Shawn Michaels’ legendary career spanned 30 years, beginning in 1984 and ending with his official retirement match at WWE WrestleMania XXVI against The Undertaker. Across this time, Michaels got to see how the industry changed at the dawn of the century, and in an interview on “7PM in Brooklyn,” Michaels explained how things changed creatively in WWE after the 1990s.

“A lot of it was very ‘Wild West.’ There was not a lot of scripted stuff back then,” Michaels claimed, explaining that there was very little discussion about match direction, and promos were entirely unscripted. “In the mid to later ’90s, we really started to go off it, because you felt this cultural shift.” HBK noted how things like “The Jerry Springer Show” and reality shows started taking off in popularity, so WWE naturally followed suit in order to appeal to the culture.

The veteran recalled how the “Attitude Era” was something he could feel coming on, and that WWE slowly shifted into an entertainment focus instead of pushing kayfabe as hard. “You began to appreciate everything that these individuals were doing,” HBK added about the fanbase. 

Michaels was notoriously known for his backstage antics and drug abuse habits in the ’90s, but by the 2000s he turned around a new leaf, and with that, he felt his wrestling ability improved. “The 2000s, I feel like my work was so much better,” he expressed, noting that he also began to enjoy wrestling.

“That’s the thing that I didn’t do in the 90’s, was to allow myself to enjoy it because I was so – I felt so much pressure for, and majority of it I put on myself.” Michaels also admitted that he was in a better space at home, and because of this, he looks back on the 2000s more favorably than the ’90s.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “7PM in Brooklyn” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.