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NewsShawn Michaels Interview, Talks WrestleMania 26, Creating A "Great" Match, & More

Shawn Michaels Interview, Talks WrestleMania 26, Creating A “Great” Match, & More

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“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels was interviewed by Bleacher Report, where he discusses his “Retirement Match” against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26, what goes into creating a “great match”, and more.

On the “formula” for a great match: “I think if there was a formula, we’d certainly try to do it as often as we could. Look, I think it takes a number of different aspects. Timing being one of the biggest ones. The story. The people that are in it. Clearly, the execution, of course. The psychology. Nowadays, having a good idea of what it is the fan base is looking for and wants. And I’ll say this—I think now maybe more than ever, it has to connect through some real-life experiences, where it can appear as if art is imitating very much real life. I think that’s an added ingredient that may not have been there 20 years ago. So it’s quite a list.”

On being able to tell a story in the ring: “There are a number of different aspects I began to focus on and notice. And you just do your best to pull from all those different emotions, put together the best match you can and then go out there and execute it perfectly. And then there also has to be a bit of flexibility, so, when you’re out there in the moment, you can capture a feeling you might not have even known was going to be there. I think some of it has to do with age, maturity, heaven forbid a little wisdom in there. And also you begin to understand that you’re not a spring chicken. You’re not 10-feet tall and bulletproof. And some of that also has to do with the temperament of the business as a whole. Everything continues to change and evolve. You as a performer have to change and evolve with it.”

On making the decision after WrestleMania 25 to retire the next year: “I just got this sense of peace about me that I hadn’t really encountered before. And I told my wife, ‘That might’ve been the one to end it all.’ She said, ‘Really?’ And I said, ‘Yeah. I don’t know what more you do after that?’ I just felt like that went as good as it can possibly go.”

On making fans believe he could potentially beat Undertaker in his final match: “I don’t know if this is the right philosophy, but it’s one I’ve always had. I’ve never ever felt that you had to make them believe something. It isn’t about believing. It’s about having a doubt. I didn’t need them to think I was going to win. But I wanted them to have second thoughts. I don’t think making people believe something is ever possible unless it’s innate in them. Unless it’s something that they want to believe. And so you try to capitalize on what they want to believe. There were people who had hope that the impossible might happen, hope that it might not be my last one. And so you just have to put a doubt in there. Catching a fish is catching a fish. How deep you set that hook makes it totally different. Barely setting that hook, you have to ease the fish in; set it deep, and it doesn’t take that much finesse or work. That’s what you do in wrestling. It’s just about getting them, for just a moment, to think they might not be right. That maybe they can’t call it. And after that, it’s just finesse. From that point on, you’re just doing your best to take them on that ride.”

On the talent who helped develop him: “I always connected with Pat Patterson because it was real to him. He could sit there and cry in front of you trying to tell you about how much he loved the wrestling business or what he wanted for somebody. He did it with Bret (Hart). He did it with me. He did it with guys that he didn’t know, didn’t have any relationship with, but he saw talent and ability. He developed a relationship with us and pulled for us in every aspect. No matter how much trouble, no matter how much hassle we might’ve been, he brushed all of that aside because he appreciated the person and the passion and the desire that they had. And I guess that’s what I do with all my guys. I don’t lie. I don’t B.S. them. You know?”

On the importance of people in WWE fighting for what they believe in: “It’s OK to take this stuff too seriously sometimes, to sometimes not be able to blur those lines between real and what isn’t real. Everybody talks about how ‘It’s just business, brother’ and you know, that’s a bunch of hogwash. Some guys in a lot of this generation, they’re like me. I think that’s why so many of them have connected with me is because I think they saw through the character and saw that, ‘I think that guy really, really loves this. And he loves us. He absolutely is thrilled being out here doing this.’ I care about them and their success and their success in the ring and their creative fulfillment in it. Creatively there are some things that they want as a human being, as a performer. And sometimes in wrestling, you have to forego that for money or for a spot, or for this story or for that story. I understand both sides. I understand the business side, but I understand the performer side, too. I try to connect the creative and the office standpoints in a way that doesn’t cause any dissension. I work pretty hard to weave those two worlds together. And I tirelessly do it on their behalf, no matter how much it gets on people’s nerves.”

On providing guidance to the talent in NXT: “They need balance. I think we do really well. Me connecting on the emotional side when it’s warranted, for that vulnerability, when that weakness, when that passion, all those a little bit softer emotions for fighting from underneath. For instance, when you’re a Tomasso Ciampa and a big, strong, rough, tough character, that’s sometimes hard to find. And then Hunter balances that out for me because he’s so good with the other. What’s cool? And what’s badass? So I think we’re a good combination in there, to help them see all the angles… It’s easy for me to do what I do now. I love working with NXT. I love working with the young talent just like I loved performing out there.”

Courtesy: 411Mania

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