– At WWE Hell in a Cell, Shawn Michaels returns as the special guest referee for the WWE Championship Match Hell in a Cell Match between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. In this “WWE Top 10” video, his most defining Sweet Chin Musics are counted down.
– The official WWE website has published a playlist of the Oct. 12 episode of Raw, which featured “Stone Cold” Steve Austin destroying Vince McMahon’s Corvette with cement, a tournament for the vacant Intercontinental Championship and the returns of both Big Boss Man and Goldust. A poll was also issued asking whether it is the greatest Raw in the history of the program.
– Former WWE wrestler Rodney Mack turns 43-years-old on Saturday.
-Apparently there were already plans in the works to bring back both Shawn Michaels and John Cena to WWE television prior to the Battleground pay-per-view situation. As noted in a report a few weeks ago, it leaked out during a radio interview that HBK was scheduled to return to WWE television. Additionally, Cena was in talks with the company about returning earlier than expected as well.
-Speaking of Cena’s return, many have questioned if his match at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view will be a one-time-only appearance. According to one source, Cena is returning full-time with the company, and his scheduled appearances in New York and on an upcoming overseas tour, both of which were reported weeks ago, will now include Cena working matches as opposed to simply appearing.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section of his JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Will Shawn Michaels Wrestle Again?
“It’s the annual ‘HBK to return for one more match’ rumor that generally pops up concerning WrestleMania. I don’t feel that there is any thing to it. Shawn has been adamant that he’s done as a wrestler and I believe him. He’s got nothing left to prove and is staying busy with his Outdoor Network show among other projects.”
Should WWE Have Held A Dark Match Main Event After Battleground?:
“I’m not a big fan of having dark matches after a PPV. Sorry that you did not enjoy your experience. I did not like the ending either.”
Would He Do A 1-Shot Appearance For TNA?
“Not likely. I’m moving on from TV wrestling. I hope TNA does well nonetheless.”
Is Christian A Hall of Famer?
“If I had a vote, he would get mine. Other than that I don’t know. Hope so. Great talent in and out of the ring.”
As always, you can check out JR’s amazing line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com.
– WWE creative team member Michael Hayes has been away for a few weeks dealing with a personal issue.
– With Shawn Michaels’ surprise appearance on Monday’s RAW and upcoming gig as the special guest referee at WWE Hell in a Cell, there’s buzz in WWE that he can be talked back into wrestling a match at WrestleMania XXX.
– WWE officials, including Triple H, feel that Aksana has the “it” factor. Expect to see her in a more prominent role in the coming months.
The reason WWE is stacking the deck so heavily at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view is due to reported concerns that they may have alienated their pay-per-view buying audience with the way they have handled the main event situation on the past couple of pay-per-views.
As noted previously, fans demanded refunds following the recent WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view due to the fact that they paid for a finish that was completely erased and overturned less than 24 hours later on the free WWE RAW television show that followed the next night. Additionally, fans were loudly chanting “refund, refund” after the non-finish to Sunday’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view in Buffalo.
Due to the fact that WWE has handled the main events, which are what pay-per-views are largely sold on, so poorly at their last few shows, the feeling in the company is they need to regain that trust with their pay-per-view buying audience at Hell In A Cell, which is why there seems to be such emphasis on guaranteeing a legitimate finish in the main event, as well as other major selling points to support it underneath. Basically, the company is stacking the deck so heavily that it pretty much guarantees that anyone who buys the show this time will get their money’s worth.
For those reasons, WWE has brought back John Cena earlier than expected for a match against Alberto Del Rio, as well as guaranteed a new WWE Champion in the third-straight pay-per-view main event between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. While they basically guaranteed a winner for the same match at Battleground, they are stressing that this match will be in a Hell In A Cell, which assures viewers that there will be no outside interference, and they have Shawn Michaels as a special guest referee to give further confidence to their fans that there will be a legitimate outcome this time around.
On Monday’s post-Battleground edition of WWE RAW, the main event for the October 27th WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view from Miami, Florida was announced.
In a move that should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, it was announced that a rematch between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan would be held in a Hell In A Cell match, where a new WWE Champion was guaranteed to be determined on the night.
Additionally, it was announced that the match would feature a special guest referee. RAW General Manager Brad Maddox announced that there would be three WWE Hall Of Fame candidates for the WWE Universe to vote for, with the man receiving the most votes being the official for the contest. The three options were Booker T, Bob Backlund and Shawn Michaels. The man who received the most votes, and will officially be the referee of the match, was Shawn Michaels.
So there you have it. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan in a Hell In A Cell match at the next pay-per-view, with special guest referee Shawn Michaels.
– The latest word on John Cena’s physical rehabilitation is that he’s on track for an early-2014 return. Cena will be making “special appearances” at WWE live events in December, but will not be wrestling. WWE obviously wants Cena to be 100% in time for WrestleMania season and the company is optimistic he’ll be back in action by the Royal Rumble.
– WWE.com has an article up looking at the “Top Champions the McMahons Never Wanted” – including Steve Austin and Daniel Bryan.
– New episodes of Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures will begin airing October 22nd on the Outdoor Channel
– According to WrestlingDVDNews.com, WWE’s scheduled Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2013 Blu-ray release may have been cancelled. Amazon.com has removed the listing for the title, although the DVD version remains.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has been announced to appear at Autorama at the George R Brown Convention Center 1001 Avenida De Las Americas Houston, Texas, on Sunday, December 1 from noon to 3:00 p.m.
– On the heels of Paul Heyman giving Ryback a peck on the cheek last Monday on Raw, the official YouTube account of WWE has released a video entitled “60 seconds of WWE’s creepiest kisses.” Among those featured include Kane, The Boogeyman, Viscera and Rico.
SESCOOPS.COM reader Phil Johnson sent along the following:
Former WWE Superstar Antonio “The Promise” Thomas recently took some time to take part in a Q&A exclusively with PWMania.com. Thomas spoke on a number of topics from his time in WWE and still wanting to accomplish more with the company, wanting to wrestle Shawn Michaels, his indy career and more. Here are some highlights:
Tell us a little bit about your stint in WWE, how was that? “Being in WWE was a dream come true-you are with the best and on the biggest stage and, of course, the money isn’t bad either… I wish my time there was more than 2 years, but it gave me a chance to live my lifelong goal.”
Are you still in contact with anyone in WWE and is a return to WWE ever something you would consider if given the chance? “Yes, I am still in contact with people there. If it were right for the company and for me, I would definitely consider a return. I never wanted to leave and wanted to, and still want to, accomplish many things there.”
Is there any one wrestler that you would like to have a match with if given the opportunity? “The one wrestler I would want to work with, hands down, would be Shawn Michaels.”
You can read the interview in its entirety at PWMania.com.
– After Monday’s WWE RAW went off the air, the Daniel Bryan celebration continued. Bryan shook hands with all the babyface stars that came down at the end of the show to celebrate with him. No dark match main event took place.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be returning to RAW in the coming weeks to help promote Battleground.
Michaels was at Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs and has shaved his beard.
WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels recently appeared on 810-AM sports radio in Kansas City alongside his television co-star Keith Mark. During the interview, the radio show host said, “And Shawn’s doing great, he’s going to be doing some really great things on Raw over the next couple weeks.” Michaels downplayed the comment and mentioned that he must be looking at “all those Twitter things.”
As noted previously, Michaels and Mark will be throwing out the ceremonial first pass at the upcoming NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys at Arrowhead Stadium.
It should be noted that HBK is not in any of the official WWE advertising for upcoming RAW shows, although he would fit seamlessly into the current storyline between Triple H and Daniel Bryan, given his history with both guys.
– WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels (and his television co-host Keith Mark) will be throwing out the first pass at Sunday’s Kansas City Chiefs home opener at Arrowhead Stadium.
– Chris Jericho’s band FOZZY will be kicking off their “Sacrifice and Sin” tour this week, with the first show taking place in Patchogue, New York. For full tour information, visit FozzyRock.com.
– The final episode of Chris Jericho’s “Rock of Jericho” show aired on SiriusXM over the weekend.
– Here are some upcoming WWE DVD release dates:
* The Best Of Madison Square Garden – August 27th
* Legends of Mid-South – September 10th
* Summerslam 2013 – September 17th
* Triple H: Thy Kingdom Come – September 24th
* Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection – October 8th
* WWE Night of Champions 2013 – October 15th
* Money in the Bank Anthology – October 29th
* WWE Battleground 2013 – November 12th
* History of WWE – November19th
* WWE Hell in A Cell 2013 – November 26th
– With WWE’s “Best of Madison Square Garden” DVD/Blu-Ray set going on sale tomorrow, here’s footage of Shawn Michaels talking about his experiences working at the legendary venue:
The following are highlights from a recent Maxim interview with former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho:
You’ve always been fond of bringing comedy into the wrestling ring. If you had to choose between comedy, wrestling, and your band, Fozzy, how tough is that call to make?
If I had to drop one of them, I don’t know if I could do the other two, because they’re all kind of intertwined. It’s all show business, it’s all part of being a showman in the year 2013. You’re always going to have the sticklers and the haters that are like, “Yo, you’re a wrestler, you can’t do anything else.” And those are the people that, if that’s the way you feel, then fine, go f*ck yourself – if you don’t like it, step aside and let the people that do like it get a better seat.
As far as your wrestling career goes, who is the best opponent you’ve ever worked with?
Probably Shawn Michaels. I think he’s probably the best total package wrestler of all time – he could do it all, and was a big influence of mine when I was first starting. That storyline, the feud I had with him in 2008, that was one of the best programs not just in my career, but in the entire history in of the WWE. It’s always cool when you start out as a fan and then become an ally where you’re working together. It’s the same with music – Fozzy toured with Metallica, and it was like, “Here I am with the band that influenced me to get into music.”
Some WWE fans have complained in recent years that the company seems to really push huge guys that can’t actually wrestle all that well, at the expense of experienced all-rounders, like yourself. What’s your take on that?
I don’t see it that way. Wrestling is all about new talent and new turnaround of the stars. I could be the main event guy there for 20 years, but there’s going to have to be other guys that come into that picture or else it’s pretty boring and business will go really bad. There’s only so much Jericho or so much HHH or so much Rock people can take. So you try different guys – some of them are bigger and don’t really have the talent, they have more of the look. Some guys are small and go against the traditional WWE superstar, but yet are so damn good they make it to the top – I’m talking about guys like Eddie Guerrero, or even Shawn Michaels or Daniel Bryan right now. You have guys who would never be the typical WWE superstar, but because they were so damn good, they would rise to the top of the mountain. You have to realize that if you have 60 guys on the roster, the WWE is going to try and get every one of those 60 guys to world championship level. Some of them will make it, the majority won’t, but until you try, you just never know. Everyone’s got to get a full chance, if not, why are they even there on the payroll?
Check out the complete interview online at Maxim.com.
The following are highlights from the latest online Q&A from the official website of WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On whether Backlash or Extreme Rules is a better follow-up to WrestleMania: “It all depends on the attractions….the talents invovled.”
On if anyone can match Shawn Michaels in his prime: “NXT will continue to make major contributions to the WWE primary roster over time. Some really good, potential stars there.”
On if RAW and SmackDown should go back to the elaborate stage set ups: “I haven’t given that much thought. Not big on my radar.”
On WWE switching talent from heel to face too often, specifically Alberto Del Rio: “Decision makes, due to the lack of main event depth, are constantly looking for the best roles for their top guys. ADR as a fan favorite was an experiment in my view but he’s a better villain.”
On which wrestling schools are the best: “Start with Lance Storm’s Academy in Calgary and take it from there.”
On if we’ll see the return of “The Stooges” Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco in the current HHH/Vince McMahon power struggle: “Highly unlikely.”
Check out more Jim Ross Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com.
Former WWE head writer Alex Greenfield recently spoke to John Pollock of The Fight Network this week to discuss a number of WWE related topics. Below are highlights from their discussion:
On Vince McMahon wanting to censor Christian’s face on TV with a blue dot: “Right before I started, there was a big show, I think it might have been in Toronto. Christian was just so completely over, and everybody thought he was going to get a push at, I think it was the World Heavyweight Championship at that point. We were on the plane one time shortly after I started, and Vince was just like “God damn, I just don’t like his face. His face really bothers me.” I was like, “He’s ugly, Vince?” “No, it’s not that he’s ugly, it’s just, I don’t know, it’s ratty! You know what we should do? That Kennedy gimmick.” And we’re all like, “What?” Some see-on of the Kennedy fortune I guess got arrested for rape in the 1990s at some point. When the woman who was accusing him was on the stand, all of the networks put a blue dot over her face. Vince was like, “God damn, you know what we should do? We should put a blue dot over his face whenever he comes out.” It was the flight to Sheffield, England, also the flight where the Spirit Squad idea was invented. This was a whole flight of bad ideas.”
On a backstage segment Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels had in 2005: “I always found Shawn to be an entitled prick. He tried this s*** with Angle one night; Angle wasn’t having it, and threw him around like a rag-doll. I remember I was supposed to do some sort of stand-up interview, a backstage deal with Angle afterward, and Shawn comes up like a house of fire, like “You were taking liberties!” And it’s because Shawn was booked to lose a match and started his overselling nonsense, because that’s the kind of thing he always did because he’s a guy who hated losing. I don’t argue with anyone that, when he’s working with friends in exactly the way he wants, yes, he’s one of the best performers of all time. That doesn’t mean you’re one of the best performers of all time, though, if you can’t do it with people who aren’t your friends.”
The following are highlights from a recent WWE.com interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels. The interview focuses on HBK’s former student, Daniel Bryan.
On whether or not he saw Daniel Bryan having a future in WWE due to his size: “I always tried to be honest with him. I knew he was talented. And I knew he was going to face the same uphill battle that every guy his size does, myself included, and it was simply a matter of if he had the patience and the ability to adjust in areas where other people thought he needed to adjust — as far as personality, character, things of that nature.
“I saw him as a young man who had a very good blueprint for how he wanted to work out his career as far as the order in which he wanted to progress, which was learning his in-ring skills and honing them to a point where he felt very secure in his ability and could then build on that incredibly solid foundation. And he was always very open and excited. It certainly wasn’t very tough to get him to go to Japan the first time. When that opportunity came, he was still at our school. I knew he was one of the guys that we wanted to send and he was thrilled about it and he fell in love with it. I think that was one of his building blocks, certainly, in establishing the phenomenal in-ring ability that he has today.”
On his work prior to WWE in Japan and Ring Of Honor: “Well, I kept up a little bit with the things in Japan. I would get updates on him from guys I corresponded with, and then certainly when I came back to work in WWE on a full-time basis, I always heard things through the grapevine. Then, obviously, he came in on a number of occasions for tryouts. And through, again, other guys in the locker room, I always heard how he was progressing in Ring of Honor.
“But honestly, I was never really concerned about checking up on him. In my opinion, I knew it was only a matter of time. Every time he came in for a tryout, so to speak, I would ask him how it went and then I would sort of say, ’It’s really up to you whenever you want to leave what you’re doing and come here. And when you come here, it will still be an uphill battle.’ Not to imply in any way, shape or form that I called him years ago and I take any credit for anything, because I don’t.”
Check out the complete interview online at WWE.com.
-John Cena missed the WWE live event on Sunday in Oakland, California, the only house show on the books for WWE this past weekend. While no reason for his absence was given, WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts did tell the live crowd that refunds would be available for those who requested them. We will have a full live report from the WWE show in Oakland, which also featured the in-ring return of The Big Show, later today.
-WWE Hall Of Famers Dusty Rhodes, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and a special APA reunion are all scheduled as the headline attractions for the Legends Of The Ring convention in Monroe, New Jersey this October. For more information, visit LegendsOfTheRing.com.
SESCOOPS.COM reader Carl Dantes sent along the following:
Meet Shawn Michaels and his MRA team at the Field and Stream Shop Grand Opening in Cranberry Township, PA on Friday August 16th from 3-5pm and Michaels will be signing autographs and taking pictures plus a Q&A session and you could also win a dinner with him & his MRA co-host Keith Mark. Yes, it’s free.
August 16, 2013
3pm-5pm
Field & Stream Shop
1000 Cranberry Square Drive
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
Also on Saturday August 17th, Michaels will be at the Cabelas in Hamburg PA.
August 17, 2013
10am-12pm
Cabela’s Retail Store
100 Cabela Drive
Hamburg, PA 19526
And on Sunday August 18th Michaels will be at the WWE’s SummerSlam Axxess – tickets available now.
August 18, 2013
1pm-3pm
WWE SummerSlam AXXESS
Nokia Plaza L.A. LIVE
800 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
WWE Superstar and the number one contender to the WWE Championship at SummerSlam, Daniel Bryan, recently spoke with the official DirecTV website to promote the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view. Below are highlights from the interview:
On finding out he’d be facing John Cena for the title at SummerSlam: “It was incredible and humbling. I have been wresting for a long time and most of the time it was in front of very small crowds who couldn’t care less about who was coming out there. I have wrestled in front of 13 people! And just hearing the reaction of the people in Brooklyn who were shouting “Yes! Yes!” – it was very surreal. Like ‘is this really my life?'”
On his relationship with CM Punk: “It’s interesting because CM Punk and I have a lot in common personally, yet we are very different. He is very brash and kind of says whatever he feels. I’m more laid back and not the most outgoing person. But we have a certain respect for each other. I have been on shows that Punk drove 14 or 15 hours for from Chicago to get paid 100 bucks. We’ve done those shows in front of 30 people together. It’s a long road for guys like us to get here. I’m always astounded. There was that December PPV when I had cashed in my Money in the Bank contract to beat Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship and Punk had retained his WWE title that same night. We used to work on the indies together and then there we were, both champions. No one really thought we could do it. It’s very cool and surreal.”
On his pro wrestling training: “I ended up training with Shawn Michaels. He’s the best. I left the night I graduated from high school, drove to Texas and trained with Shawn for a year. When I look back, I was so poor – I mean living on 20 dollars a month for groceries. I couldn’t fathom that now. It was tough but it was a lot of fun.”
On his idols: “I loved Dean Malenko and Eddie Guererro. Bret Hart was always one of my favorites. I’m also a big Seahawks fan and the guy who I really loved was a wide receiver named Steve Largent, who ended up being a politician in Oklahoma. He was always so respectable and was never about himself, he was about the team. A lot of people like the brash players but I like people who focus on the team and downplay what they do.”
Check out the complete interview online at DirecTV.com.
-WWE Superstar Triple H recently put over his best friend, Shawn Michaels, in a new tweet posted on Sunday afternoon. A fan commented to “The Game” about his match with HBK at SummerSlam back in 2002, calling it “such a classic match.” Hunter replied to the fan by saying, “After 5 yrs off… There is only one @ShawnMichaels.”
-According to a new tweet, Matt Hardy was stopped and searched by airport security on Sunday because he had too much cash in his bag. The former WWE Superstar wrote on Twitter, “I got stopped & searched by TSA airport security today because I had too much cash in my bag. What a hassle! ;-)” The tweet was accompanied by a photo of Hardy holding up a sign that sarcastically read, “You don’t understand how hard it is to be Matt Hardy.”
-“WrestleMania” trended worldwide during the airing of the WrestleMania 29 special on NBC on Saturday night. “WrestleMania” reached as high as the number two spot, trailing only “#UFC163,” which trended worldwide at number one throughout most of the entire UFC pay-per-view show from Brazil on Saturday night.
-Also trending worldwide on Twitter, peaking at the number three spot, was “#RedneckIsland,” the CMT reality show hosted by WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Austin encouraged fans to help him get the show trending, as he wrote on Twitter just before the start of the season finale of show, which aired on Saturday night, “Come on, folks. Lets get #redneckisland trending. RT like a sumbitch and hash tag redneck island.” Austin then proceeded to post nearly 50 tweets himself with the hash tag, “#RedneckIsland,” many of which were complaints about commercials and comments about how much beer he was drinking while watching the show.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels did an autograph signing at George’s Oxford Valley Mall in Levittown, PA over the weekend and is sporting an epic beard:
– CM Punk conducted a Q&A session on Twitter on Saturday night where he endorsed a TNA wrestler.
An Austin Aries fan asked, “Thoughts on “A Double”, Austin Aries? Or you’re not allowed to talk about the other company?” Punk responded, “I think he’s great!”
Punk also fielded a question on the passing of Matt Osborne, who portrayed Doink the Clown. He wrote, “sucks of course.”
– Throughout 2013 for WWE Magazine, the WWE Divas are paying tribute to the wrestlers of yesteryear by channeling their trademark wardrobe in photo shoots. In the latest installment, Natalya honors former Hart family nemesis Shawn Michaels by donning an outfit akin to the initial “Heartbreak Kid” look. To view the photos, click here.
– The return of Christian on Raw is highlighted in the latest WWE Raw Slam of the Week.
WWE Hall of Famer and former four-time WWE/World Heavyweight Champion, “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, along with his “MacMillan River Adventures” co-host, Keith Mark, were the featured guests on this week’s all-new edition of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem, hosted by The Big Mosh & “The Chairman of the Board” Todd Vincent. Highlights from the interview, courtesy of WrestlingDVDNews.com’s Aarnon Carnevale, are as follows:
How “Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures” is similar to the WWE: (Shawn): “It is still TV. There are still things that you have got to do. I’ve been an athlete most of my life, and I can follow instructions very well. That is one of the things Keith brings to the table: He is a good leader, and he knows what he wants. We have similarities in that respect, and I have to give Keith a ton of credit for that, because he handles everything under the sun.”
Which WWE Superstars have taken a liking to MRA Hunting and which former WWE/WCW personality they have “reached out to” that has a very good chance of appearing on the program in the future: (Shawn): “Road Dogg, Tensai, and The Big Show always talk about it. Obviously, you do your best to work with their schedule. That’s always the toughest part. But a number of guys have expressed interest, and we’re certainly going to do what we can to work around their schedules. Heck, I reached out to Eric Bischoff. So we’re going to try to get Eric to come on a show with us.”
Based on the success of MRA Hunting to this point, the likelihood of their show returning for a fourth season on the Outdoor Channel: (Keith): “I can tell you for sure that there will be 2014/2015 ‘Shawn Michaels’ McMillan River Adventures,’ because we’ve signed a long-term deal with the network the Outdoor Channel) that runs through 2015, so we have commitments.”
His thoughts on his legacy in professional wrestling & sports-entertainment and how he believes his fans will remember his career: (Shawn): “I get in trouble for it a lot, and I don’t mean it in a malicious way, but I don’t give a lot of thought to that. It’s not because I don’t care, but it is, because I recognize that I have no control over that. If nothing else, I’ve gotten really good over the years at not concerning myself with those things that I can’t control. It’s like trying to ‘make sense of the insensible,’ and I don’t waste my time or energy on that kind of stuff.”
Much more is contained in Shawn’s & Keith’s highly-anticipated Mayhem debut, including their candid thoughts on how they became friends and how their show first came to fruition, the feedback from the first season of MRA Hunting, if they believed the program would have ever seen a second/third season, why they feel they have such great on-camera chemistry between them, the biggest things they have learned while doing the show, what makes Season III different from the previous seasons of the program, why they enjoy having WWE Superstars come on their show with them, what fans can expect when watching Jim Ross’ first-ever appearance on MRA Hunting, the experience of helping the victims of the Joplin tornado, their personal get-well message to NFL Hall of Fame QB and Buffalo Bills Legend Jim Kelly, plus so much more!
During an interview with the Ministry of Slam podcast two weeks ago, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels acknowledged a recent conversion he had with WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon where the 67-year-old said he doesn’t “see money” in a certain, unnamed WWE Superstar. Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com reported on Friday that according to sources within the sports-entertainment organization, that individual is Daniel Bryan. Michaels, however, is denying online that they were discussing Bryan, and that the individual in question is actually 6’3″ and 250 pounds.
In a response to a Twitter user directing a message to McMahon stating, “Remember when you didn’t have faith in @ShawnMichaels ?…. Bottom line is that @WWEDanielBryan is HOT!,” Michaels responded, “We weren’t speaking of [Daniel Bryan], that was the assumption of net folks. Way off, as usual.”
In response to a query to name the individual in question, Michaels said he would not, but noted that “he’s 6’3 250.” The WWE Hall of Famer later said that those figures may not be exact, as it is his estimate. “Well, I didn’t measure or weigh him, it’s a guess. Therefore, in their eyes I am a LIAR!!!” he said in response to a user guessing the individual as Dolph Ziggler.
Michaels again denied assumptions that he was talking about the Washington native, stating the following in response to outing the individual: “I would have said if I thought relevant. Not [Daniel Bryan] tho.”
Michaels revealed that McMahon is actually high on Bryan. In response to a user labeling the WWE CEO as “stupid” for not firmly backing Bryan, Michaels said, “That isn’t even who we were talking about. [Vince McMahon]’s big on DB. Shame y’all let those folks work you like that. #thinkforyourself.”
As reported earlier, Michaels said in the interview, “I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago with the man in charge 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 compared McMahon’s views on the unnamed wrestler to himself, as he believes he wasn’t viewed as a “prototypical main event guy” during his rise to the top of WWE.
“I wasn’t your prototypical—heck, I wasn’t anybody’s prototypical main event guy. And I knew that. So, you just do your absolute best,” said Michaels. “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.”
During an interview two weeks ago with the Ministry of Slam podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels acknowledged a recent conversion he had with WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon where the 67-year-old said he doesn’t “see money” in a certain, unnamed WWE Superstar. According to sources within the sports-entertainment organization, that individual is Daniel Bryan.
As transcribed by the Pro Wrestling Torch (interview remarks available here), Michaels said, “I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago with the man in charge 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 compared McMahon’s views on the WWE Superstar to himself, as he believes he wasn’t viewed as a “prototypical main event guy” while he was rising the ranks of WWE in the early-1990’s.
“I wasn’t your prototypical—heck, I wasn’t anybody’s prototypical main event guy. And I knew that. So, you just do your absolute best,” said Michaels. “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.”
A WWE source believes that with Bryan having a major role on Total Divas—premiering next month on E!—as the boyfriend of cast member Brie Bella, his standing in the organization is “safe” for the time being.