Shawn Michaels has opened up on multiple topics in a revealing set of comments, addressing everything from the controversial NXT 2.0 transition to behind the scenes details of his WrestleMania 25 classic and even which WWE star impressed him most when selling Sweet Chin Music.
Speaking with Adrian Hernandez, Michaels didn’t dodge the criticism that followed the shift away from NXT’s black and gold era. He acknowledged that fans were vocal about the brighter presentation and new direction, but stressed that comparisons to the past are inevitable in wrestling.
“Sure. Oh yeah yeah. And it’s no different than trying to follow the Attitude Era and things of that nature. You’re always going to have people that sort of look at the past through a lens you know in rose colored fashion right. And you’re always going to have people comparing eras or times or talent.”
Rather than resist that narrative, Michaels explained the locker room embraced the challenge. He emphasized that the new generation understood the pressure and used it to fuel their development.
“One of the things we try to make sure we tell everybody is you know comparison is is the death of progress you know what I mean. And so it’s something that you certainly have to be keenly aware of but at the same time I was very proud of all of those individuals because they understood what they were going up against.”
He pointed to talents like Bron Breakker, Trick Williams, and Carmelo Hayes as examples of performers who turned criticism into motivation, noting that many of them developed a chip on their shoulder that ultimately worked in their favor.
“They heard the criticism and the one really positive thing whether it was Bron or Trick Carmelo all those individuals they are all former athletes and it sort of from Carmelo and Je’von’s standpoint who were indie guys it put a chip on their shoulder and made them want to work harder. They wanted to prove people wrong. And so that’s always kind of an advantage from our standpoint.”
Michaels added that facing adversity early is essential in shaping talent, believing that those who endured the backlash are now stronger because of it.
“I think that’s one of the ways you build character in this line of work. So everybody has to face a little adversity in their careers and those young men and women faced a lot of it early on and I think they’re better for it.”
The WWE Hall of Famer also reflected on his iconic WrestleMania 25 match against The Undertaker, revealing that the bout was originally planned with less time and placed earlier on the card. Michaels admitted both he and Undertaker were frustrated with those initial plans.
“I believe it was I was more than 15. I want to say it was maybe 20 or 25. Regardless we went considerably longer. Yeah. But it yeah yeah no it was sort of something that the stories of it being on much earlier and the time being less those were all accurate. We were obviously a bit offended by it and some of them got adjusted but not to the adjustment that we were kind of happy with and we just went out there and kind of did our thing from that point on.”
Despite those concerns, the match went on to become one of the most celebrated in WrestleMania history, with Michaels and Undertaker delivering a performance that exceeded expectations and set the tone for their legendary rematch the following year.
Michaels also shared insight into his famous Sweet Chin Music finisher, naming Randy Orton as one of the most unique performers when it came to selling the move. While Shelton Benjamin was acknowledged, Michaels highlighted Orton’s ability to make each reaction feel different.
“Well look I will say this. He took it like a champ. But I will say one of the people that I always thought sold it and you know maybe not as special but in such a unique way was Randy. Honestly Randy would take it almost differently every time because so many people would take a snapback and Randy could almost crumble down in a very unique way. So I have to give Randy a lot of credit for just bringing a whole different look to selling Sweet Chin Music on a number of occasions.”
