Juicy Tidbits from HBK's Book

[Shanghai Kid 0]

Well I read the book over the last two days. It's not as good as Foleys, but I put it up there maybe 3rd or 4th. Of course it includes alot of BS and sugercoating, but Shawn is also fairly honest about being an ass back in the day. Yes, Shawn's writing is as direct as the excerpt that was posted here (Earl, we're screwing Bret tonight). He actually addresses some of the stuff you see on these boards.

 

Theirs alot of stuff on Bret Hart, but first here's some other stuff-

 

- Modeled his style after Curt Henning and Ric Flair

 

-Says he saw Kevin Nash in a Vin Vegas skit and got his number and Kevin was happy to jump ship.

 

-Enjoyed his matches with Tito Santana and Ric Martel, but didn't feel like they were the kind of matches that elevated somebody.

 

- Pat Patterson was his biggest supporter througout his career, believing he could be a star when no one else did.

 

-Goes through the whole breakup with Jannety, but describes how nice it was to have the Rocker reunion this year.

 

 

-Says his match with Mr. Perfect was a dissapointment and their styles were too similar and didn't mesh.

 

-Was taking tons of painkillers and getting wasted all the time.

 

- Admits to being unprofessional and hard to deal with as he rose to the top.

 

- Says that at Wrestlemania 11 he specifically wanted Diesel to kick out of the superkick right at 3 but Vince forced Nash to kick out after 1 thinking it would make Nash look more powerful. Both Shawn and Nash thought the crowd would turn on Diesel after that thinking he's being pushed down their throat. Says that when the crowd started boo'ing Nash said "I knew it" and when Vince told Shawn he was turning him face Shawn was angry saying it was "cause of the kickout".

 

- Prefers to work heel, because his 'pretty boy' character was not meant to be a face.

 

-Shane Dougles came into WWE with alot of hype from the dirt sheets, but he just wasn't that talented. Says it would be stupid for him or Scott Hall to go out and have bad matches with Shane cause that would of made them look bad. Says the WWE used to try out new workers against X-Pac and after Shane's match X-Pac said "he's not going to make it".

 

- Buries Sid as a worker saying one of his biggest career highlights is being able to have a good match with Sid.

 

-On the Curtain call, says HHH asked Vince before if it was ok to do it, Vince gave them the ok but then turned on them when he felt pressure from other sources.

 

-Says things got real bad when Hall and Nash left. Mentions the blackout match with Bulldog and him snapping at a fan at ringside. Says he was very unprofessional in the match with Vader at SS but emphasises that he was never asked to put over Vader. Says alot of the boys in the back hated him.

 

-Says buisness was down when he was champ for a number of reasons, he took responsibity for it but said WCW was coming on strong and WWE was transistioning itself from old gimmicks to more realistic and raunchy stuff.

 

-Says he got over as a face as a rebellious character, but when he became champ he became white meat face led by his elderly trainer as they searched for feel good moments. Was not surprised when the fans turned on him at Survivor Series.

 

-Says the whole Undertaker taping his fists up before Wrestlemania 14 is a myth. Says he was pissed when Tyson covered him up in an Austin 3:16 shirt after the match and he thought he was just being buried out of the WWE at that point. Says he burst into the WM14 Press Conference afterwards and caused a big scene before leaving.

 

 

-Says he insisted on Kurt Angle beating him at Mania 21 with the ankel lock.

 

 

-Says his best program was with the Undertaker, also puts over Austin/Foley/Jericho.

 

-Says beyond the BS he accomplished what he wanted to do in the ring and that his biggest accomplishment is some of his peers (Foley, Undertaker) telling him that the best matches of their career were with him.

 

Now for Bret Hart/Montreal stuff-

 

-Says Bret Hart and Niedhart pushed for the Rockers not to get the tag team titles.

 

-Him and Bret were cool when Bret was the World Champ and he was the IC Champ cause they had a mutual respect and thought they were carrying the federation. Shawn thought it was wrong when Hogan came and took the title at WM9 and actively supported Bret during that.

 

-Gives Bret 'credit' for coming up with the idea for the first ladder match, saying that Bret had done it with Dynamite Kid in Stampede.

 

-Says after the Iron man match Bret left immediately and was one of the few guys not to congradulate him. Says Bret dissapeared for 8 months and buried Shawn in newspaper columns and was not supportive of his title reign. Says Bret would tell him he was sorry than keep slamming him behind his back.

 

- Says Owen Hart was far more talented than Bret and could work more styles. Kind of uses the same argument for Bret as a wrestler that Bret used about Flair saying Bret was stuck in a routine and didn't have the flexibility to change it up.

 

-Talked about Bret not talking to him for 3 weeks after the Sunny Days comment and than them getting in a fight where Bret pulled out his hair.

 

- Says that Vince signed him to a nice contract and told him he was "the man" but then a few months later signed Bret to twice as much money. Shawn thought the only person in the company at the time who deserved to make more money than him was Undertaker.

 

-They made sure to leave Patterson out of the screwjob cause he had a good relationship with Bret and wouldn't do it. Shawn describes the screwjob as a "mafia hit".

 

-Before the match in Montreal he and Bret sat in a room and said Bret was trying to put the past to rest and saying he respected Shawn as a worker and that it wasn't that he couldn't lose to Shawn but that he didn't want to lose in Canada. Shawn says earlier Bret had specificially told Vince that he wouldn't lose to Shawn so he knew that was BS. Says that Bret was ignoring the buisness side of it and just looking at it from the perspective of "Bret Hart the hero". Says him and Bret had two different mentalities. Says that Shawn can admit that both he and Bret were unprofessional but Bret just wants to put the blame on everybody else and take none himself. Says before they went to the ring Bret asked him "can I trust you"? and Shawn said "yes". Shawn said that he wouldn't of lied like that today and that at that point he felt sorry for Bret cause he had no idea what was about to happen. and even told HHH "jeez I'm going to be more of a heel after this than ever". Said that Vince tried as hard as he could to put all the heat on himself.

 

- Says that Bret told him to hump the Canadain flag to get heat from the crowd.

 

-Bret came up with the Sharpshooter reversal spot, which was odd since people had been telling Bret that day not to let yourself get into a situation where they can screw you.

 

-Says that DOA or the Harris Brothers came up to him and said "we got your back no matter what happens" and they basically followed him around that day.

 

- Says Shane Mcmahon was in on it, and that it was funny that Bret took pride in knocking out Vince when it was clear that Vince took a dive. Says that Vince had told them in the meeting the day before he was going to let Bret "hit him" cause he owed it to him

 

-Says the first person he sought out the next day was the Undertaker, and Taker told him that it was cool and that was the only guy Shawn cared to find out about.

 

-Says he told his wife (Whisper of the Nitro girls) to wear a Shawn Micheals shirt to Nitro, and she did and happened to walk by Bret Hart who gave her a nasty scowl.

 

If you got any questions let me know, I left out alot of stuff but the book has alot off interesting stuff.

[Matt Young 0]

I already started a thread on this, but thanks for saving me some time by typing all that out.

[MikeJordan23 0]

Good shit, thanks.

[Guest karlitoapple]

I'm wondering about any interesting comments regarding The Rock, Hulk Hogan or Honky Tonk Man(not sure if he would be talking about him).

[pochorenella 0]

If anything this made me more interested in getting the book myself. Nice tidbits, SK.

[Shanghai Kid 0]

I'm wondering about any interesting comments regarding The Rock, Hulk Hogan or Honky Tonk Man(not sure if he would be talking about him).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Nothing really at all about the Rock. A couple of little things on Hogan but didn't ever really slam him or praise him and didn't cover his feud with Hogan.

[BigDawgCarl 0]

- Pat Patterson was his biggest supporter througout his career, believing he could be a star when no one else did. 

 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

must...hold...back...joke...

[Matt Young 0]

I'm wondering about any interesting comments regarding The Rock, Hulk Hogan or Honky Tonk Man(not sure if he would be talking about him).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I don't remember anything about Rock or HTM, and the only Hogan comments that come to mind areabout Bret and others being upset about WrestleMania IX and Shawn mentioning that Hogan liked to be the 4th match on the card so he could get back to the hotel before they stopped doing room service.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

Does he say anything about guys not getting a chance to shine but they deserved it. Like Christian or something.

[chaosrage 0]

- Prefers to work heel, because his 'pretty boy' character was not meant to be a face.

 

Exactly. If he prefers to work heel (and without a doubt he's much better at it), then why hasn't he been one for the past few years? Does he say anything about that?

[Shanghai Kid 0]

- Prefers to work heel, because his 'pretty boy' character was not meant to be a face.

 

Exactly. If he prefers to work heel (and without a doubt he's much better at it), then why hasn't he been one for the past few years? Does he say anything about that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think he actually says something along the lines of even though he's had the same gimmick the fans have cheered him so consistently since he came back that their hasn't been a need to be heel. It sounds like he wouldn't have a problem with it though.

[Guest Sternchen]

Wohow, Taker was cool with it?

I've never read that he reacted in a positive way because he likes Bret and thought that it was unprofessional.

 

What about the clique?

 

I like to read some comments about them like Scott's drinking.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Taker confirmed the story (which Shawn apparently denies in his book) about telling Shawn before the match to "do the right thing" at WM 14 or else there'd be "consequences" on OTR up here in Canada, so who knows what kind of picture Shawn is trying to paint of his relationship with the Deadman.

[Shanghai Kid 0]

Wohow, Taker was cool with it?

I've never read that he reacted in a positive way because he likes Bret and thought that it was unprofessional.

 

What about the clique?

 

I like to read some comments about them like Scott's drinking.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Taker didn't react in a positive way, but Shawn says that after Vince explained it to Taker he was fine. Being 'cool with it' as in not walking out or leading a locker room rebellion, not as in "haha you guys rule you screwed Bret"!

[haVoc 0]

Lets not put Taker up on a pedestal there Shawn. Bret was gone, everyone knew he was going to WCW and was going to make 9 million dollars. Everyone knew Shawn was Vince's favorite at the time.

 

What could Taker do about it?

[Shanghai Kid 0]

Taker confirmed the story (which Shawn apparently denies in his book) about telling Shawn before the match to "do the right thing" at WM 14 or else there'd be "consequences" on OTR up here in Canada, so who knows what kind of picture Shawn is trying to paint of his relationship with the Deadman.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Well Shawn doesn't mention dialogue, just that the whole Taker taping up his fists and threatning Shawn thing was a myth. Taker confirming it pretty much hurts Shawns credibility on that, but Shawn says they were closer after their feud.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

You know whose book I'd be interested in reading?

 

The Undertakers.

 

Like, seriously, what has this guy done to get someone as big as Shawn Michaels and HHH for that matter, to suck up to him and stay on his good side?

[Guest Sternchen]

Wohow, Taker was cool with it?

I've never read that he reacted in a positive way because he likes Bret and thought that it was unprofessional.

 

What about the clique?

 

I like to read some comments about them like Scott's drinking.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Taker didn't react in a positive way, but Shawn says that after Vince explained it to Taker he was fine. Being 'cool with it' as in not walking out or leading a locker room rebellion, not as in "haha you guys rule you screwed Bret"!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I don't believe that.

 

There was no explanation needed. Bret was screwed and everyone could figure out that he was, so did Taker.

 

I think that he knew that he wouldn't have had a chance to say something against the decision it so he told Shawn that he was "fine".

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I'd say it was more of a "if it could happen to Bret, it could happen to any one of us" kinda thing. It was a breach of trust, and the boys had to know they were safe from it. I don't think it was a "how could you do that to bret?" kinda thing. Sitting Taker down and explaining to him that it was a once in a lifetime thing and "had to be done" was probably what Vince tried to accomplish.

 

My POV, could be wrong. Pure speculation.

[haVoc 0]

Oh, and I don't believe this for a second.

 

and that it was funny that Bret took pride in knocking out Vince when it was clear that Vince took a dive. Says that Vince had told them in the meeting the day before he was going to let Bret "hit him" cause he owed it to him

 

Didn't Bret break his hand in doing so?

[Shanghai Kid 0]

I'd say it was more of a "if it could happen to Bret, it could happen to any one of us" kinda thing.  It was a breach of trust, and the boys had to know they were safe from it.  I don't think it was a "how could you do that to bret?" kinda thing.  Sitting Taker down and explaining to him that it was a once in a lifetime thing and "had to be done" was probably what Vince tried to accomplish.

 

My POV, could be wrong.  Pure speculation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's pretty much how I see it. Taker is the most respected veteran and locker room leader, so Vince sits him down in a room and tries to convince him he did it for the company and yadda yadda. Taker, believing it or not, can't really do anything about it and accepts it and moves on.

 

But Shawn is so positive towards Taker in the book, that I have to think they have a good relationship.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I haven't read or heard anything from a wrestler that HASN'T been positive towards Taker. It's the strangest fucking thing.

[Shanghai Kid 0]

I haven't read or heard anything from a wrestler that HASN'T been positive towards Taker.  It's the strangest fucking thing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Maybe he's just that well respected?

 

Or....maybe he has video footage of them on a cruise getting freaky with hookers that he threatens to send to the wrestlers wives if any of them cross his path?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I'm leaning towards the video footage.

[Guest tony manero]

Here's some more stuff:

 

-- The reason for his extended absence before WrestleMania X is because, according to him, he was wrongly accused of taking steroids after the test came back positive. Vince called him into his office and asked him to renounce the IC title, but Shawn refused. Shawn says that one of the reasons why he and Vince have had a good relationship over the years is because he's always been honest enough to speak his mind, whereas other wrestlers would always suck up to him.

 

-- As a rookie in the WWF, Shawn talks about how, before shows, Andre would play Cribbage all day with his fellow wrestlers. All the wrestlers, especially the tenured ones like Hogan and Savage would come up to Andre, ask, "How's it Going Boss?" and every time, Andre would look up and shake the person's hand. Shawn, being new at this, thought he would do the same, but when he asked Andre, "How's it Going, Boss?" Andre would just ignore him -- with his head down -- and continue playing cribbage. This would go on for an ENTIRE YEAR, causing Shawn to lose hope. Then, one day, after a tag match involving himself and Andre, Andre finally stuck his hand out after the match and shook Michaels' hand. Shawn wondered why Andre didn't like him before and Andre said, "I didn't like you on the first day, but I liked you after that." This prompts Shawn to ask why he was ignored for the whole year, and Andre says, while laughing, "I was just ribbing you!"

 

-- He constantly asserts that he's this perpetually misunderstood guy who was wrongly blamed for a lot of things by "dirt sheets" and the like. But instead of challenging the claims against him, he decided not to get involved in something that would take on a life of its own.

 

-- It was apparently Vince who insisted that Shawn not wrestle at the IYH in Winnipeg, and instead, relinquish the Intercontinental Title to Douglas.

 

-- Says that Bret Hart was never a great wrestler, only a very, very good one. The reason being was that Bret was very inflexible with changing up his moves from time to time, and wasn't willing to experiment with different moves or any type of change.

 

-- Says he was basically fired from WWF in 1987 during his first stint, because he was shy, nervous and didn't introduce himself to anyone, which rubbed the other guys the wrong way. This led to wrestlers exagerrating the time when Shawn broke a glass bottle over his head at a bar/nightclub (after Billy Jack Haynes provoked him).

 

-- Bulldog and 123 Kid were nowhere to be found in Syracuse where he was beaten to unconsciousness. The next thing he remembers was waking up in a hospital bed with Tammy Sytch lying next to him !

 

-- Says that other guys made stories up about the Kliq holding other guys down, because they were friends and enjoyed each other's company; other wrestlers resented them for that, since friendship in wrestling is supposedly very rare and an object of envy, or something...

 

-- Says that he and Bret were once on agreeable terms, but not close friends or anything. Says that Bret didn't travel with anyone, and was known as a "lone wolf."

 

-- Says that he and Flair got over on their amazing wrestling ability, whereas Austin and Hogan -- guys who weren't such great workers -- got over on their promo ability.

 

I thought it was interesting he'd group Austin and Hogan in the "can't really work" category.

[Guest tony manero]

Even more stuff that comes to mind:

 

-- In his first pro-wrestling match, in Mid-South, all he had with him was a black vest and white spandex pants, I believe. Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who was there at the time, said to Ricky Morton that "this new guy is stealing your gimmick!" Morton came up to him and asked him about it, causing Shawn to get a little paranoid, and then smiled and said. "It's Ok, kid"

 

-- Says that everyone in Mid-south was every nice and congenial; it was probably the best place he's ever worked at. The Rock and Roll express and Terry Taylor took him under their wing and taught him all about wrestling jargon on road trips.

 

-- Marty was a big ribber. He would disconnect the interviewer's microphone all the time; he once put a masterlock on Nick Bockwinkel's prescription glasses, which forced him to drive home with them one day; he also threw Nick Bockwinkel's AWA Title in the snow once (it's never been found), which meant that Bockwinkel had to go around wrestling without his championship belt for months. Curt Hennig thought that was funny.

 

-- Growing up, he would pretend to wrestle with his friend, and once bladed himself with a razor. His friend thought he was going off the deep end, so he called Shawn's mom, only for Shawn to allay the situation by telling his mom that everything was OK.

 

-- Had a poster of Tully Blanchard over his bed. Blanchard and Anderson taught him and Marty a lot about tag team psychology.

 

-- The Nasty Boys showed up at his first wedding uninvited. They would also jump into his dad's bed (Shawn's dad was a Colonel), but the Colonel, instead of being aghast about it, thought Sags and Knobbs were amusing; Shawn thought they were obnoxious, but fun to be around.

 

-- Scott Hall was a guy who always had low self-esteem; thus, on roadtrips, Shawn, Nash and Hall would always have to convince him that he wasn't dumb.

 

-- Shawn took painkillers out of boredom and not knowing what to do with his life outside of wrestling than anything else.

 

-- HHH asked to be a part of the Kliq when he first came in because that was "the group to hang out with." HHH and Shawn were basically bosom buddies before Shawn's departure in '98. They'd often sit side by side and not say a word to each other for hours. HHH never drank or did drugs, so he was able to remember everything, like Shawn's suggestion to have a curtain call at MSG.

 

-- Shawn was supposed to come back on the RAW before WrestleMania 17 (simulcast of RAW and Nitro), but he was sent home for being on painkillers. Shawn chewed HHH out about it, estranging those two for a year, before they finally made up. In 2002, Shawn proposed to work a match with Vince, but Vince proposed a match with HHH, which eventually became their SummerSlam encounter.

 

-- Shawn would often pass out from painkillers on the floor or couch during and after reading a bedtime story to his son, Cameron. This led to Rebecca, his wife, almost leaving him, but Shawn finally became born-again and changed his ways.

 

-- Wanted to go to WCW in late 1997, but Vince persuaded him to stay.

 

-- Tells the story of Marty speaking on behalf of Shawn and himself that they were leaving the WWF because the Rockers were low-balled on their payoff for a Wheaties promotion ( 2,500 apiece, as opposed to the 5K that the other tag teams were making). Shawn was pissed that Marty hadn't even spoken to Magnum TA about jumping to WCW, and once he did, WCW could only offer them 70K a year, which was 100K less than what he was making in the WWF. Vince asked Shawn if he was leaving, and Shawn said it was Marty's idea... This led to them being split up in real life and in kayfabe.

 

-- Said Bret would constantly rag on him about his family, calling him a homo, etc and later say it was all a work and apologize. Bret would constantly apologize and go back to ragging on him and his family again. Bret had far less integrity than he would like everyone to believe.

 

Note: One cool thing about the book was that Shawn would refer to all happenings before 2002 as occurring in the "World Wrestling Federation." I liked that.

[Guest tony manero]

Shawn was quite the prankster himself, from time to time:

 

-- He said he would wear the biker shorts because he knew everyone hated them.

 

-- He once put something in his crotch (with biker shorts) before he went out in the ring to give an interview with JR. He wouldn't have done it if Crush hadn't "Double-dog dared him." JR was displeased with Michaels for treating the interview like a joke.

 

-- Knowing full well that Undertaker wasn't going to be at RAW, he said, "I'm going to give Taker 10 seconds to come out here; if he doesn't, then he's a coward." He then counted down from 10 and then said, "Taker's not here; he's a coward" and scampered to the back. Vince wasn't happy that he went against the script like that, but all the boys in the back thought it was hilarious. Taker wished he had seen it in person.

[Dips 0]

Thanks a bunch for typing all this out, much appreciated.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

I'd be very interested to see if anyone ever stumbled across Bockwinkel's AWA belt. That would be funny if someone had it in their house somewhere.

[Dandy 0]

Oh, and I don't believe this for a second.

 

and that it was funny that Bret took pride in knocking out Vince when it was clear that Vince took a dive. Says that Vince had told them in the meeting the day before he was going to let Bret "hit him" cause he owed it to him

 

Didn't Bret break his hand in doing so?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

The way I took it was Vince took a dive by letting Bret get in a square shot. He wasn't trying to defend himself or evade the punch. He stated that he was going to let Bret hit him. He did, and broke his hand and fucked Vince up in the process. Shawn was saying it was funny how Bret was proud of it, because he basically knocked a guy out that was letting him do so.