by Chris Yandek for Total Wrestling Magazine March 2003 issue
When Shawn Michaels retired in 1998, the wrestling world was stunned to the core. Thankfully, he's back and wowing the crowds all over again!
He is truly one of the top headliners of all time in WWE. The legendary Shawn Michaels, who made his pro debut in 1984, stunned the world when he announced he was retiring from active in-ring work after his match against Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 14 on 29 March 1998, due to physical problems.
While away from the business, he spent quality time with his wife Rebecca, his parents and his son Cameron, who is now two years old. During that "retired" time, Shawn did miss the business and decided to open a training centre and a promotion - the Texas Wrestling Alliance.
But no wrestler who was at the top of his game like Shawn can resist temptation to see if he can do it at least one more time. And so he returned in the summer of 2002.
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, his thoughts on the current state of WWE, and so much more.
Why did you decide to return to wrestling and how much longer do you think you will be wrestling before actual 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. As far as when I think I will retire; not too far down the road. I don't know how many more of these I have 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.
During one of the TLC matches, Jim Ross echoed the thoughts of fans when he mentioned how Jeff Hardy was considered to be the "Next HBK". What are your thoughts on this? Well, I think he is more talented than I ever was as far as what he can do in that ring. I think the talent in the locker room is better than 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 I was not liked an awful lot because of the overbearing passion that I had for this business. I am not saying you need to go as far as I did, but you have to push, and you have to fight for what you want.
It has been more than five years since the Montreal Screw Job with Bret Hart at Survivor Series. On Confidential, you admitted to having been in on the situation that night. How do you think that event changed pro-wrestling? I don't think it changed wrestling too much. I think it worked well for Vince in that it helped build him as a wonderful antagonist for Steve Austin. I think the result is obvious as it was the box-office numbers. I think, in that respect, the timing and the attitude was right on with everything else. That night had nothing to do with the personal conflict that me and Bret Hart had earlier in our careers. It was just circumstancial that it just happened to be me and Bret Hart in this event. We had put our differences aside, and 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 ego got the better of us, it stayed the entire time we were around each other.
At Wrestlemania 14, you wrestled Steve Austin. The Undertaker has mentioned in a recent TV interview that you were worried about losing the title that night. Did you think it was going to be your last match? I can't honestly remember that. 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 ball 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 that I was very irrational about it, but then 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 good from a performance standpoint. If I put on a good perfromance in that ring I could live with myself, and if I didn't, it would have a very 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.
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 an on-air personality? I was going through the motions, and they didn't know what they wanted from me. It was just something to throw in there. They didn't have an intention of using it, and they knew I didn't want to be around at that time. 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.
Let's discuss DX which you were a part of. After Triple H took the group over and you left WWE TV for a little while, did you truly expect Triple H to become the top guy he is today? 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. When you're extremely talented, and you get to the top, they put you under a microscope and pick out ever 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 Triple H 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. It is much easier for everybody else, and we do the best we can, and we are going to make mistakes so you hope you can recover from them. I don't know everything, and strangely enough, I don't think Vince, 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 your best experiences from that time, and why did you guys break up? The best thing about that time was breaking new groundas 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 was 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 end, so I went on from there.