Show: Wrestling Epicenter courtesy of www.WrestlingEpicenter.com
Guest: "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels
Date: 12/12/05
Your Hosts: James Walsh, Brendon Brooks, Ben Benya, & "Queen of Extreme" Francine
Recap By: Darren Watson
In the song "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen, David Lee Roth blurts out the phrase, "I hope you missed us, we're back!"
Well, I hope you missed us, we're back!
After the near implosion of the Wrestling Epicenter, we're back and better than ever. And, we kick our return back to the
radio off with none other than the show stopper, the headliner, the main event, and the Icon. That's right, "The Heartbreak
Kid" Shawn Michaels helps us get back in the swing of things in a great interview you can't afford to miss!
Despite Mr. Michaels' poor phone reception, we invite you to tune in to this interview!
SHAWN MICHAELS
-- Show opens with James welcoming Shawn to the show.
-- Shawn notes that his autobiography is out now. He had a lot of help from his co-writer- Aaron who he brought down to San Antonio for days at a time, because he feels that was the only way they could really be on the same page (no pun intended). Shawn says Aarons a great guy and he really tried to get in and understand how & why Michaels struggled so much when things were going so well, as well as asking for his takes on all the stories that have been out there over the decades. They had a blast writing the book, the reason they feel it worked out as well as it did was because of the emotions involved and how Shawn was finally able to have his say in a lot of issues that had previously gone untold.
-- Michaels brings up the Bret Hart ordeal, it may not have been his favorite memory but it was certainly a monumental moment in his career. They always had a bumpy relationship, and in this book Shawn finally gets the platform to tell things from his side. He notes that Bret Hart and his fans may not appreciate or enjoy it, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
-- Shawn mentions that these types of situations happen, when you get two top guys working for a top position, it brings out the bad in people. He admits he used the controversy around him to add to his career and TV character.
-- James brings up how the fans don’t seem to be able to put the past behind them, that even eight years down the line, we still have people chanting ‘You screwed Bret’.
Shawn feels that the fans aren’t getting over it, because the individual hasn’t gotten over it. Bret continues to relive that one day in his life over and over again which is unfortunate. Michaels says that Montreal was just one small aspect of his life, yet due to the lengths it’s gone too and how it changed the industry, it had to be included, there are countless other stories in the book.
-- Michaels’ personal favorite moment was meeting his wife and salvation, which completely changed his life; that along with his triumphant return to the ring and being as good as he ever was before the back injury. It goes to show, no matter how bad things get, it’s never over; you keep hanging on because there is hope.
-- Since his return to the ring in 2002, Shawn feels he has silenced a lot of his critics. He takes full responsibility for all the things he did in the past, and how he would throw the proverbial gasoline on the fire in certain situations. Back then he did it all for himself, but now he has grown up, he enjoys it and doesn’t do it for anybody.
-- On his boyhood dream culminating at Wrestle Mania 12- HBK states that his dream since the age of twelve was just to be a wrestler, he wanted to be the guy standing after the match as the winner with the crowd cheering for him, but it was so unrealistic and farfetched that it didn’t even seem reachable in a dream. When he first got into the business he just wanted to make a living.
-- When asked about his salvation and whether or not he regrets any actions from the attitude era, Shawn says he doesn’t. You cannot live life that way or else you miss out pieces life and you wouldn’t end up where you are today. He mentions he wouldn’t bring back DX again, he was happy to be apart of something innovative in the wrestling business, but he has changed, he’s forty year old father, and so he doesn’t feel he should be doing that sort of thing on national TV. He admits he made mistakes, but you can never change what you’ve done in your past and that’s the realistic way to look at it.
-- After writing the book, Shawn feels he has gained a little more insight on the man Shawn Michaels was, and the Shawn Michaels he is today. He has grown from his experiences, and although initially he wasn’t sure about doing the book and felt uncomfortable about letting people in on the inside issues, he feels its worked out fine. Just like in life, you do it to the best of your abilities and you hope that maybe some people will be impacted by it; some people won’t like it but that’s just the way things go. He’s very proud of it.
-- James thanks Shawn for his time.
-- Reminder that Heartbreak and Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story is now available in all good book stores.