Credit: Scott H
I had the extreme pleasure of attending a
night with HBK, Shawn Michaels in Manchester. This event, to me, and most in
attendance, was like having a piece of WrestleMania carved up and put on a stage
right in front of you.
Shawn was very honest, very open and answered
every question the 400 plus crowd asked him to.
Here are some notes from
memory, apologies if they are not as detailed as they should be, this was Shawn
Michaels after all, and I was in the same room as him!
Shawn talked about
WrestleMania 30 from the gorilla position; he said he was as shocked as anyone
that Taker lost, and that he texted Taker afterwards to see if he was ok. Taker
responded that he is ok and will sue when he finds out the number of the bus
that hit him!
Shawn seems to have a nice relationship with Taker and
mentioned some Outdoor projects they might do in the future.
He describes
the mood of WrestleMania 14, the bad place he was in, the way he was acting all
day and even up to bell time, nobody really knew if he was going to do business,
not even Stone Cold.
Shawn described a great story, telling how Tyson was
in boxing mode backstage when practicing the punch for the end of the
match.
When asked if Undertaker was at gorilla position during the
WrestleMania 14 main event, Shawn said no, it was just internet folklore again
that had created that one.
A fan asked Shawn about overselling in the
Summer Slam 2005 match with Hulk Hogan. Shawn said he had sold the same way
against Nash in 1995 and that everyone thought it was fantastic then. HBK
revealed it was suppose to be a best of 3 series with Hulk, with a win a piece,
and then a final match, but it didn’t quite happen that way.
Shawn spoke
nicely about Bret Hart, and their relationship seems in a better place than it
has been for many a year.
HBK asked everyone not to believe what they
read on the Internet, he laughed off reports that he was going to work with
Daniel Bryan.
Asked about ROH Shawn said he hasn’t seen the product, but
was aware of some of the talented guys that had come out of the
promotion.
HBK talked about Daniel Bryan, and how Bryan was ready for a
WWE job a few years before he got one, but Daniel felt WWE was not right for him
yet. He said Daniel was an artist, who created, but then after a while the
artist needs to get paid, and WWE can do that.
Shawn has a lot of respect
for Vince and tells stories about the type of person Vince really is.
The
chemistry between HBK and Chris Jericho was so good Jericho, Shawn and Vince
knew straight away that there was something special there, and this was in 2003
not their epic 2008 feud.
Shawn talked about the CM Punk situation, and
said that the money, the title reigns are great but if you are not happy then it
is best to walk away.
Shawn spoke to the Ultimate Warrior at the Hall Of
Fame, and said to him that it was so lovely to see him with his 2 daughters. He
said he was proud the last thing he ever said to Warrior was a positive and nice
thing.
It was Stephanie who helped him write the Larry King skit about
Hulk Hogan in 2005.
Shawn talked at length about his return in 2002, and
how great it was but at first he thought it was just 1 match. Then Vince had the
idea of a feel good moment with the 2002 Elimination Chamber and HBK winning,
and then 8 years on HBK was still wrestling.
When asked about the DX days
HBK said that the early stuff was very racy, but the older stuff was funnier in
a dorky way. He said he was paid well to be an idiot.
Shawn talked about
going solo and the split with Marty and how he didn’t want to work with Sherri
and he didn’t like the music, and he said that Pat Patterson told him that plain
and simple, Sherri would elevate him, as she had only been with top
guys.
Jimmy Hart still thinks it is great HBK uses the music Jimmy
created for him in January 1992.
Shawn mentions JR’s podcast and that he
recently did an interview with JR.
Shawn had to compare the Kliq Incident
with the Montreal Screw job; he said the Screw Job had more of an impact on the
business because everyone knew about it, including the casual fan.
Shawn
talked about Sid being his bodyguard, and Kevin Nash. It was HBK’s idea for
Curtis Hughes to be his bodyguard first.
Shawn told some stories about
his days on the road with the Kliq.
