Interview with Shawn Michaels

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels was recently interviewed about his WWE career and retirement on the Ministry of Slam podcast. The following are highlights.

Michaels reinforced that he will not be coming out of retirement to wrestle again, but he is flattered that fans still want to see him compete in the ring.

"I think it's important that in any job you do, you do it well and you leave when you think it's time to leave. And only you can make that determination," Michaels said. "I'm flattered that people would still like to see me perform. I very much enjoy when I go back, doing the small roles I do. I try not to detract from anything I do. And, I hope that people enjoyed the body of work that I did."

Michaels relayed a recent conversation with WWE head Vince McMahon about talent evaluation. Michaels set it up as feeling what current new stars feel because he struggled to gain acceptance as an undersized wrestler who was given the WWF Title when others in the company felt like he wasn't worthy.

"I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago with the man in charge," Michaels said, "and we were talking about a certain individual and he goes, 'I just don't see money in him.' And I said, 'You said the same thing about me.' He said, 'I did not.' I said, 'Yes you did!' (laughs) I said, 'And it's okay. It's just one of those things.'"

Michaels continued: "I wasn't your prototypical - heck, I wasn't anybody's protoypical main event guy. And I knew that. So, you just do your absolute best. Yes, I was very scared and very worried, which had a lot to do with how bad I handled stuff because I spent a great deal of my career waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because it was a very real view of me and my ability and my talent. I'm a firm believer that talent does rise to the top, but you have to be patient. So, I spent a great deal of time worried, intimidated, and concerned that with each passing storyline, it might be the last one."

Michaels, who benefited from working with Sherri Martel early in his singles career, discussed the lack of managers in today's wrestling. Michaels said often-times it comes down to the manager having the skills, experience, and mindset to handle the role effectively.

"Paul (Heyman) continued to apply himself each and every day at his job. Not at the job of being the main focus, but Paul loved his role as the manager and he wanted to do it the absolutely best way possible," Michaels said. "Then, have guys who start as a manager and want to be a wrestler. It's tough to find people who can do that job as well as a Paul Heyman."

Michaels said he was initially against the idea of having Sherri as his manager because he wanted to be singles on his own, but Pat Patterson helped him see the light that Sherri brought him instant credibility shortly after managing top stars like "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Michaels added that Sherri was not out there to steal the spotlight, but to help him.

Michaels said he does not think the "Michaels vs. Jannetty" label that has been applied to wrestlers in recent years is fair to Marty Jannetty.

"I think the whole 'Who's going to be Marty and who's going to be Shawn?' is unfortunate and, honestly, unfair," Michaels said. "Marty was unbelievably talented; there were a number of other circumstances that kept Marty from the success he could have had. I learned so much from him. He was an unbelievably good guy and good wrestler. So, from that standpoint, I think it's unfortunate and unfair."

Michaels said he was never really close to jumping to WCW during the Monday Night Wars, but the thought crossed his mind after he left WWF in 1998.

"Vince just wasn't a guy that was going to give up. I knew the man and I knew he would not stay down for long," Michaels said. "So, it was a brief thought. Was there ever an opportunity? Yes, but I wasn't even wrestling then. It was a brief thought, but quickly discarded and pledged my loyalty to WWE. Believe it or not, they were incredibly loyal to me and I always felt that I owed them that. We had common ground there, so it was never really a thought in my mind to leave the company."