Shawn Michaels interview with The Sun Herald

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/...ent/8769585.htm

 

The return of the Heartbreak Kid

 

 

His stage nickname is the Heartbreak Kid, but Shawn Michaels' comeback has become one of the industry's most heart-warming stories.

 

Michaels left World Wrestling Entertainment in 1998 after suffering a back injury so severe that at one point he couldn't walk. Michaels' reputation within wrestling wasn't in much better shape than his body. Although considered one of grappling's most talented performers, Michaels had alienated many of his peers with a prima donna attitude and his legitimate double-cross of Bret Hart to capture the WWE title during the 1997 Survivor Series pay-per-view show.

 

But the Shawn Michaels who returned to WWE in 2002 was markedly different - and not just because of his fusion back surgery. Michaels became a born-again Christian and a married father during his time away from wrestling, which brought humility and a positive outlook that he admits was often lacking previously.

 

"For whatever reason, I didn't like myself before," Michaels said. "No matter what I did in the ring or accomplished, this line of work didn't make me feel good. Then one day I had a revelation. It changed my heart and made me feel obligated to serve in a better way than what I had been doing.

 

"I don't want to make it sound like this is just wrestling. But at the same time, whatever happens now to the 'Heartbreak Kid' has zero effect on the life of Michael Shane Hickenbottom. I think that wasn't the case before. The job was all I really had and how I identified myself as a person."

 

Michaels has changed so much that he has even apologized for what happened with Hart at Survivor Series. Concerned that he was going to leave to join then-rival World Championship Wrestling while still holding the WWE title, promotion owner Vince McMahon orchestrated a secret plan to recapture the strap. McMahon ordered referee Earl Hebner to ring the bell and say Hart had submitted while Michaels had "The Hitman" in a sharpshooter.

 

The incident is still used in WWE storylines, which Michaels admits used to make him uncomfortable.

 

"Every time I've been up to Canada, they make an issue out of it," said Michaels, who was heavily razzed in an April pay-per-view match against Chris Benoit in Edmonton. "So I sit there with a big smile on my face saying to myself, 'How long are they going to keep doing this?' But if they want to go there, I'm fine with it... I always will be sorry that it happened."

 

Just because wrestling is no longer life or death to Michaels doesn't mean he takes his performances less seriously. Michaels has gradually increased his in-ring schedule and the maneuvers he is willing to execute, as evidenced by his standout match earlier this month against Benoit on a Monday Night Raw telecast. Michaels did a moonsault from the top rope outside the ring and took a backdrop for the first time since his WWE return.

 

Michaels' 1993 ladder match against Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall and his 1996 hour-long bout against Hart were considered two of the most memorable clashes in "Wrestlemania" history. But Michaels said he cherishes last March's "Wrestlemania XX" match against Benoit and Paul "Triple H" Levesque just as much, even though the former ended up winning the WWE title.

 

Q: Whatever happened to Scott Hall?

Gilbert Delgado Jr., Abilene, Texas

 

A: Hall, who had faded from the wrestling scene in recent years, resurfaced earlier this month for the Hustle promotion in Japan. Bill Goldberg, Kevin Nash and Mick Foley also have working relationships with Hustle, which has given massive payoffs to American performers in hopes of making an impact in the Japanese wrestling scene.

[Guest Repo Man Reborn]

How come nobody asks him why, as a married grown man, he wears junior miss jeans?