Shawn Michaels has been a part of WWE for a long time and he has seen the company go through many monumental changes. Perhaps the biggest one was when the promotion shifted from taped shows to live television with the January 11, 1993 episode of Raw. HBK not only witnessed this change but he was a part of it. He was one of the talents who wrestled on the very first live episode of the red-branded show, defending the Intercontinental championship against Max Moon.
The former world champion and Shelton Benjamin were the latest guests on The Bump. Celebrating 30 years of WWE’s flagship show, the duo discussed the various stages of Raw’s evolution. Reflecting on the shift to Live Television, Michaels explained the biggest challenge of it was communicating the transition to commercials:
“Live television, of course, Shelton can attest to, we’ve come a long way now as far as you know commercial breaks and how you get there, the timing and stuff like that.” said Shawn Michaels, “So honestly that was the most difficult transition is understanding the live television, going to commercials, coming back from commercials.
The way you communicate knowing when you’re in commercials and out of commercials. You have all these things that are already running through your head in a wrestling match, the added element of live television was something that was truly fascinating and ground-breaking at the time for me. But again, all of it, a wonderful journey to [have] been able to [be] part of.”
WWE will be celebrating Raw’s 30th anniversary during the January 23 episode of the show. Apart from Shawn Michaels, the episode will feature legends such as The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle and many more.
You can check out full episode of The Bump featuring Michaels below:
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