Shawn Michaels interview

[Guest slacklet]

http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_...tc.&c=7,1028446

 

Born-again WWE star not wrestling with demons

By Lucinda Resnick

 

Shawn Michaels admits he shouldn’t be wrestling. One false move and the 38-year-old “Heartbreak Kid” could be crippled for life.

 

His family and friends worry about him injuring his back again, but Michaels shrugs off their fears.

 

Michaels has a deep faith that “nothing will happen to me.” Wrestling, he insists, “is where the Lord wants me to be” and despite the risks in the ring, “my faith will get me through.”

 

Michaels is a different person than the one who made his wrestling debut in October 1984. He joined World Wrestling Entertainment 16 years ago, and says that he sometimes was difficult to deal with at times.

 

In those days, wrestling was his life — and the 6-foot-1, 225-pound “sexy boy” took that life very seriously. It showed in his performances in the ring, where he would do almost anything to please the fans. That “showstopping” mentality took a toll on his body and Michaels had to temporarily retire afer Wrestlemania XIV in 1998. He underwent surgery for two herniated discs in his back and was told he shouldn’t wrestle again.

 

During his hiatus, he opened a wrestling academy in San Antonio, had a son and became a born-again Christian.

 

When WWE owner Vince McMahon asked him to return to wrestling four years later, Michaels at first turned down the offer, saying he needed more time to sort out his life. Six months later, Michaels “felt peace” and decided to rejoin WWE as commissioner.

 

One night as he was reading a Bible passage from the book of Joshua, the words “‘be strong and courageous’ jumped out at me and I decided to return to the ring.”

 

But Michaels made it perfectly clear to McMahon that he would only wrestle a limited schedule. “One of the things I was up front with the WWE about was that my family and faith were my first priorities.”

 

Michaels pretty much gets to pick the shows he wants to do, including Sunday at The Mark of the Quad-Cities, Moline.

 

He usually is home with his family Tuesday through Saturday of every week.

 

“I’m fortunate. Everyone else doesn’t have that,” he said.

 

Perhaps that is why Michaels continues to give it his all while he is in the ring. “I’m out there trying to do something special for the fans,” he said. “I hope I bring something to the company and our shows that would be missing if I wasn’t there.”

 

Known for his high-flying stunts, Michaels said he learned a lot of his moves through “on the job training.”

 

“I don’t give a lot of thought to what I do when I’m out there. It’s spur of the moment,” he said, adding with a laugh that if he did think about what he was doing he “might chicken out.”

 

When wrestling fans list the greatest matches of all time, Michaels’ name always comes up.

 

“That’s the best compliment ever. The most special thing people can say to me. It really is very rewarding to hear.”

 

Michaels said he plans to wrestle as long as “I feel this is where I’m supposed to be,” but often wonders how long his body can take the punishment.

 

“Certainly with age I feel pain a lot more than I used to. It takes me a lot longer to recover now,” he said.

 

It also takes him a lot longer to prepare. “I take better care of myself than I did before. It’s a constant job to keep my body in good condition and pain free,” he said.

 

His workouts, he said, include trying to keep up with his 4-year-old son, who knows his dad is a wrestler, but is not allowed to watch any of his matches.

 

Michaels makes sure his storylines are tamer than most and, when asked, gives input on some of the more risque plots in the WWE. He admits there are “things I don’t agree with” in the wrestling characters, but adds, “it’s not my place to tell others what to do.”

 

He does believe, however, that he has an obligation to use his celebrity to make a difference in the world. Last summer, he recruited some of his peers to do autograph sessions — including one in the Quad-Cities — raising tens of thousands of dollars to benefit the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. And more recently, he became involved in a WWE program to register new voters.

 

“I’m trying to be a light in the darkness,” Michaels said.

[1234-5678 0]

Pure fluff.

[geniusMoment 0]

God, this coming from the former number 1 degenerate and a potential leader during the WWE attitude campaign, along with Austin before HBK retired. This is sad, as I wanted the old degenerate heel HBK back, that is the most entertaining version. In portraying a character in wrestling why is it any different than portraying a bad guy in the movies? This is why religion is bad, first HBK, now Russo.

[Guest GiZ]

This is sad, as I wanted the old degenerate heel HBK back, that is the most entertaining version.

 

Me two, he's so stale now it's getting beyond a joke.

 

 

This is why religion is bad, first HBK, now Russo.

 

It's a sad day when people have to live their lives through a fictitous book. All these rules and morals they have to follow, it's a wonder they enjoy life at all.

[Guest I Got Banned for Sucking]

Yeah, fluff for sure, but an interesting read. I didn't know that he'd been a born-again Christian for that long.

 

While some might disagree, I respect the fact that he doesn't let his 4-year-old son watch any of his matches. It gives you something to think about.

[haVoc 0]

Despite his change in attitude since returning, many remain skeptical of Shawn Michaels and feel that he is using his new religious beliefs to get what he wants. Most feel he is using religion as a new way of manipulating people and situations to his favor.

 

Credit: Torch Newsletter

 

The angry, bitter Heat guys speak.

[Guest Nanks]

Yeah, fluff for sure, but an interesting read. I didn't know that he'd been a born-again Christian for that long.

 

While some might disagree, I respect the fact that he doesn't let his 4-year-old son watch any of his matches. It gives you something to think about.

I don't respect that at all. What kind of a mixed message does that send to the kid?? On one hand, I'm sure, he'd be preaching all kinds of religious garbage, and expecting his son to listen and respect what he says. On the other hand he's saying to him that his very occupation isn't suitable for him to even watch.

 

I worded that clumsily, but I'm tired. I hope my meaning gets across.

[Guest croweater]

The irony being that he's also probably teaching his son bible storues which are many times more gorey and violent and REAL in comparison to wrestling

[Guest Dazed]

I don't respect that at all. What kind of a mixed message does that send to the kid?? On one hand, I'm sure, he'd be preaching all kinds of religious garbage, and expecting his son to listen and respect what he says. On the other hand he's saying to him that his very occupation isn't suitable for him to even watch.

 

I worded that clumsily, but I'm tired. I hope my meaning gets across.

Doesn't it send the message that, "what I do is suitable for people older than you"? Would Uma Thurman be wrong for not showing her hypothetical four year old watch Kill Bill?

[Guest BDC]

GiZ. don't flamebait.

 

As for Shawn not letting his son watch, he's just being a responsible parent. He doesn't think his son is old enough to watch his stuff yet, so he doesn't let him. It's basically the same thing nik said, he's just trying to raise his child in a way he sees as responsible. It's not like he said "you have to hit your kids so they grow up to be good people".

[haVoc 0]

Another Shawn interview...

 

San Diego, Calif, -- May 18, 2004 -- It’s become one of sports entertainment’s classic rivalries. For the past eight years, Triple H and Shawn Michaels have alternated from being the best of friends to the worst of enemies on multiple occasions.

 

There’s been something about this amazing clash of Superstars that has captured the imaginations of WWE fans like nothing else since perhaps the days of Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant in the late 1980s. And now on the RAW brand, fans have the privilege of watching the latest chapter in this epic war.

 

“I think it’s one of those rivalries that has so much history to it,” Michaels said backstage at RAW. “Fans know that it’s all based on something that’s very solid.

 

We were two guys that were very close, traveled around the world together, we were friends and had a falling out. It’s something that’s been going on for years. So when you have a great history, a history both in and out of the WWE ring, and then you put classic matches on top of that—because we deliver from a performance standpoint. We both strive to outdo each other. We bring out the best in each other because we’re both trying to be better than each other. We’re trying to be the best, and when you do that, the final result is usually a really great product. And the fans are always the ones who benefit from that.”

 

In 1996, Triple H and Shawn Michaels were part of a backstage brotherhood that came to be known as “The Kliq.” The following year, that brotherhood was translated to the TV screen as D-Generation X. But after an injury in 1998 sent Michaels into a four-year hiatus, it was Triple H who took the forefront, after he lambasted his former partner for deserting DX.

 

The Shawn Michaels comeback of 2002 sent fans on a rollercoaster of emotions. First it seemed that DX would reunite, then Triple H and Shawn were at each others’ throats. They traded the World Heavyweight Championship back and forth in the fall of ’02, and HBK continued to be a thorn in Triple H’s side after the formation of Evolution. They have engaged in matches that can only be described as classics, including encounters at SummerSlam ’02 and the 2002 Survivor Series. For some, it hearkens back to some of the sport’s most revered feuds.

 

Much like Triple H and Shawn, the Hulkster and the Giant were longtime friends whose battles lit up the wrestling business once they had their famous falling out in March 1987. The resulting war lasted nearly two years.

 

“The only thing that may differ,” says Michaels when comparing the rivalry with that of Hogan and Andre, “and this is not to be critical of anybody, but talking from a performance standpoint, I’m thinking more about mat classics - something that you put on and watch if you want to learn how to be a wrestler. I like to believe that Triple H and HBK will be something that will be like a Ric Flair/Ricky Steamboat rivalry, a Jack Brisco/Dory Funk Jr., a Harley Race/Terry Funk type of historical match up. Something you want to revisit because it will be a classic. The thing with Hunter and I is, we want to eclipse those. That’s what drives Hunter and I, going out there and trying to perform at a level that nobody else can. Whether we reach that or not, that’s for the fans to judge. But that’s certainly what we strive to do every time we go out there with each other.”

 

But can they live up to the outstanding performances they’ve put on in the past, let alone surpass them? Only time will tell.

 

“It’s a double-edged sword,” says HBK. “Part of what gets you there is getting excited about that challenge, living up to the challenge. To me, that’s what separates the good ones from the great ones, and then the great ones from that elite group, the greatest. Because we toss around the words ‘great’ and ‘legend’ so much now that it’s so desensitized. Nobody really grasps it. We call guys ‘great’ that are nowhere near great all the time.”

 

No matter how stringent the qualifications, there’s no question that Triple H and Shawn Michaels are among the all-time greats. Whether their rivalry will also be remembered as such will have to wait until it’s finally over. And that’s not something that any true WWE fan is really looking forward to anyway.

 

Credit: wwe.com