Scott H. passed along a detailed recap of the Shawn Michaels Q and A session recently in Manchester, England.
I had the extreme pleasure of attending a night with HBK, Shawn Michaels in Manchester. This event, to me, and most in attendance, was like having a piece of WrestleMania carved up and put on a stage right in front of you.
Shawn was very honest, very open and answered every question the 400 plus crowd asked him to.
Here are some notes from memory, apologies if they are not as detailed as they should be, this was Shawn Michaels after all, and I was in the same room as him!
Shawn talked about WrestleMania 30 from the gorilla position; he said he was as shocked as anyone that Taker lost, and that he texted Taker afterwards to see if he was ok. Taker responded that he is ok and will sue when he finds out the number of the bus that hit him!
Shawn seems to have a nice relationship with Taker and mentioned some Outdoor projects they might do in the future.
He describes the mood of WrestleMania 14, the bad place he was in, the way he was acting all day and even up to bell time, nobody really knew if he was going to do business, not even Stone Cold.
Shawn described a great story, telling how Tyson was in boxing mode backstage when practicing the punch for the end of the match.
When asked if Undertaker was at gorilla position during the WrestleMania 14 main event, Shawn said no, it was just internet folklore again that had created that one.
A fan asked Shawn about overselling in the Summer Slam 2005 match with Hulk Hogan. Shawn said he had sold the same way against Nash in 1995 and that everyone thought it was fantastic then. HBK revealed it was suppose to be a best of 3 series with Hulk, with a win a piece, and then a final match, but it didn’t quite happen that way.
Shawn spoke nicely about Bret Hart, and their relationship seems in a better place than it has been for many a year.
HBK asked everyone not to believe what they read on the Internet, he laughed off reports that he was going to work with Daniel Bryan.
Asked about ROH Shawn said he hasn’t seen the product, but was aware of some of the talented guys that had come out of the promotion.
HBK talked about Daniel Bryan, and how Bryan was ready for a WWE job a few years before he got one, but Daniel felt WWE was not right for him yet. He said Daniel was an artist, who created, but then after a while the artist needs to get paid, and WWE can do that.
Shawn has a lot of respect for Vince and tells stories about the type of person Vince really is.
The chemistry between HBK and Chris Jericho was so good Jericho, Shawn and Vince knew straight away that there was something special there, and this was in 2003 not their epic 2008 feud.
Shawn talked about the CM Punk situation, and said that the money, the title reigns are great but if you are not happy then it is best to walk away.
Shawn spoke to the Ultimate Warrior at the Hall Of Fame, and said to him that it was so lovely to see him with his 2 daughters. He said he was proud the last thing he ever said to Warrior was a positive and nice thing.
It was Stephanie who helped him write the Larry King skit about Hulk Hogan in 2005.
Shawn talked at length about his return in 2002, and how great it was but at first he thought it was just 1 match. Then Vince had the idea of a feel good moment with the 2002 Elimination Chamber and HBK winning, and then 8 years on HBK was still wrestling.
When asked about the DX days HBK said that the early stuff was very racy, but the older stuff was funnier in a dorky way. He said he was paid well to be an idiot.
Shawn talked about going solo and the split with Marty and how he didn’t want to work with Sherri and he didn’t like the music, and he said that Pat Patterson told him that plain and simple, Sherri would elevate him, as she had only been with top guys.
Jimmy Hart still thinks it is great HBK uses the music Jimmy created for him in January 1992.
Shawn mentions JR’s podcast and that he recently did an interview with JR.
Shawn had to compare the Kliq Incident with the Montreal Screw job; he said the Screw Job had more of an impact on the business because everyone knew about it, including the casual fan.
Shawn talked about Sid being his bodyguard, and Kevin Nash. It was HBK’s idea for Curtis Hughes to be his bodyguard first.
Shawn told some stories about his days on the road with the Kliq.