STW - Shawn Michaels 1997-98 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Today Bruce we’re going to be discussing one of the most controversial times in World Wrestling Federation history as we’re going to be breaking down the end of Shawn Michaels’ run in the WWF from 1997 to 1998.

1996 closes with the build to Sid vs. Shawn Michaels at the Royal Rumble in San Antonio which we covered a few weeks ago but at the same time Bret vs. Shawn is slowly coming to the forefront again. When 1997 starts - regardless of Steve Austin’s rise, the fact that Sid is the World Champion, WrestleMania 13 is going to be Shawn vs. Bret am I right?

When 1997 begins - has the demons as we often say in this business - started to rear its ugly head on Shawn?

Shawn wrote in his book how sick he was at the Rumble and how the second time winning the title wasn’t as big as being part of the hometown event built around him. We know this sport is pre-determined … but is that a valid thing when you win a second championship compared to the first?

Point blank Bruce - is this the peak for Shawn in the 1997 to 1998 period?

The night after the Rumble is one of the classic moments where Bret Hart opens the show and berates Vince McMahon at ringside - which is one of the first times it’s acknowledge on TV that Vince is the owner of the WWF - and Bret goes on and on about how he’s been screwed by everyone including Shawn.

Was the heat between Shawn & Bret evident here or is it starting to percolate to the surface?

It’s promoted that Shawn will be taking on Sid for the WWF Title at Thursday Raw Thursday which is moved because of the Westminster Dog Show.

In the mean time - Shawn is working triple threat matches on the loops with Bret & Sid. Did you ever hear of any issues with these 3 working together?

On Raw from Toronto Michaels & Hart have a confrontation. From the Observer: “The best part of the show was the Shawn Michaels-Bret Hart confrontation. It was acknowledged that this was in Bret's home town (like the entire country of Canada is one town) to explain Michaels being booed. As Michaels came out, Ross said he wasn't bald and he doesn't make promises he can't keep, apparently in reference to Hogan not wrestling Piper on the other station. Hart came out to the big face pop and actually outshined Michaels in this segment. Just as it appeared they were going to come to blows, Austin jumped Bret and they brawled while Michaels just stood there.”

Who feeds you the shot at Hogan? Is that from you personally or is that from Vince?

I think these types of things plays into the issues with Shawn and Bret has felt before. Here is the champion in the middle of the ring and he’s a side piece to the main course which is Bret & Austin. Do you think that plays a role in Michaels’ mindset?

On upcoming house show booking sheets for Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit the main event is Sid & Bret Hart against Steve Austin & Shawn Michaels. Who’s the babyfaces and the heels here? Is this the true beginning of shades of grey?

Shawn writes in his book that during one of these matches he tweaked his knee and it swelled up. He reaches out to Vince who tells him to see Dr. James Andrews - but instead Shawn sees his own doctor who tells him he’ll never wrestle again because he doesn’t have an ACL.

So much to unpack here Bruce. When does Vince tell you he’s hurt?

As head of talent relations is this unusual for a talent to tell Vince he’s hurt and not you or is that the relationship between Shawn & Vince?

Do you question the injury?

The expectation has always been that Shawn came up with the knee injury to get out of doing the job to Bret at WrestleMania. Do you think there’s any validity to that?

From the Observer: “Michaels' career was teased as being over due to a knee injury portrayed on television Thursday as being so bad even reconstructive surgery may not to able to repair the damage as a teary-eyed Michaels, whose problem was clearly in the interview not a knee injury, said farewell to the WWF in a classic interview repeated to death on television and PPV about 100 times in the ensuing weekend. It wound up only to have noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jim Andrews say Michaels' knee injury wouldn't even require surgery at all, and that after four to six weeks of rehab, he may be able to return. And at press time, it appears the plan is for Michaels to now be put back into the Wrestlemania mix, although not as a wrestler, perhaps doing announcing or as a special referee, wrestle a few major shows during the summer and return full-time in the fall.”

How quickly does this all change? From the live Thursday Raw - to a pay-per-view in Final Four you need to promote in 3 days to another live Raw on Monday where Bret Hart drops the WWF Title to Sid…is this all determined in the afternoon of that Raw in Lowell, Mass?

When do you remember hearing that once Dr. James Andrews looked at Shawn that rest and rehab were necessary and Shawn could return to a full-time schedule possibly even in the fall?

The “I lost my smile” promo - what was your reaction to it then and now?

Shawn wrote in his book that it wasn’t just his knee - but it was also being burnt out physically and emotionally. Is that an excuse?

Was there any talk of having Sid go over Shawn at Thursday Raw Thursday?

Shawn wrote in his book how unhappy he was that when Vince signed him to his $750,000 deal in 1996 that no one would make more than him except Taker. When Bret returns in late 1996 to a deal that’s double Shawn’s…is that a tactical mistake Vince makes in regards to keeping Shawn happy?

Shawn also wrote in his book that if Vince pushed Shawn to put Bret over at Mania he would. Do you believe that?

This is unlike anything the WWF had ever done at this point. I mean for christ’s sake they literally carried the Dynamite Kid to ringside to lose the tag team titles. Why do you think the decision was made to not have someone injure him… take his knee out…build something for the future in case Shawn could come back…instead of him coming out and vacating the title?

Was it the worry of further damaging his knee and that it wasn’t the same company it was in 1987?

The rumor and innuendo is that Shawn reaches out to Scott Hall to check to see if there’s a spot open for him. Do you remember hearing anything about Shawn reaching out to WCW? Does he come to you to try and get out of his deal or Vince?

So the Raw after Final Four Dr. James Andrews goes on TV and says Shawn won’t have to retire and needs to rehab for 4-6 weeks but if that doesn’t work surgery is a possibility. Bruce… how could this get aired? You had your babyface champion 4 days ago saying he had to retire because of his knee and now you’re airing a segment that says he could rehab and return. Does this make Shawn look bad in your opinion?

What’s your thought on Shawn at this point? And what about others in the office?

It’s speculated in the Observer that Shawn saw Bret Hart taking time off and getting a bigger contract and a better spot and thought he might be able to pull the same thing. Do you think that - plus Hall and Nash being in Shawn’s ear - may have forced the issue with Shawn?

Within weeks it’s already announced that Shawn Michaels will return at WrestleMania and be ringside for the main event with Undertaker and Sid. How much heat does Shawn have in the locker room at the time?

Who is his most vocal opponent in him returning this fast? Is it Bret or someone else?

At WrestleMania 13 Michaels comes out to be on commentary for the main event with the big entrance and does the nWo 4 life sign. Bret comes out and cals Michaels a pussy and a faker. Does Vince know he’s already going to go back to Bret vs. Shawn?

Shawn on commentary was…interesting. There’s always been rumor and innuendo that Shawn might’ve been…feeling it that night. Did you feel that way?

The next night on Raw Bret cuts this epic heel promo that really cements his heel turn but he focuses on Shawn as the face of the upcoming program. Shawn comes out and defends the fans and that Bret “the Mark Man” takes his accomplishments way too seriously. Shawn challenges Bret to “Love it or Leave It” and the debut of the figure four around the post!

For a guy who just retired 6 weeks before he certainly looks good taking a figure four around a ring post does he not?

Also on Nitro that same night Kevin Nash opens his promo with, “Right back at ya HBK!” Does this piss anyone off in the office?

In the Observer Meltzer reports that Michaels is hopeful to be back in the ring in May and to take on Bret at King of the Ring. How tenuous is the relationship with Shawn and is this something Vince is managing directly?

Did you ever have any conversations with Shawn during this time about his state of mind?

Meltzer writes this in the Observer and I think it’s an interesting point: “All this shoot stuff makes for fascinating television for some people, but it's one thing if it's Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels using it as ammo to sell tickets for an eventual match, but to do it in that way and waste TV time airing real stuff on a fake TV show is kind of unprofessional.”

This is in reference to WCW also running inside angles but this is something that happened a lot in the late 90s. Do you think the success of Bret and Shawn in this scenario bred more “shoot-type” angles?

From the Observer: “Shawn Michaels did about a 15:00 interview which was pretty much a shoot interview. It was easily the best segment on either show although it got murdered in the ratings, and Michaels did a tremendous job of getting himself over as a babyface. He said he and Bret loathe each other both in wrestling and in real life. He said Bret didn't just turn bad guy, that Bret was always a bad guy, that he used his parents, his sister and his kids to get on TV so he could make money. He said if Bret could make a buck, he'd sell his mother (there were significant boos for Shawn at that one). He said six years ago (he got his time line wrong by about 18 months--Shawn's first IC reign and Bret's first WWF title reign were in October 1992) when he got the IC belt and Bret got the WWF belt that he was happy playing second fiddle to Bret but when it was Bret's turn to play second fiddle, he kicked and scratched every inch of the way. He said Bret took time off because he thought the WWF and Michaels would collapse while he was gone, but instead they had the best business they'd had in six years and asked McMahon if it was true and McMahon agreed. Reality break, folks. It goes without saying that in the ring Michaels did a super job in 1996 and he was my pick as Wrestler of the year. However, let's not re-write history to say Shawn's reign was Hogan-like from a business standpoint because nothing could be farther from the truth. TV ratings collapsed in June of 1996 on Shawn's watch, not Bret's, and reached company all-time lows for the rest of the year. But the buy rates fell through his reign and it was during Shawn's reign for the first time in a decade that WWF in both PPV and TV ratings fell to the No. 2 company in the U.S. And when it came to house shows, while WWF had a strong year in 1996, its best months were February

and March, and who was the champion at that point? The summer was good, but there was a serious decline in the fall, at which point Vince threw everything he could to get Bret back including promise him the title belt. Let's not forget that there were numerous cases of Michaels throwing unprofessional hissy fits throughout his title reign in the ring. I guess people trying to rewrite reality that Michaels' reign as champion was this huge business success doesn't jive with the facts, and if it was the case, why did the WWF want to take the title off him twice with Sid--the second time ruining what they'd spent a year building in the Bret vs. Shawn title rematch--if he'd been such a Hogan-like success from a business standpoint? Michaels said that Hart used a rival organization to stab the WWF, who made him, in the back into upping the money he could get (I sort of call that smart negotiating). He than said Bret can't separate wrestling from real life, he's obsessed with the limelight and the title, and said it used to bother him when fans cheered Bret but now he realizes fans can cheer for who they want. He said all the super heroes and role models (referring to Hart and Hogan) couldn't live up to it (amen on that) and that he isn't claiming to be a role model, only that if you pay to see him wrestle he'll work harder to give you a good show than anyone.”

Bruce this is a ton of inside baseball and you got Meltzer correcting facts but is this compelling TV? A lot of people nowadays talk about demos and buyrates and all this but back in 1997 this isn’t really common knowledge. Does it really help sell tickets talking about how Bret tried to leave and HBK had the company on this back?

At In Your House: Revenge of Taker Michaels is all over the show fighting off the new Hart Foundation of Bret, Owen, Davey Boy & now Brian Pillman is added to the mix. With Bret’s knee injury needing work there’s a shift in creative to where Austin & Michaels will be teaming up to work Owen & Davey Boy over the summer while Bret heals up. Austin & Michaels as a tag team - did you think there was a lot of potential between them?

There’s talk that if Bret is healthy enough to wrestle at King of the Ring it’ll be Bret vs. Shawn. What are the odds in your mind at this time that this match actually makes it to the ring?

Supposedly there’s talk in the WCW locker room according to Meltzer that there’s no way Shawn would put over Bret clean. You think Shawn is talking to people in WCW about this?

May 12th, 1997 - it is a pivotal moment in the Bret and Shawn saga. The Hart Foundation - now including Jim Neidhart - close the show on Raw with cutting a promo on Shawn Michaels. It goes super long though and Bret misses his time cue - as Bret claims - and the show goes off the air without Michaels hitting the superkick.

You’re at ringside when this is happening - what do you remember of everyone yelling about the time cue and the show running off the air? Do you hear the chaos in your ear?

It seems to be known that Shawn thought Bret went long on purpose to double cross him. Do you believe that?

The footage is shown after the fact on Shotgun and Superstars, etc but that had to leave a bad taste in Shawn’s mouth does it not?

May 19th in Mobile, AL is another infamous moment in the Bret & Shawn story.

You’ve talked in the past about Bret and Shawn cutting too deep and the Sunny Days comment in particular. But did you think at this point it’s gone too far?

It’s announced that at King of the Ring … Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels with the following stipulations: The Hart Foundation would have to be handcuffed to each other around ringposts, and if Bret didn’t beat Shawn in under 10 minutes Bret would never wrestle in the United States again. Bruce do you know if this match was going to happen what the plan was for it because those are some big stipulations?

At the end of that Raw Austin beats Neidhart in under 2 minutes by DQ when the Hart Foundation interfere and it’s announced that next week Shawn Michaels’ in-ring return would be for the Tag Team Titles along side Steve Austin against Owen & Davey Boy. Did you think there was a rush to get Shawn back in the ring for TV ratings compared to a pay-per-view buyrate or was it known Bret wasn’t going to be able to work and this was the best pivot?

From Shawn’s book: “I returned to the ring on May 25 … I couldn’t wait to get back in the ring. I flew around all over the place and put on one of my best performances. Early on in the match, I did my backflip off the top, and I did it for a very specific reason. I knew that everyone, including Bret, was saying that I faked in my knee injury to get out of putting him over at WrestleMania. I wanted to rub it in their face. Every time I heard rumors about me, I made sure I did something to stick it to the guys who were spreading them.”

Was Shawn right in his antics at this time or wrong? He feels like he’s been pushed to this point in his mind and he’s reacting but

it’s hard to defend his actions here is it not?

Shawn & Steve win the tag team titles over Davey Boy & Owen in what is one of the great all-time Raw matches from that era. It’s hard not to be excited at the possibility of Austin & Shawn being a tag team am I right?

This is really the first time the people who don’t trust each other and don’t get along well prove to be successful which turns into a gimmick that’s been really done to death. Is this something you’re a fan of or has it outlasted it’s welcome?

Since Bret can’t work it’s decided to put Shawn against Austin at King of the Ring 1997 in a singles match between the current tag team champions. This match is remembered well and even Meltzer gave it **** even with a DQ ending. You watch this match and just think…what could’ve been if Shawn hadn’t gotten hurt right?

Well we all know what happens next…the backstage fight. First from Shawn’s point of view:

“By the time I wrestled in the tag match, Bret and I had nearly reached the breaking point. He had said bad things about my folks and apologized, but now he had gone on To stir things up by telling the dirt sheets and others that I faked my injury and retired before WrestleMania 13 in order to avoid putting him over. On June 9, we had a television taping in Hartford. I was in the dressing room when he came up to me and said, “I just want to say …” I cut him off before he could finish. “Don’t talk to me. You haven’t said a word to me for three weeks. If you can’t talk to me for three weeks, I don’t want to talk to you now.” I don’t think Bret was used to people talking like that to him. About five minutes later, I was turning around to get some gear out of my bag and I felt somebody push me from behind. I turned around and Bret asked, “What’s your fucking problem?” “You!” I yelled. He tried to punch me, but I peeled back and he missed. He pushed me again, and this time I stood up. He swung again and missed. The next thing I knew, he went for a double leg dive. I caught him around the upper body and we went straight back through a piece of paneling. We had each other in front face locks when Pat Patterson and Davey Boy came over and grabbed us. Pat was yelling, “Come on, you guys!” I let go and Bret yanked a handful of my hair off my head. That hurt like heck, but I didn’t retaliate. The fight was over. I went storming into Vince’s office and told him, “I’m out of here, this is b.s.!” I saw Aldo Montoya—who later wrestled here as Justin Credible—and asked him if he’d give me a ride back to my hotel. He wasn’t working that night, so he took me. I missed the show and flew home the next day. Vince sent my lawyer, Skip McCormick, who I had hired when I found out about Bret’s contract, a letter stating that I had violated my contract. Skip responded by writing a letter claiming that WWE had failed to provide a safe working environment. Skip told me that they were trying to blame everything on me, but once he wrote the letter, it would be back in their lap and they would ask me to come back. That’s exactly what happened.”

This was a long time coming and destined to happen and the fact it happened backstage instead of in the ring is probably a miracle. Who’s in the right…the wrong…was Shawn overreacting about an unsafe working environment?

Shawn goes home…and this is what comes out in the Observer: “The enigma of being arguably the most talented performer in American rings and seemingly being ill-equipped emotionally to handle the spot his talent has gotten him, came out again in recent weeks. Michaels became at odds with Vince McMahon by demanding a new contract, one that would put his pay at the same level as his rival, who fell into a bidding war and came out of it with the most lucrative guaranteed money contract in the history of the WWF. When McMahon turned down his demands, he gave his notice, wanting to join his "real friends" in WCW. With four years remaining on his contract, McMahon refused, and the general attitude during the week was that they had no idea where Michaels' head was and contingency plans were being made both for television and the PPV and house shows if Michaels wasn't going to appear.”

When does Shawn give notice? What’s Vince’s reaction? And let’s be honest Bruce — is Shawn’s talent worth all these issues?

Shawn writes in his book about a meeting with Vince that takes place in San Antonio. He details how the first thing Vince says to Shawn - who has his father sitting right next to him - that he has a problem with prescription pills. Was that the general sentiment in the company and office?

Shawn defends himself and flat out asks again for his release and Vince refuses saying, ““You don’t want to go there. They don’t know how to use a guy like you. It will drive you nuts.”

Do you think Vince was right?

Does this foreshadow Bret Hart leaving in your mind that WCW didn’t know what to do with him?

You have to go on Livewire and read a statement that states that Shawn was in a contract breach and that he had seemingly left the WWF. Does this set the precedence for Steve Austin walking out in the future in the way the WWF handles this?

Did you agree with Vince bringing Shawn back?

In your role in talent relations - were talents - specifically anyone if you want - coming up to you saying…do we really want him back? Do we need him back?

Very quickly the story changes to Shawn is coming back. Is Vince handling all this or is it lawyers?

Shawn returns in the middle of July with no change in contract is that correct?

He returns on July 14th to Raw in…San Antonio of course. Right after Del Wilkes debuts as the Patriot and the Hart Foundation are cutting a promo in the ring here comes Shawn…

Later on he’ll cut a promo where practically begs Vince McMahon to be part of the SummerSlam main event as a referee for the match between Bret and Undertaker.

Are you part of the conversation between Vince, Shawn & Bret about being able to work together? How does that all get squashed?

At SummerSlam with Shawn as the referee the public feud between Bret & Shawn sort of has a pin put on it as Shawn gets spit on by Bret Hart towards the end of the match and he swings a chair and crushes the Undertaker to lead to Bret getting the pin that Shawn counts and Bret becomes the 2nd person to ever hold the WWF Title for 5 times. Very quickly a new Shawn Michaels is in front of us…and this time it’s as a top heel.

Was this what Shawn wanted?

Was putting Shawn in a program with Taker … who had the respect of everyone in the locker room and put up with no bullshit … a way of Vince getting Shawn back in line?

For the next day on Raw in Bethlehem, PA, Meltzer reported the original plan for the Raw main event was for Shawn Michaels to solidify his heel turn by costing Austin & Love the tag team titles which would revert back to Owen & Davey Boy Smith. Instead Michaels solidified his turn by doing a total heel interview.

Was there a change for a reason?

Shawn writes in his book also that part of this idea was putting Shawn & Hunter together and the next week it is the birth of DX.

Raw 8/11 in Biloxi and the beginnings of DX:

“Michaels beat Mankind in 11:02 of an excellent match when Rude came out and hit Mankind with a chair. Several great and brutal moves outside the ring including Mankind taking hard post shots, Michaels coming off the apron with an elbow onto the announcers table, which didn't break and a back suplex on a table. Michaels bled from both the arm and head although the blood wasn't obvious on television. Helmsley at one point also tripped Mankind. It appeared they were going to form yet another group which will likely be called the Klik with Michaels, Rude, Helmsley and Chyna. Undertaker came out at the end and Bearer was on the video wall vowing that Cain is coming”

Raw 8/18 from Atlantic City:

“Apparently last week when Michaels found out about Rude doing the bodyguard gimmick, he cried and complained because he didn't want Rude and if he wanted a bodyguard he wanted Helmsley, so Rude will be with him a little longer but then move on to other things, if everything works out. Rude has yet to sign a WWF contract so in this climate putting him on television carried some kind of a risk. The plan is for him at this point to only work television.

TV main was Undertaker & Mankind over Michaels & Helmsley via DQ in 12:18. Rude came out and was about to hit Undertaker with a chair but Undertaker turned around and Rude dropped the chair. Michaels wound up hitting Taker with the chair for the DQ and Taker did a major blade job on himself. I was surprised about not only emphasis of the blood as the closing scene, but showing two different replays where it was clear he was blading himself, particularly after all the talk for so many years how they'd never allow their wrestlers to do such a "barbaric" practice.”

Where does the change come for blood? Why here? Do you remember Shawn being upset about Rude?

Ground Zero on 9/7 from Louisville and the first Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels match is a no contest and a wild great brawl between the two.

9/22 Observer:

“Probably the biggest news of the past week revolved around Shawn Michaels' behavior at

the Raw taping on 9/9 in Muncie, IN. Neither Vince McMahon nor Undertaker were at the taping, and Michaels did an interview where he came out in tight biker shorts with a sock or socks stuffed in his crotch for whatever reason and proceeded to make some very lewd gyrations like acting as if he was humping Jim Ross, swearing during his interview and called out Undertaker who was on a tape on the video wall. Everything was able to be edited off the show, and if you didn't know about the incident, you wouldn't even know the interview was heavily edited. Since Undertaker wasn't there, but since he was on a tape on the wall people thought he was, when Michaels kept insulting him, calling him a big chickenshit, and begging him to come out and call him more names when he didn't come out, it made Undertaker look bad in the city, not to mention it being totally unprofessional. Whether Michaels was doing it in another attempt to get fired so he could go to WCW or he had other ideas up his sleeve, it's definitely brought a lot more negativity toward him in a lot of circles.”

I mean…Bruce when this goes on…how you feel about this? How does JR? Like this is just completely unprofessional is it not?

What is Vince’s reaction when he finds out?

One Night Only in Birmingham, England and Shawn defeated the Bulldog to win the European title.

We’re gonna cover this show in long form in a few weeks, but the plan for the finish was to lead to a return match the following April when WWF returned to the UK, right?

Raw 9/22 from MSG

“Michaels did an interview and called out the Undertaker, doing almost a spoof of what was edited off the show last week, saying he knew he was there this week. Undertaker came out, but Helmsley ran out and the two destroyed Taker with a chair with help from Rick Rude. Taker finally got up and they scattered.

Bret beat Goldust with the sharpshooter in 12:48 of a decent match. Bret wouldn't break the hold and Michaels and Helmsley hit the ring attacking Bret with help from Rude and Chyna, which wound up with Owen, Bulldog (limping badly selling the injury from England) and the return of Jim Neidhart. Funny to see Neidhart attack Rude, who by agreement isn't allowed to receive any blows due to his legal settlement with WCW. Rude didn't seem too happy about it. Bret didn't sell for Michaels either. Finally Undertaker came out and the ring ended up cleared except for Bret, Michaels and Undertaker and as the show went off the air, Taker choke slammed both at the same time.

After the show went off, they immediately went into the dark match main event which was a triangle match for the title which only went 5:30. Michaels worked in his jeans. Finish saw Taker tombstone Michaels, but Helmsley pulled Taker out of the ring allowing Bret to jump on Michaels for the pin to keep the strap.”

Now the big news here is Vince telling Bret he can’t afford his contract - does Shawn know about this?

Badd Blood in St Louis on 10/5 - the first Hell in a Cell match where Shawn defeated the Undertaker following a tombstone from the debuting Kane

Did you think anything would ever top this because this is a complete launch of a gigantic gimmick match…and my goodness Bruce…what a match…

Raw on 10/6 in Kansas City - DX plays the Curtain Call fan cam footage on the TitanTron from May 19, 1996.

“Michaels & Helmsley did an interview where Michaels said he was the real Icon of wrestling and unlike the other Icons, he wasn't a fossil. They showed the famous Clique curtain call from MSG where Michaels, Helmsley, Ramon and Diesel broke kayfabe and hugged and made fun of McMahon for what they did.

They came back and Bret came out, mainly to challenge Helmsley, although it wound up with shoot comments flying back and forth. Bret called Michaels and Helmsley "homos" and said he made more money than all three of them combined. Michaels claimed he was the real star because he only has to wrestle once a month, or at least once a week tops while Bret is out there every night and that while Bret needs wrestling, wrestling needs Shawn and HHH. Bret said that until Michaels has the belt that he'll never be the show stopper and made reference to the two guys (one being Chyna) in the ring with him. He claimed to have run out Diesel and Razor and called them Shawn's boyfriends. Michaels said in reference to them leaving not to confuse expansion with destruction.”

In the main event of the show, HHH defeated Bret via count-out following a superkick from Shawn to Bret on the floor.

What did you think of them airing the Curtain Call? How much did you trust Bret and Shawn cutting promos on each other live on TV?

Raw 11/3 from Hershey:

“Michaels & Helmsley did an interview. Fans chanted "Shawn is Gay," so he kissed HHH on the lips. He went to kiss Chyna but she didn't seem to like the audible. Michaels wanted to say he was God, as a spoof on Hogan's interview from last week, but HHH covered his mouth as a tease of not letting him say it and saying to be God you have to be as old as God and talked about the "Age in the Cage" match. Slaughter came out, and they put on helmets with windshield wipers on them. Slaughter ordered Michaels to wrestle Shamrock later in the show.

Finale saw Shamrock beat Michaels via DQ when Rude and HHH interfered after the ref missed Michaels tapping out from an ankle lock, so the idea is that Shamrock has made both Hart and Michaels tap out in successive weeks as a

way to elevate him to the top level. It was a good match, except Michaels was calling spots

so loud you could actually pick them up on TV, and there were two badly mistimed spots, one of which Michaels was almost laughing about.”

Vince had to be enjoying Shawn but was anybody else backstage?

We all know the Survivor Series screwjob and it’s been discussed in the archives…but you know what we never did Bruce…we’ve never actually covered the show. What you think? Later on this year?

What is Shawn like backstage with the boys after the screwjob?

At the MSG house show on 11/15, Shawn defeated the Brooklyn Brawler in a WWF Title match. Brawler had won a battle royal in a dark match at the Raw taping back in September to earn the shot.

“Michaels pinned Brawler in 7:21 to keep the title with lots of interference from HHH and Chyna. Brawler came out to Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" and Michaels bounced around for him, giving him a lot of near falls, before Chyna gave him a huracanrana behind the refs back and Michaels used the superkick for the pin.”

Shawn & HHH did face Taker & Austin in a tag to close the MSG show so it’s not like Shawn vs Brawler was the main event but still…

Shawn working twice at the Garden…and once against Brawler…how did he feel about that?

Raw on November 24th features a bait and switch of Bret Hart being on the show and a limo teasing him. “Instead of Hart, they dressed a mini up in a leather jacket and sunglasses and called him Hart, had Michaels put him in a sharpshooter and Helmsley stick the mic in his face where the mini said that he submitted and that Michaels was the icon and the show stopper, put a "WCW" sign on his butt, kicked him in the butt out of the ring and said to go there with the rest of the garbage. “

You loved this shit didn’t you?

“Jim Neidhart came out to confront DX but Michaels told Neidhart how great the Hart Foundation tag team was ten years ago and that he was the one with the experience and the charisma that Bret never had. He asked Neidhart how much of Bret's big contract is he getting. Neidhart said Bret was at home in Calgary, Bulldog was having knee surgery and Owen was mentally distraught. They offered Neidhart a spot in DX and he said he'd think about it.

Finally Michaels beat Vader in 2:42. Neidhart came

out with Chyna and HHH. Neidhart and HHH beat up Vader when he fell out of the ring.

HHH threw coffee in Vader's good eye and Michaels hit two superkicks for the pin. After the match DX attacked and beat up Neidhart and left him laying.”

This is just…Vince burying Neidhart on the way out isn’t it?

At the next Raw:

“Helmsley pinned Neidhart in 2:29 after Michaels hit him with a chair. After the bout Helmsley gave him a Pedigree on the chair and they spray painted WCW on his back. He made a comeback but Chyna handcuffed him to the ropes and they were beating on him until Slaughter made the save, putting the cobra clutch on HHH, while Shamrock put Michaels down in the ankle lock and he was tapping as the show went off.”

This is how we get Shamrock some heat and help get some heat off Michaels is that right?

Any worry about Neidhart going into business for himself?

IYH: DX from Springfield, MA on 12/7:

Shamrock defeated Michaels via DQ in the main event when HHH & Chyna interfered.

Owen Hart returns in a memorable moment, coming through the crowd and knocking Shawn off the apron and through the announcer’s table.

Shamrock wasn’t really ready here was he?

“The WWF's more risque edge, set a new standard for being gross on the 12/8 Raw show from Portland, ME. On the show, Michaels did an interview going on in descriptive detail about "a big smelly turd," describing Owen Hart as being a small piece of the turd that keeps coming back up no matter how many times he flushes the toilet. Later in the show after doing an angle where he'd removed all his clothes with the exception of his underwear, he looked right at the camera and grabbed and shook whatever was in his pants. This has raised some issues about the direction of the company when talking about its past marketing and some of its current marketing toward young children.”

Did Shawn have any issues or qualms about working with Owen? Did Owen have any issues with this content? Did you?

Then we have the infamous house show incidents:

““both at house shows on 12/14 in Memphis and 12/15 in Little Rock, when, due to actions and decisions that appeared at least to people at the show to be by Michaels, the main event didn't take place at either show, resulting in a near riot in Memphis and a full-blown riot in Little Rock. In Memphis, the scheduled main event of Jerry Lawler & Jeff Jarrett vs. Michaels & Helmsley never took place. Before a crowd of 5,078 fans at the Pyramid, Michaels, came out for his once per week scheduled arena match and was met with so much garbage thrown his way that he simply refused to wrestle and the show ended without the match ever taking place. As it was described to us, the show itself was poor and the crowd, many of whom had been drinking heavily, were getting unruly even before the main event. Michaels was hit with a few cokes, and a large wad of tobacco juice nailed Helmsley in the face, at which point Michaels grabbed the house mic and said,"Well, that just cost you your main event," and walked out of the ring with Helmsley and Chyna. When the crowd realized what had happened, they got even more unruly. There was an attempt by Dude Love, who was at the event but couldn't wrestle due to fractured ribs, to get the crowd to chant "HBK" to get Michaels to change his mind and wrestle but he refused to come back out. Finally Lawler tried to apologize to the crowd, but the crowd pelted the home town hero with debris after chanting for Lawler and Jarrett to wrestle each other and Lawler responding by saying that since he didn't have a contract to wrestle Jarrett that match "couldn't" take place.””

This was just…too much was it not? What’s Vince’s reaction to this?

“Michaels and Helmsley came to the ring and began riling up the crowd that was already mad about the poor undercard. Naturally they became target practice again, and when a piece of paper hit Michaels, he told the crowd that they had just lost their main event and walked out with Helmsley and Chyna. Fans, thinking it was just part of the act, didn't react right away. After several minutes, DX failed to come back in the ring, no opponent for Helmsley appeared, and the ring announcer said that they had refused to come out and the show was over. At this point, a real riot started, with chairs and whiskey bottles being thrown everywhere including at police trying to get the crowd out of the building. The situation got so bad that the police had to spray the building with tear gas to get the fans outside.”

Is this on the guys at this point to have it happen back to back?

“At the 12/11 Raw tapings in Lowell, MA, there is a segment where Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley both remove all their clothing with the exception of t-back speedos, revealing the words "Merry" and "Christmas" written on their respective butt cheeks.

Michaels dropped the European belt to Helmsley. It started out with the aforementioned interview where they ended up in nothing but their jocks. Sgt. Slaughter then came out and said that since Michaels hadn't defended the European title in more than 60 days, that he was ordering a title match to be held later in the show and that Michaels' opponent would be Helmsley. At one point, which will likely be during the first segment of the second hour, the match begins, however Owen Hart did a run-in before it ever got off the ground. The match was then teased until the end of the show, and the two did a mock slow-motion match (imagine this, an overtly fake pro wrestling match) ending with Michaels literally laying down for Helmsley and getting up and crying mockingly about how sad he was for losing the title, and Slaughter, vowing to not be made a fool of, ordering Helmsley to defend the title against Hart on the ensuing Raw, which will air live on 12/29 from the Nassau Coliseum.”

Did you find this entertaining Bruce?

However Michaels replaces HHH (dislocated knee) in the Raw match vs Owen with Owen winning via DQ in a ***½ match rated by Meltzer

Could Owen had been a top guy with the right win here?

Raw 1/5/98 building up the casket match vs Undertaker:

“Finally Michaels was in the ring to challenge Taker. They had a casket brought to the ring and Michaels acted like HHH and Chyna were in there as a rib. Then he saw them on the ramp and really mockingly in a way to kill the angle, said, "So who could be in there." Of course he opened it, Taker came out, the lights went off, and when they were on Taker was in the ring with the belt and Michaels was nowhere to be seen.”

Taker vs. Shawn…in a Casket…but you know at this point it’s Shawn and Austin at Mania right?

Royal Rumble 1/18/98 from San Jose:

Shawn gets injured early on in the casket match vs Undertaker, taking a backdrop over the top rope and landing awkwardly on the casket on the way down, but wins the match when Kane helps Taker but then “turns” on his brother. The back injury isn’t seemingly known at first and Michaels continues on TV as normal the next day in Fresno

“They did a spot where Undertaker was descending from the ceiling, but it was actually Michaels dressed as him, and then he did an interview saying he doesn't lay down for anyone, roasting weanies and salamis and making all kinds of dick comments including HHH with a s*ck the cook shirt. Michaels even took a weanie and acted like he was jacking it off.”

How quickly after this do you know…Shawn’s back is fucked?

Shawn is advertised to be in an 8-man at No Way Out in the build to Mania…but there was no way he was ever going to make that right?

Having Tyson involved helps dramatically to get the build through to the match…if Shawn isn’t hurt is Tyson in DX?

“WWF tried a last angle with Tyson on 3/26 in Boston. They had two matches and then did the angle. Unfortunately, just as Michaels was running down Boston sports, the garbage started coming and he got hit with a battery and stormed off. Helmsley stayed and covered for him while they introduced a guy to mock Owen Hart, Undertaker, Bret Hart and finally Austin. Austin hit the ring but was attacked by DX and Los Boricuas and tied into the ropes. Michaels returned so they could do the spot to tease the turn where Michaels went to kick Austin but Tyson stopped him, and then Tyson went to punch Austin but Michaels stopped him, and they both kissed Austin.”

WrestleMania 14 on 3/28

Austin defeated Michaels to win the title with Tyson counting the pin and laying out Michaels afterwards.

Can it really be put into words how important Shawn losing in the middle of the ring is here?

If Shawn isn’t hurt - do we get Austin vs. Vince do you think?

4/12 Observer:

“Update on Shawn Michaels. To the best of anyone's knowledge, Michaels didn't aggravate his back injury seriously at Wrestlemania since he never went to a doctor after the show. He went in suffering from two herniated discs and is now going to rest his back and hopefully gel his other problems under control as in the weeks leading up to Mania people had been nicknaming him Louie.

Shawn is brought back over the Summer of 98 a few times and does color commentary on a few Raw shows.

On the November 23, 1998 Raw, Shawn was named the new commissioner of the WWF, replacing Sgt. Slaughter.

11/30 Observer:

“Michaels return to WWF television as the new heel commissioner on 11/17 coincided with the diagnosis of his back specialist who gave him the word about ten days ago that his career is over. Michaels, 33, who wants to return, but probably in a limited in-ring role as far as scheduling goes, is looking for a second or a third opinion. WWF had largely kept him off television for a variety of reasons, some having to do with morale, some having to do with the fact he's not particularly good at announcing when exposed for any length of time. The feeling was he could be re-introduced with an angle, which more likely than not would have been to turn on DX and feud with HHH, when he was physically ready. With the word that may not be possible, WWF is attempting to get some return on its $750,000 per year contract with Michaels by making him at least a television heel commissioner character whose role would be, at least for the short term, to screw with the wrestlers in the WWF except Steve Austin (who Vince and Shane McMahon will concentrate on, which also may guard against the long-term overexposure of Vince). And there's always time for the inevitable McMahon-Michaels split as well.”

Was this just Vince’s way of getting him back on TV?

Michaels becomes the babyface commissioner on the final Raw of the year after being fired by Vince - but then superkicking him to end the show.

What a time with Shawn is it not?