it would have a bad effect on me. The Undertaker has always been the common reasoning force, and I think he spoke the truth, and made things plain and simple that you have to do this, and get out there and do it. Whether it is reasoning or whether it is wrong if someone 310 pounds tells you to do something, I might be a dummy, but I will do it."
After WrestleMania 14, you came back on WWE TV with the Commissioner Michaels character. Who came up with the idea, and did you enjoy that time as you were an on air TV personality in power and not wrestling?
"I was going through the motions there, and they didn't know what they wanted from me. I didn't know what I wanted from myself, but it was just sort of something to throw in there, and they didn't want to use it on a regular basis. They didn't have an intention of using it, and they knew I didn't want to be around at that time. It was just something you could break down to busy work, and those kinda things don't work in the business because you have to have a real feeling behind characters for them to work in our line of work."
When the Clique did the Madison Square Garden Shoot, did you guys plan it out, or was it just one of those things that you just decided to do, and did HHH take a lot of heat for the situation?
"Yes, HHH did take a lot of heat for that, and we had talked about it a couple weeks in advance on a European tour on how it would be neat to do. That was sort of the end of it, and it is one of those things that you're on the road, and it would be something neat to do, and that would sort of be it. That night before me and Kevin Nash went out to the ring Hunter came up and said, "Are we doing the thing?" We said we didn't know, and that was truly it. I just went out and had a match, and Hunter told us later that he asked Vince McMahon, and Vince said sure go ahead. I know that Vince McMahon okayed it, but he didn't know how it was going to end up. I think his vision was just us standing there and looking at each other. I don't think he envisioned us hugging and everything else. Vince liked all of us, and appreciated the friendship that we had, so from a pressure standpoint he had to do something, so he couldn't punish me, and pretty much Hunter got blamed for it. He ended up putting guys over for the next year I guess, and it was one of those things where you would be surprised things that are really big in the wrestling business nine times out of ten they are not planned out in depth as everybody thinks they are."
After HHH took over Degeneration X and you left WWE TV for a little while, did you truly expect HHH to be the top guy he is today, and what are your personal thoughts on him and the recent controversy that seems to surround him these days which includes a necrophilia angle?
"Yes, I thought he would be big. He was way too talented not to be big, and I am not surprised at that at all. I didn't like the necrophilia angle, and I don't know any other controversy that surrounds him other than it is something that happened. When you're extremely talented, and everybody believes you're extremely talented, and when you get to the top they put you under a microscope, and pick out every flaw you got. That is just part of the business, and of course people are welcome to their opinions. I didn't like the necrophilia angle, and HHH didn't like it. He was in a very tough position, and he does the same thing I have always done when Vince McMahon tells you to do something, you do it even if you dislike it. He didn't like it, but Vince McMahon asked him to do it, so he did it. It is much easier for everybody else, and we do the best we can, and we are going make mistakes so you hope you can recover from them. I don't know any solution to everything, and strangely enough, I don't think Vince McMahon, Hunter, and a lot of folks in that locker room know everything. They do the best they can."
Moving back to your early days as the tag team The Rockers with Marty Jannetty, what were you best experiences from that time, and why did you guys break up?
"The best thing about that time was breaking new ground as tag teams are concerned. We started doing things other people wouldn't do, and they started to take notice of that. It was really fun, and Marty taught me what goes on in that ring, you should be having fun, and it shouldn't be a struggle. I always tried to make sure that the rest of my life wasn't going to fall apart, and the things in that ring were going to be fun, and that I am going to enjoy it. The reason we broke up was because it ran its course, and Marty was happy with doing the tag team thing. I wanted to be a singles wrestler, and me and Marty talked about that from the first day we were together till the last. We tried it out to see if it worked, and we eventually had matches against one another. It was something that got done, and reached the point, so I went on from there."
What are your thoughts on Steve Austin, and do you think he will come back to WWE soon enough?
"I have absolutely no idea if he will come back. I think it will be a decision that him and Vince McMahon make, and I would love to have Steve back."
What do you think your impact will be or your role will be at WrestleMania 19?
"I don't know. I really have no idea, and I am just hoping I have the same impact I hope I am having now. I am just hoping it is positive, and I hope it helps. It is guys like you who know more about the business then I do, and you sure know more about what my role is. I do the best job I can, and then I come home, and mow the lawn, clean the garage, and I change diapers, and stuff like that. That is about the extent of it."
Finally, tell me how religion and God have touched your life.
"Religion hasn't touched my life as I have it since the day I was born. The fact that I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ on a daily basis for me it is something that is wonderful that has strengthened me. I have created a belief in myself that I have never had, and he has created an outlook on my responsibilities to my wife and to my son that is second to none. It is my responsibility which I take very seriously, and they deserve to have the absolute best that I can give them each and every day. I know that I can't do it by myself, and I know that I need help. Unlike everybody else I don't want to start to compromise like 'oh it is a little of this and a little of that' or 'it doesn't matter everyone is doing that'. I don't want that stuff for my son, and if I want him to be a good person I am going to have to be one myself 24 hours a day. I am not going to use my job to make an excuse to go on TV, and say 'oh I am just playing a role'. I am in the role I choose to play, and that is a Christian guy that happens to be a wrestler."
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Interesting read, huh? Hope his back holds up in the Chamber...
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He is truly one of the top headliners of all time for WWE. Shawn Michaels, a man who headlined WrestleMania 14 with Steve Austin in what he thought might be his last match ever, he has come back. He is not sure how long this run will last, but he is certain it won't be forever. Shawn Michaels talks about Montreal five years later, this Sunday's pay per view, WWE Survivor Series, his thoughts on the current state of WWE, and so much more. The following is a transcript from my pre recorded radio interview I aired Friday evening with Shawn Michaels, which I conducted Thursday morning.
First off how are you?
"I am doing very well."
Before we get into the pay per view this Sunday, I have to ask, why did you decide to come back, and in coming back, defeating one of your close friends HHH at WWE Summerslam, and how much longer do you think you will be wrestling before calling it a retirement?
"I just had this feeling that I wanted to do one more match, and then try to help the company in any way I could. It was great to be a part of it, and win the match, and for it to go well. That was the most gratifying thing, for the match to go really well, and for the fans to receive it well, which I think they did. As far as when I think I will retire, not too far down the road. I don't know how many more I have of these in me, but I am going to go as long as I feel I am allowed to go that way. I am really just trying to do the best job I can, and we will see how it all ends up."
This Sunday at WWE Survivor Series you're in the Elimination Chamber with HHH, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam. Do you think this is the time for you to have one last WWE World Championship run, or what do you think your impact will be if you don't win the championship?
"It was my feeling when I got called a couple weeks ago to do this, and it was certainly my feeling that they were going back into New York, and perhaps maybe they could bring someone in that fans are familiar with or just someone for a little bit that you think, 'Hey, he has a chance'. I can't see it being another run for me, and I really don't desire to have another run. I am thrilled with what I am doing in my life, and I think it is just a chance to put me in there with HHH which certainly gives that rematch effect, and also it gives me a chance to work with some other guys, and bring the match more up to a competitive level."
Jim Ross, during one of the TLC Matches, echoed the thoughts of fans when he mentioned how Jeff Hardy was considered to be the "Next HBK." What are your thoughts of Jeff, the current state of his career, and if people were right in making that statement?
"Well, I think he is more talented then I ever was as far as what he can do in that ring. I often wonder if being compared to somebody else is ever helpful to a young guy. I don't know Jeff Hardy that well, but this is a comment that I feel generally of the talent in the locker room. I think the talent is better then it ever was. I think the only thing that our young guys lack is the passion and the drive to make things happen in their career. I say that, implying that they don't care enough, but at times you have to be unpopular and forceful to get your point across. This is a very tough business, and for me I was not liked an awful lot because of that overbearing passion that I had for this business. I am not saying you need to go as far as I do, but you have to push, and you have to fight behind the scenes for everything you want. That is what I think our talent lacks, and I am not trying to cause a big locker room uproar. I think you have to show that initiative outside of the ring, sometimes, more."
This past week marked the five year anniversary of the Montreal Screw Job with Bret Hart at WWE Survivor Series. On WWE Confidential you admitted to be in on the situation that night. How do you think that event changed professional wrestling, what are you thoughts on the situation being involved in it, and what are your thoughts on Bret Hart today?
"I don't think it changed wrestling too much. I think it worked well for Vince McMahon in developing the Vince McMahon character which helped build him as a wonderful antagonist for Steve Austin. I think the result is obvious as it was the big box office numbers. I think in that respect the timing and the attitude was right on with everything else. At that time me and Bret Hart, we had talked a lot that day, and we put the bad feelings aside as we came to a conclusion that it was something that got out of hand. I think our egos and pride got out of hand, and we both admitted fault in the situation that he and I had personally. That particular night had nothing to do with the personal conflict that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had earlier in their career. That was just the circumstances that it happened to be that me and Bret Hart, two guys in there who had a history of not liking each other, and this event coming down which obviously added to the magnitude of the entire event. We had put our differences aside, and certainly on my part, and his part too, I generally realized we had worked ourselves into a shoot for absolutely no reason. It was always a good match, and we enjoyed working with each other. I think once the passions and the egos got the better of us, it stayed the entire time were around each other."
At WrestleMania 14 you wrestled Steve Austin with special enforcer Mike Tyson at ringside. The Undertaker has mentioned in a recent TV interview about five to six months ago that you were worried about the match itself, and losing the title that night, and The Undertaker said he made sure you fulfilled your obligations. What are your thoughts on what the Undertaker said, and did you think that that was going to be your last match?
"I can't honestly remember that. I know that The Undertaker has always been the common force in the voice of reason in that locker room. I think that I was certain that was going to be my last match, and I know that was having a huge effect on me mentally. I knew that I was going to lose the match, and drop the belt to Steve Austin. That was something that I wanted to do, and I think the best I can recall is that physically I wasn't going to be able to do it as well as I could have. It bothered me so much that I was irrational about it, but I was irrational about every decision I was making in my life at that time. It was very difficult for me to believe that was the last one, and that the last one wasn't going to be very good from a performance standpoint. Everything in my life at that time, if I put on my performance in that ring I could live with myself, and if I didn't, it would have a bad effect on me. The Undertaker has always been the common reasoning force, and I think he spoke the truth, and made things plain and simple that you have to do this, and get out there and do it. Whether it is reasoning or whether it is wrong if someone 310 pounds tells you to do something, I might be a dummy, but I will do it."
After WrestleMania 14, you came back on WWE TV with the Commissioner Michaels character. Who came up with the idea, and did you enjoy that time as you were an on air TV personality in power and not wrestling?
"I was going through the motions there, and they didn't know what they wanted from me. I didn't know what I wanted from myself, but it was just sort of something to throw in there, and they didn't want to use it on a regular basis. They didn't have an intention of using it, and they knew I didn't want to be around at that time. It was just something you could break down to busy work, and those kinda things don't work in the business because you have to have a real feeling behind characters for them to work in our line of work."
When the Clique did the Madison Square Garden Shoot, did you guys plan it out, or was it just one of those things that you just decided to do, and did HHH take a lot of heat for the situation?
"Yes, HHH did take a lot of heat for that, and we had talked about it a couple weeks in advance on a European tour on how it would be neat to do. That was sort of the end of it, and it is one of those things that you're on the road, and it would be something neat to do, and that would sort of be it. That night before me and Kevin Nash went out to the ring Hunter came up and said, "Are we doing the thing?" We said we didn't know, and that was truly it. I just went out and had a match, and Hunter told us later that he asked Vince McMahon, and Vince said sure go ahead. I know that Vince McMahon okayed it, but he didn't know how it was going to end up. I think his vision was just us standing there and looking at each other. I don't think he envisioned us hugging and everything else. Vince liked all of us, and appreciated the friendship that we had, so from a pressure standpoint he had to do something, so he couldn't punish me, and pretty much Hunter got blamed for it. He ended up putting guys over for the next year I guess, and it was one of those things where you would be surprised things that are really big in the wrestling business nine times out of ten they are not planned out in depth as everybody thinks they are."
After HHH took over Degeneration X and you left WWE TV for a little while, did you truly expect HHH to be the top guy he is today, and what are your personal thoughts on him and the recent controversy that seems to surround him these days which includes a necrophilia angle?
"Yes, I thought he would be big. He was way too talented not to be big, and I am not surprised at that at all. I didn't like the necrophilia angle, and I don't know any other controversy that surrounds him other than it is something that happened. When you're extremely talented, and everybody believes you're extremely talented, and when you get to the top they put you under a microscope, and pick out every flaw you got. That is just part of the business, and of course people are welcome to their opinions. I didn't like the necrophilia angle, and HHH didn't like it. He was in a very tough position, and he does the same thing I have always done when Vince McMahon tells you to do something, you do it even if you dislike it. He didn't like it, but Vince McMahon asked him to do it, so he did it. It is much easier for everybody else, and we do the best we can, and we are going make mistakes so you hope you can recover from them. I don't know any solution to everything, and strangely enough, I don't think Vince McMahon, Hunter, and a lot of folks in that locker room know everything. They do the best they can."
Moving back to your early days as the tag team The Rockers with Marty Jannetty, what were you best experiences from that time, and why did you guys break up?
"The best thing about that time was breaking new ground as tag teams are concerned. We started doing things other people wouldn't do, and they started to take notice of that. It was really fun, and Marty taught me what goes on in that ring, you should be having fun, and it shouldn't be a struggle. I always tried to make sure that the rest of my life wasn't going to fall apart, and the things in that ring were going to be fun, and that I am going to enjoy it. The reason we broke up was because it ran its course, and Marty was happy with doing the tag team thing. I wanted to be a singles wrestler, and me and Marty talked about that from the first day we were together till the last. We tried it out to see if it worked, and we eventually had matches against one another. It was something that got done, and reached the point, so I went on from there."
What are your thoughts on Steve Austin, and do you think he will come back to WWE soon enough?
"I have absolutely no idea if he will come back. I think it will be a decision that him and Vince McMahon make, and I would love to have Steve back."
What do you think your impact will be or your role will be at WrestleMania 19?
"I don't know. I really have no idea, and I am just hoping I have the same impact I hope I am having now. I am just hoping it is positive, and I hope it helps. It is guys like you who know more about the business then I do, and you sure know more about what my role is. I do the best job I can, and then I come home, and mow the lawn, clean the garage, and I change diapers, and stuff like that. That is about the extent of it."
Finally, tell me how religion and God have touched your life.
"Religion hasn't touched my life as I have it since the day I was born. The fact that I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ on a daily basis for me it is something that is wonderful that has strengthened me. I have created a belief in myself that I have never had, and he has created an outlook on my responsibilities to my wife and to my son that is second to none. It is my responsibility which I take very seriously, and they deserve to have the absolute best that I can give them each and every day. I know that I can't do it by myself, and I know that I need help. Unlike everybody else I don't want to start to compromise like 'oh it is a little of this and a little of that' or 'it doesn't matter everyone is doing that'. I don't want that stuff for my son, and if I want him to be a good person I am going to have to be one myself 24 hours a day. I am not going to use my job to make an excuse to go on TV, and say 'oh I am just playing a role'. I am in the role I choose to play, and that is a Christian guy that happens to be a wrestler."
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Interesting read, huh? Hope his back holds up in the Chamber...