WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard, and the following are some interview highlights:
On people disliking The Kliq for the pull they had with Vince McMahon:
“People’s dislike for us was palpable. So it was our adamant decision to feed into that even more. There were times when the wrestling narrative — the inside the business narrative — seemed so silly, and we made a decision never to glad-hand and take the heat off ourselves. We found the decision to add heat on top of us and make it worse was pretty amusing, and that’s what we always decided to do.”
If Scott Hall and Kevin Nash had stayed with WWE, would The Montreal Screwjob with Bret Hart have happened?
“I don’t think anyone would have swayed Bret’s decision-making. But if Kevin and Scott were still there, and I still had my friends, it would have prevented the entire thing from getting as out of hand as it did. Bret and I were friends, but we were young and we made bad decisions. We couldn’t see outside the wrestling business. It was the end-all, be-all. You were in that box constantly, so that’s all you thought about. It affects your decision-making.”
With rumors that HBK wouldn’t drop the WWE Title to Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14, The Undertaker threatened to beat him up if he didn’t do the job:
“Back then, Mark didn’t like me. But at no time has he ever claimed that he said anything to the face of Shawn Michaels, and that’s because he didn’t. Mark went to everybody and told them, ‘If this doesn’t go down the way it should, I’m going to have a big problem and Shawn is going to have a big problem. I’ll go over there and beat the heck out of him.’ But he never had to say anything to me. My whole intention at WrestleMania XIV was to drop the belt to Steve, but I was going to make everybody sweat it out and make them think I wasn’t. Obviously, I got that accomplished. That’s extremely unprofessional, but that’s exactly who I was and what I was doing.”
How faith turned his life around:
“I was difficult. I made it a point to be that way. But I’ve admitted to it and it’s time to move on, which is what I’ve done. People will constantly bring up my past and throw it in my face, but the Creator of the Universe doesn’t. If you ask forgiveness from Him, then it’s gone forever. The past is never brought up to shame you or degrade you. That’s what I love about my faith and Christianity. It’s the polar opposite of darn near everything I experienced in the wrestling business. I still love the business and I’m thankful for everything that it’s provided, but the idea that it deals in the truth is the furthest thing from reality.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
