1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:02,586 --> 00:00:06,089 [overlapping chatter] 3 00:00:06,173 --> 00:00:07,466 ‐ That way he's standing, 4 00:00:07,549 --> 00:00:09,134 I mean, it looks like it's higher, right? 5 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 6 00:00:09,218 --> 00:00:12,221 Because you do that from the second rope. 7 00:00:12,346 --> 00:00:13,514 Boom! 8 00:00:13,639 --> 00:00:18,769 This job to me is the greatest life that I could ever live. 9 00:00:18,852 --> 00:00:22,314 For years people told me I was too small, 10 00:00:22,397 --> 00:00:24,274 that I couldn't do this and I couldn't do that 11 00:00:24,358 --> 00:00:26,151 and I wasn't going to make it. 12 00:00:26,276 --> 00:00:28,487 And I've shoved it in everybody's face. 13 00:00:28,612 --> 00:00:29,821 No time‐outs in this, man. 14 00:00:29,905 --> 00:00:34,576 I realize I can't be popular with everybody all the time. 15 00:00:34,701 --> 00:00:38,163 So in the meantime, I'm going to be popular with me, 16 00:00:38,288 --> 00:00:39,706 and I'm going to be the best. 17 00:00:39,831 --> 00:00:43,460 ‐ There are definitely two lives of Shawn Michaels. 18 00:00:43,544 --> 00:00:46,171 You know, there's who he was before... 19 00:00:46,296 --> 00:00:48,715 ‐ You will not ever in your lives 20 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,385 see a man more charismatic, 21 00:00:51,510 --> 00:00:54,513 more flamboyant, or more talented 22 00:00:54,638 --> 00:00:57,224 than the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. 23 00:00:57,307 --> 00:01:03,397 ‐ The greatest in‐ring performer of all time. 24 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,816 Being a prick comes natural to Shawn. 25 00:01:05,941 --> 00:01:07,568 It did. He was a dick. 26 00:01:07,693 --> 00:01:11,321 ‐ The showstopper, the headliner, the main event. 27 00:01:11,446 --> 00:01:13,323 ‐ There was so much bad blood between us, 28 00:01:13,407 --> 00:01:17,369 and I was always like, "If I see him, I'll kill him." 29 00:01:17,494 --> 00:01:20,163 I had so much anger about it. 30 00:01:20,205 --> 00:01:24,418 ‐ Nobody steals my spotlight. I want it all. 31 00:01:24,501 --> 00:01:26,378 ‐ Shawn Michaels could do absolutely anything, 32 00:01:26,461 --> 00:01:29,131 any style to perfection with anyone. 33 00:01:29,256 --> 00:01:32,134 When the bell rings, no one is as good as Shawn. 34 00:01:32,175 --> 00:01:34,094 ‐ I will give you a show 35 00:01:34,177 --> 00:01:36,847 like you have never ever seen before. 36 00:01:36,972 --> 00:01:40,142 Why? Because I can. 37 00:01:40,267 --> 00:01:43,520 ‐ The only man to win every major title. 38 00:01:43,645 --> 00:01:46,898 ‐ You can't say anybody was better, but also tormented. 39 00:01:47,024 --> 00:01:48,525 He was, like, on self‐destruct mode. 40 00:01:48,609 --> 00:01:51,153 ‐ I just knew that he didn't love himself. 41 00:01:51,194 --> 00:01:52,946 There was something in him that he despised. 42 00:01:53,030 --> 00:01:55,991 ‐ If you're taking pain pills at 12 in the afternoon, 43 00:01:56,074 --> 00:01:58,285 belligerent, falling down, staggering, 44 00:01:58,368 --> 00:02:01,288 everything that you have in your life is this. 45 00:02:01,371 --> 00:02:03,874 And it's all going away. 46 00:02:03,957 --> 00:02:06,251 ‐ On more than one occasion, 47 00:02:06,335 --> 00:02:08,128 I really wanted to beat the hell out of Shawn, 48 00:02:08,170 --> 00:02:10,297 but I knew there was a good man 49 00:02:10,380 --> 00:02:12,341 behind all this other crap. 50 00:02:12,466 --> 00:02:14,384 ‐ The biggest thing that he ever did 51 00:02:14,468 --> 00:02:15,719 is turning his life around 52 00:02:15,844 --> 00:02:18,180 to where he is now. 53 00:02:18,305 --> 00:02:21,266 ‐ And so, yep, there are two lives there. 54 00:02:21,350 --> 00:02:23,685 But there's one Shawn Michaels. 55 00:02:23,810 --> 00:02:28,815 ‐ The very best sports entertainer in the world. 56 00:02:28,899 --> 00:02:31,526 [rock music plays] 57 00:02:32,694 --> 00:02:35,572 [tense music] 58 00:02:35,697 --> 00:02:37,407 ‐ I love it. I say this. I say we‐‐again‐‐ 59 00:02:37,532 --> 00:02:39,951 Vince used to always tell me "You go all the way out there, 60 00:02:40,035 --> 00:02:41,161 I'll reel you back in if I want to," 61 00:02:41,203 --> 00:02:42,788 you know what I mean? 62 00:02:42,871 --> 00:02:46,416 ‐ NXT started out as a developmental brand 63 00:02:46,541 --> 00:02:48,460 that grooms WWE superstars. 64 00:02:48,543 --> 00:02:51,755 ‐ Any kind of count up, DQ, or whatever ends the match. 65 00:02:51,838 --> 00:02:56,093 ‐ There's Shawn's fingerprints in almost every talent in NXT. 66 00:02:56,176 --> 00:02:57,302 Shawn is very hands on. 67 00:02:57,386 --> 00:02:59,805 ‐ Then he sits up behind him and then whack! 68 00:02:59,888 --> 00:03:02,557 ‐ He sold out arenas all around the world 69 00:03:02,683 --> 00:03:04,434 when he was the Heartbreak Kid. 70 00:03:04,518 --> 00:03:05,769 He's in a different place in his life now. 71 00:03:05,852 --> 00:03:08,772 He's humble, he wants to be behind the scenes. 72 00:03:08,855 --> 00:03:10,315 It isn't about him. 73 00:03:10,399 --> 00:03:12,651 He wants to help others achieve their dreams. 74 00:03:12,693 --> 00:03:15,153 You've got to say it with passion and anger. 75 00:03:15,237 --> 00:03:18,365 ‐ Here we go, guys, three, two, one. 76 00:03:18,490 --> 00:03:19,741 ‐ Seeing Shawn today, 77 00:03:19,866 --> 00:03:23,829 it's sometimes hard for people to believe 78 00:03:23,954 --> 00:03:25,831 that's Shawn Michaels. 79 00:03:25,914 --> 00:03:27,374 Certain levels of talent 80 00:03:27,499 --> 00:03:28,959 command certain levels of respect. 81 00:03:29,042 --> 00:03:31,670 ‐ Just attack of Johnny Gargano. 82 00:03:31,795 --> 00:03:33,130 ‐ Oh, jeez. 83 00:03:33,213 --> 00:03:34,631 ‐ I added the plexiglass. 84 00:03:34,673 --> 00:03:38,343 ‐ His knowledge and his wisdom of the business 85 00:03:38,468 --> 00:03:41,304 and all that stuff, it's so valuable. 86 00:03:41,388 --> 00:03:43,056 So excellent job. Yeah, go, you got this. 87 00:03:43,181 --> 00:03:45,642 ‐ Shawn Michaels' life is a story 88 00:03:45,726 --> 00:03:47,686 that a lot of people could relate to. 89 00:03:47,811 --> 00:03:49,980 He always wanted more. 90 00:03:50,063 --> 00:03:52,274 It was a life of never enough. 91 00:03:52,357 --> 00:03:55,569 And then, his life totally changes. 92 00:03:55,694 --> 00:03:58,488 A lot of us have that, if we're lucky. 93 00:03:58,613 --> 00:04:01,158 I think the Shawn Michaels story is one that's really cool 94 00:04:01,283 --> 00:04:04,327 and one that all of us can stand to learn from. 95 00:04:04,411 --> 00:04:08,248 [twangy guitar] 96 00:04:08,373 --> 00:04:11,126 ‐ I was born into a military family. 97 00:04:11,251 --> 00:04:14,087 My father was in the Air Force. 98 00:04:14,171 --> 00:04:15,422 It was Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, 99 00:04:15,505 --> 00:04:18,508 but everybody in my family called me Shawn. 100 00:04:18,633 --> 00:04:23,346 My father was a pilot, so early on we moved a lot. 101 00:04:23,472 --> 00:04:25,265 He was going to Vietnam. 102 00:04:25,348 --> 00:04:27,476 We went to England, then Maryland 103 00:04:27,559 --> 00:04:29,853 and then we moved to Texas. 104 00:04:29,978 --> 00:04:31,646 I was about eight‐ish. 105 00:04:31,772 --> 00:04:35,942 From that point on, I was in the state of Texas. 106 00:04:36,026 --> 00:04:39,863 You don't have long‐lasting friendships in the Air Force. 107 00:04:39,946 --> 00:04:42,240 The hardest part for making friends 108 00:04:42,365 --> 00:04:43,533 was having the last name. 109 00:04:43,658 --> 00:04:46,536 The roll call, Hickenbottom, Michael Hickenbottom. 110 00:04:46,661 --> 00:04:48,163 You could hear the snickers all over the room. 111 00:04:48,288 --> 00:04:50,540 Hickenbottom. And, of course... 112 00:04:50,665 --> 00:04:51,625 It's like, "Son of a biscuit, 113 00:04:51,708 --> 00:04:53,794 I wish I had a different last name." 114 00:04:53,877 --> 00:04:56,630 ‐ Shawn was well‐loved. 115 00:04:56,713 --> 00:05:01,468 He was always very quiet and very shy growing up. 116 00:05:01,510 --> 00:05:03,428 He wasn't an extrovert. 117 00:05:03,512 --> 00:05:09,059 t a good, friendly, nice little boy. 118 00:05:09,184 --> 00:05:10,602 And people liked him. 119 00:05:10,685 --> 00:05:13,313 He was involved in sports all of his life. 120 00:05:13,396 --> 00:05:17,442 He just enjoyed doing everything. 121 00:05:17,526 --> 00:05:20,195 ‐ I was a big fan of playing football, 122 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,696 because of the contact. 123 00:05:21,822 --> 00:05:26,618 You know, contact and athletics were appealing to me. 124 00:05:26,701 --> 00:05:28,745 And then I'm 12 years old, 125 00:05:28,829 --> 00:05:32,165 getting to stay up late on a Saturday night, 126 00:05:32,249 --> 00:05:34,709 and this wrestling show starts. 127 00:05:34,835 --> 00:05:37,170 Southwest Championship Wrestling. 128 00:05:37,295 --> 00:05:38,755 The beginning montage, 129 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,008 the guy is slow motion jumping off the top rope. 130 00:05:42,092 --> 00:05:43,844 I was enthralled in it. It was just‐‐[laughs] 131 00:05:43,969 --> 00:05:45,971 I don't know, the neatest thing I ever saw. 132 00:05:46,096 --> 00:05:48,056 ‐ The best in professional wrestling and I'm‐‐ 133 00:05:48,181 --> 00:05:49,391 ‐ After the show, I walked out 134 00:05:49,474 --> 00:05:50,725 and my mom was in the kitchen. 135 00:05:50,851 --> 00:05:52,978 I said, "I know what I'm going to do when I grow up." 136 00:05:53,103 --> 00:05:54,479 And she said, "What's that?" 137 00:05:54,604 --> 00:05:55,939 I said, "I'm going to be a professional wrestler." 138 00:05:56,022 --> 00:05:58,191 She was like, "Oh, that's nice, honey." 139 00:05:58,275 --> 00:06:02,487 ‐ He began to talk about that's what he wanted to do, 140 00:06:02,571 --> 00:06:06,449 and I was sure that ultimately he would grow out of that, 141 00:06:06,533 --> 00:06:08,368 but he never did. 142 00:06:08,493 --> 00:06:10,328 ‐ Down at the Freeman Coliseum, 143 00:06:10,412 --> 00:06:12,414 Shawn would periodically get to go, 144 00:06:12,539 --> 00:06:15,000 and, oh, he saw Tully Blanchard. 145 00:06:15,083 --> 00:06:18,795 ‐ Wahoo McDaniel, Eddie Mansfield, Scott Casey. 146 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:23,425 ‐ Of course, then later, Ric Flair was a wrestling god, 147 00:06:23,508 --> 00:06:25,594 and he would buy wrestling magazines, 148 00:06:25,677 --> 00:06:27,554 and he would look at Ric Flair, 149 00:06:27,679 --> 00:06:28,805 and then he would stand in the mirror, 150 00:06:28,847 --> 00:06:32,309 and try to talk like him and look like him. 151 00:06:32,350 --> 00:06:33,768 ‐ Being a wrestling fan, 152 00:06:33,852 --> 00:06:37,188 it was really a black sheep source of mockery. 153 00:06:37,314 --> 00:06:41,276 It's not something you say with a great deal of pride. 154 00:06:41,359 --> 00:06:42,777 It was just a relationship 155 00:06:42,861 --> 00:06:45,363 between me and wrestling for a while 156 00:06:45,488 --> 00:06:47,157 and my dad was an amateur wrestler 157 00:06:47,282 --> 00:06:51,161 at the University of Iowa, so he was a real wrestler. 158 00:06:51,244 --> 00:06:54,456 And, of course, he just gave some gruff like, "That's fake." 159 00:06:54,539 --> 00:06:57,000 The kindest thing I could say about it was 160 00:06:57,125 --> 00:07:01,421 I considered it to be an athletic soap opera, 161 00:07:01,504 --> 00:07:03,590 which has always been my description 162 00:07:03,673 --> 00:07:05,383 of professional wrestling. 163 00:07:05,508 --> 00:07:07,302 ‐ Then a new kid gets transferred. 164 00:07:07,385 --> 00:07:09,304 His name is Kenny Kent. 165 00:07:09,346 --> 00:07:12,599 I met Shawn the summer of 1980. 166 00:07:12,682 --> 00:07:14,684 We were sophomores in high school. Both 15. 167 00:07:14,768 --> 00:07:17,520 He would want to wrestle and throw around his friends, 168 00:07:17,646 --> 00:07:18,855 and they didn't like it. 169 00:07:18,980 --> 00:07:22,359 And so I instantly became his little tag team partner 170 00:07:22,484 --> 00:07:24,194 and we would just bash each other 171 00:07:24,277 --> 00:07:25,737 and throw each other around, 172 00:07:25,862 --> 00:07:27,781 and that's really what developed our friendship. 173 00:07:27,864 --> 00:07:31,326 ‐ They'd practice out in the pool. Frightening. 174 00:07:31,451 --> 00:07:32,410 [laughs] 175 00:07:32,535 --> 00:07:35,330 Shawn would lift him straight him, Kenny, 176 00:07:35,455 --> 00:07:37,457 and then they'd fall into the pool. 177 00:07:37,540 --> 00:07:39,709 His way of practicing. 178 00:07:39,793 --> 00:07:41,544 ‐ Shawn dreamed of wrestling. 179 00:07:41,670 --> 00:07:43,797 He would call me and tell me these matches 180 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,049 that he would lay out and prepare. 181 00:07:46,174 --> 00:07:47,842 He was really obsessed with it. 182 00:07:47,968 --> 00:07:49,135 [crowd cheering] 183 00:07:49,260 --> 00:07:51,638 ‐ In that time, you struggled back and forth 184 00:07:51,721 --> 00:07:53,390 with people who are telling you it's fake, 185 00:07:53,515 --> 00:07:55,183 but I am there watching the guy‐‐whap! 186 00:07:55,308 --> 00:07:59,062 I mean, hitting the guy and sweat's flying off. 187 00:07:59,187 --> 00:08:01,398 There's something to it. 188 00:08:01,523 --> 00:08:03,775 They've got me hook, line, and sinker. 189 00:08:03,858 --> 00:08:05,485 ‐ We were a very small school. 190 00:08:05,568 --> 00:08:06,820 We did not have a wrestling team. 191 00:08:06,903 --> 00:08:09,656 But our senior year, we had a talent show 192 00:08:09,739 --> 00:08:11,032 and it was Shawn's idea 193 00:08:11,157 --> 00:08:13,618 that me and him were gonna do a wrestling match. 194 00:08:13,702 --> 00:08:14,995 Everything was going quite well 195 00:08:15,078 --> 00:08:18,540 until I threw Shawn off the stage into the crowd, 196 00:08:18,665 --> 00:08:21,710 and beat his head on the table a couple of times. 197 00:08:21,835 --> 00:08:24,629 There was just blood gushing all over his head. 198 00:08:24,713 --> 00:08:26,464 And people are going nuts. 199 00:08:26,548 --> 00:08:29,009 ‐ I think we came in second. We didn't win. 200 00:08:29,134 --> 00:08:31,928 ‐ We got beat by a group of cheerleaders 201 00:08:32,012 --> 00:08:35,473 so, you know, two guys in little tightie whities 202 00:08:35,557 --> 00:08:39,602 versus cheerleaders, they're gonna win every time. 203 00:08:39,686 --> 00:08:40,937 ‐ We graduate, 204 00:08:41,021 --> 00:08:42,689 and then it's "What are you gonna do?" 205 00:08:42,814 --> 00:08:44,315 Well, have you decided what you want?" 206 00:08:44,399 --> 00:08:46,109 "I still want to be a wrestler." 207 00:08:46,192 --> 00:08:49,154 I recognized that I said it when I was 12, 208 00:08:49,237 --> 00:08:53,867 but it's just been a big, big part of my life. 209 00:08:53,992 --> 00:08:56,244 Okay, that's awesome. That's not a possibility. 210 00:08:56,369 --> 00:08:58,830 ‐ But, you know, at 17, you look at him and you think 211 00:08:58,913 --> 00:09:00,832 you don't know what you're talking about. 212 00:09:00,957 --> 00:09:02,208 We said, "You're going to college." 213 00:09:02,333 --> 00:09:05,086 ‐ There wasn't a lot of open understanding 214 00:09:05,170 --> 00:09:06,296 in what I was doing. 215 00:09:06,421 --> 00:09:09,591 ‐ We went off to Southwest Texas State University. 216 00:09:09,674 --> 00:09:10,967 When we lived together at college, 217 00:09:11,092 --> 00:09:13,136 there were many nights I would hear him 218 00:09:13,219 --> 00:09:15,096 and he's standing there with his shirt off 219 00:09:15,180 --> 00:09:17,515 and he'd be talking and screaming at the mirror, 220 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:19,267 practicing. 221 00:09:19,350 --> 00:09:21,269 At the end of his second semester, 222 00:09:21,352 --> 00:09:25,315 I think his GPA was 0.4. 223 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:26,816 School just wasn't for him, 224 00:09:26,941 --> 00:09:29,319 and he was ready to make his move into the wrestling world. 225 00:09:29,402 --> 00:09:30,862 ‐ Essentially, he said, 226 00:09:30,945 --> 00:09:34,866 "I don't want to waste anymore of my time or your money. 227 00:09:34,991 --> 00:09:38,369 I am going to be a professional wrestler." 228 00:09:38,495 --> 00:09:39,996 ‐ My dad played golf with this guy, 229 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,333 and apparently he's the guy that's a local promoter 230 00:09:43,374 --> 00:09:45,960 here in San Antonio. 231 00:09:46,086 --> 00:09:49,089 We go down there, and Jose Lothario was there. 232 00:09:49,172 --> 00:09:53,593 ‐ From San Antonio, Texas, superstar Jose Lothario. 233 00:09:53,676 --> 00:09:55,261 ‐ I understood he was a legitimate name. 234 00:09:55,345 --> 00:09:57,764 The gentleman stated "Well, he has to be trained. 235 00:09:57,847 --> 00:10:00,600 "Jose could do the training if you wanted. 236 00:10:00,683 --> 00:10:03,311 It's gonna cost $3,000." 237 00:10:03,436 --> 00:10:05,647 ‐ I thought about facing him 238 00:10:05,730 --> 00:10:08,983 when he was 35 or 40 years old, 239 00:10:09,067 --> 00:10:10,485 and having him say 240 00:10:10,610 --> 00:10:14,489 "Dad, if you'd have just given me the chance, 241 00:10:14,572 --> 00:10:17,492 I could have been a professional wrestler." 242 00:10:17,575 --> 00:10:19,577 And I couldn't face that thought. 243 00:10:19,702 --> 00:10:27,502 And so I said, "What the hell." 244 00:10:27,627 --> 00:10:31,965 [soft music] 245 00:10:32,048 --> 00:10:33,800 ‐ You know, I wake up every day 246 00:10:33,883 --> 00:10:37,804 never forgetting what I did for a living. 247 00:10:37,929 --> 00:10:40,682 I sort of developed a habit getting up in the morning, 248 00:10:40,765 --> 00:10:42,725 stretching and then the heat pad. 249 00:10:42,851 --> 00:10:45,061 Over the years, you just come up with a system 250 00:10:45,186 --> 00:10:48,857 that your body responds well to. 251 00:10:48,982 --> 00:10:52,152 I do some form of training every day, you know, 252 00:10:52,235 --> 00:10:55,363 to be comfortable for the rest of the day. 253 00:10:55,488 --> 00:10:58,491 I plan on getting, you know, new knees, knee replacements 254 00:10:58,616 --> 00:11:00,201 and shoulder replacements. 255 00:11:00,285 --> 00:11:03,872 Those things are gonna add to my quality of life. 256 00:11:03,997 --> 00:11:05,540 It's not like I got into this stuff thinking 257 00:11:05,665 --> 00:11:10,295 I want to be independently wealthy and be 100% healthy. 258 00:11:10,420 --> 00:11:11,504 That doesn't happen. 259 00:11:11,629 --> 00:11:13,173 So I don't know, I don't mind it. 260 00:11:13,298 --> 00:11:17,135 I don't think that's some big, crazy sacrifice. 261 00:11:17,218 --> 00:11:20,263 262 00:11:22,599 --> 00:11:25,143 [upbeat music playing] 263 00:11:25,268 --> 00:11:30,815 ‐ I first came across Shawn Michaels in 1983. 264 00:11:30,899 --> 00:11:32,358 Shawn was training with a gentleman 265 00:11:32,483 --> 00:11:34,068 by the name of Jose Lothario. 266 00:11:34,194 --> 00:11:37,864 Jose was a big star in Houston, Texas, 267 00:11:37,947 --> 00:11:39,908 Dallas, San Antonio. 268 00:11:40,033 --> 00:11:43,703 ‐ He was Hispanic, so there was a Luchador style. 269 00:11:43,828 --> 00:11:46,748 It was the aerial side of things. 270 00:11:46,831 --> 00:11:49,042 Thankfully, in all of that process, 271 00:11:49,167 --> 00:11:53,463 he saw that, "Oh, my goodness, he's actually pretty good." 272 00:11:53,546 --> 00:11:55,965 It was worth the $3,000, period, 273 00:11:56,049 --> 00:11:58,593 for him to get me my first job in Louisiana, 274 00:11:58,676 --> 00:11:59,928 and that could not have happened 275 00:12:00,011 --> 00:12:01,262 without Jose Lothario. 276 00:12:01,346 --> 00:12:05,725 ‐ The pride of Vero Beach, Florida, Terry Taylor. 277 00:12:05,850 --> 00:12:07,644 ‐ The first time I met Shawn Michaels 278 00:12:07,727 --> 00:12:09,562 working for Mid‐South, 279 00:12:09,687 --> 00:12:12,148 there was this young, innocent, cheerful, 280 00:12:12,232 --> 00:12:13,816 vibrant sort of 281 00:12:13,942 --> 00:12:15,944 lost young man. 282 00:12:16,027 --> 00:12:17,987 ‐ I was scared of everything. 283 00:12:18,071 --> 00:12:20,823 It was a lot of confusion, a lot of unknown. 284 00:12:20,949 --> 00:12:23,826 How in God's name is this supposed to go on? 285 00:12:23,910 --> 00:12:24,953 [upbeat music] 286 00:12:25,036 --> 00:12:26,329 I came walking through the back, 287 00:12:26,412 --> 00:12:28,456 and Terry Taylor was standing there at the curtain. 288 00:12:28,539 --> 00:12:30,083 ‐ I said, "How long have you been in the business?" 289 00:12:30,166 --> 00:12:31,709 And he goes, "That was my first match." 290 00:12:31,834 --> 00:12:34,629 And I couldn't believe it, because this isn't easy. 291 00:12:34,712 --> 00:12:36,005 ‐ Shawn Michaels. 292 00:12:36,089 --> 00:12:38,967 A very young man, and very inexperienced, 293 00:12:39,092 --> 00:12:41,511 but he has a great deal of natural athletic ability. 294 00:12:41,636 --> 00:12:44,097 ‐ We drove 3,000 miles a week. 295 00:12:44,180 --> 00:12:45,640 That means there's a lot of time 296 00:12:45,682 --> 00:12:46,891 that you're in the car doing this, 297 00:12:46,975 --> 00:12:48,184 and he would ask questions. 298 00:12:48,309 --> 00:12:50,645 ‐ A young man who is quite handsome. 299 00:12:50,728 --> 00:12:52,814 ‐ I was very well mannered, I was quiet, 300 00:12:52,939 --> 00:12:54,315 and I wanted to do nothing but learn. 301 00:12:54,399 --> 00:12:56,943 ‐ Some young people come in, "I know everything." 302 00:12:57,026 --> 00:12:58,903 Nothing like that with Shawn. 303 00:12:59,028 --> 00:13:02,156 Humble, passionate, driven, hungry. 304 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:03,825 [crowd cheers] 305 00:13:03,866 --> 00:13:06,703 ‐ At about six months, the owner, Bill Watts, 306 00:13:06,828 --> 00:13:10,748 came to me and he got me set up in Kansas City. 307 00:13:10,873 --> 00:13:13,084 I was going to have the opportunity to begin 308 00:13:13,167 --> 00:13:17,463 to grow as a wrestler, as a performer. 309 00:13:17,588 --> 00:13:19,090 ‐ We're hearing all this, like, 310 00:13:19,173 --> 00:13:20,967 this guy Shawn Michaels, Shawn Michaels is coming in. 311 00:13:21,009 --> 00:13:22,885 We're like, "Damn, nobody has gotten 312 00:13:23,011 --> 00:13:24,846 "any attention like this. 313 00:13:24,971 --> 00:13:26,431 What's wrong with us?" 314 00:13:26,514 --> 00:13:27,932 We walked in the dressing room 315 00:13:28,016 --> 00:13:30,059 and this guy had real short hair, 316 00:13:30,184 --> 00:13:33,396 green tights pulled up to under his chest. 317 00:13:33,479 --> 00:13:34,981 Let me ask this nerd, like, 318 00:13:35,064 --> 00:13:36,983 "Hey, do you know who Shawn Michaels is?" 319 00:13:37,066 --> 00:13:39,652 And he leaned back he goes, "I'm Shawn Michaels." 320 00:13:39,736 --> 00:13:41,446 [laughs] 321 00:13:41,529 --> 00:13:43,990 I was like, "Oh, damn, we got some work to do." 322 00:13:44,073 --> 00:13:45,116 They threw us together because 323 00:13:45,199 --> 00:13:46,367 they needed a match real quick. 324 00:13:46,492 --> 00:13:50,788 We didn't have time to prepare for it, but it clicked. 325 00:13:50,872 --> 00:13:52,332 ‐ Marty Jannetty. 326 00:13:52,373 --> 00:13:54,959 ‐ Marty just carried himself with such confidence. 327 00:13:55,043 --> 00:13:57,962 He was enjoying himself. He was outgoing. 328 00:13:58,046 --> 00:14:01,466 I was so sort of shy, conservative. 329 00:14:01,549 --> 00:14:02,717 ‐ Shawn Michaels. 330 00:14:02,842 --> 00:14:04,552 ‐ Shawn came from a military family. 331 00:14:04,635 --> 00:14:09,015 Shawn was protected from a lot of the evils 332 00:14:09,140 --> 00:14:11,267 that lurk in the real world 333 00:14:11,351 --> 00:14:13,436 and having some notoriety, being on television, 334 00:14:13,519 --> 00:14:16,439 you've got women, you've got alcohol, you've got drugs. 335 00:14:16,522 --> 00:14:19,567 And it's all readily available to you. 336 00:14:19,650 --> 00:14:21,152 ‐ Yeah, he liked it right away. 337 00:14:21,235 --> 00:14:23,905 At first, he wasn't old enough, 338 00:14:23,988 --> 00:14:25,239 so he had to wait in the parking lot. 339 00:14:25,365 --> 00:14:28,576 We'd bring girls down to him and beer down to him. 340 00:14:28,701 --> 00:14:30,161 ‐ Marty Jannetty one day said, 341 00:14:30,244 --> 00:14:34,207 "I see something in you that's just dying to get out." 342 00:14:34,332 --> 00:14:35,708 He said, "You just need somebody 343 00:14:35,833 --> 00:14:37,126 "to bring it out of you, 344 00:14:37,210 --> 00:14:38,711 and I'm gonna bring it out." 345 00:14:38,836 --> 00:14:41,422 ‐ From the Showboat Hotel and Casino 346 00:14:41,506 --> 00:14:43,132 in Las Vegas, Nevada, 347 00:14:43,216 --> 00:14:46,928 this is AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN. 348 00:14:47,011 --> 00:14:48,805 ‐ So, I was 20 years old. 349 00:14:48,888 --> 00:14:51,349 TV tapings are in Las Vegas. 350 00:14:51,474 --> 00:14:53,142 At that time, Marty and I, you know, 351 00:14:53,226 --> 00:14:54,143 I knew he was out there, 352 00:14:54,227 --> 00:14:57,271 so we just started looking around. 353 00:14:57,355 --> 00:14:58,481 [upbeat music] 354 00:14:58,523 --> 00:15:01,651 All of a sudden there he is, he's down there playing. 355 00:15:01,734 --> 00:15:03,069 And go down there, 356 00:15:03,194 --> 00:15:05,696 and I went and just do‐do‐do, pulled it down. 357 00:15:05,780 --> 00:15:06,906 ‐ I'm sitting there with him, 358 00:15:07,031 --> 00:15:08,157 and all of the sudden we hear this, 359 00:15:08,282 --> 00:15:09,742 "Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding." 360 00:15:09,826 --> 00:15:14,288 Red lights go flashing around, and Shawn hit triple 7s. 361 00:15:14,372 --> 00:15:17,208 Won 750 bucks the first time. 362 00:15:17,333 --> 00:15:21,796 The irony of it now, like, oh, this place was‐‐ 363 00:15:21,879 --> 00:15:22,964 Vegas and the nightlife of Vegas 364 00:15:23,089 --> 00:15:24,674 and everything else would be my down‐‐ 365 00:15:24,757 --> 00:15:25,967 [laughs] Would be my downfall. 366 00:15:26,008 --> 00:15:27,802 It started later that night. 367 00:15:27,844 --> 00:15:30,680 It's the first line of yayo, you know. 368 00:15:30,805 --> 00:15:33,224 [laughs] The first line of blow. 369 00:15:33,349 --> 00:15:37,437 And it's, "Oh, my gosh, this is the greatest thing ever." 370 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,648 And it's just this whole world opens up. 371 00:15:40,731 --> 00:15:43,192 I'd have never been able to get that guy out of me, 372 00:15:43,317 --> 00:15:46,320 and Marty is the guy that helped tap into that. 373 00:15:46,404 --> 00:15:48,573 I don't even know how much I knew was there. 374 00:15:48,698 --> 00:15:49,824 375 00:15:49,866 --> 00:15:52,869 ‐ Me and Shawn partied Monday night, Tuesday night, 376 00:15:52,994 --> 00:15:54,662 Wednesday night, Thursday night. 377 00:15:54,745 --> 00:15:56,164 Come Friday, we were burned out. 378 00:15:56,205 --> 00:15:59,125 Big Van Vader, he comes to hang out with us. 379 00:15:59,208 --> 00:16:01,461 He looked at Curt Hennig and he goes, 380 00:16:01,544 --> 00:16:04,005 "I thought you said these guys partied." 381 00:16:04,130 --> 00:16:06,716 And Curt said, "They don't start until midnight." 382 00:16:06,841 --> 00:16:08,134 ‐ The Midnight Rockers. 383 00:16:08,259 --> 00:16:10,344 What a sensational pair they are. 384 00:16:10,470 --> 00:16:13,973 ‐ It was like magic. The Judas Priest song come on. 385 00:16:14,056 --> 00:16:17,143 ‐ They love to party. 386 00:16:17,185 --> 00:16:18,853 ‐ They've taken the AWA by storm. 387 00:16:18,936 --> 00:16:19,979 ‐ The move happening faster 388 00:16:20,104 --> 00:16:21,397 than we can even talk about it. 389 00:16:21,522 --> 00:16:22,857 ‐ They've got to put a bigger roof on the arenas 390 00:16:22,982 --> 00:16:24,150 to hold these two kids in it. 391 00:16:24,275 --> 00:16:26,861 ‐ These two are indeed sensational, 392 00:16:26,986 --> 00:16:28,154 to say the least. 393 00:16:28,237 --> 00:16:31,616 ‐ ♪ Living after midnight 394 00:16:31,699 --> 00:16:33,993 ♪ Rocking 'til the dawn 395 00:16:34,076 --> 00:16:35,703 [crowd cheering] 396 00:16:35,786 --> 00:16:39,207 ‐ Midnight Rockers had a hell of a run in the AWA. 397 00:16:39,332 --> 00:16:41,334 They'd had TV on ESPN. 398 00:16:41,375 --> 00:16:42,877 ‐ The World Tag Team Championship 399 00:16:43,002 --> 00:16:44,962 is Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels' goal. 400 00:16:45,087 --> 00:16:46,172 ‐ They were smaller guys, 401 00:16:46,297 --> 00:16:48,716 but they could work with the giants 402 00:16:48,841 --> 00:16:50,551 and have a great match. 403 00:16:50,676 --> 00:16:52,136 [crowd cheering] 404 00:16:52,220 --> 00:16:53,679 ‐ The Tag Team Championship of the World 405 00:16:53,804 --> 00:16:56,891 is what they are fighting for here tonight. 406 00:16:57,016 --> 00:16:59,018 ‐ I think he cracked his head on the cement 407 00:16:59,143 --> 00:17:00,937 when he went out there. 408 00:17:01,020 --> 00:17:02,605 ‐ The blood match, if you will, 409 00:17:02,688 --> 00:17:06,150 was the first time that a national audience got exposed 410 00:17:06,275 --> 00:17:08,903 to the talent of the Midnight Rockers. 411 00:17:08,986 --> 00:17:11,322 ‐ This is absolute mayhem. 412 00:17:11,405 --> 00:17:14,617 ‐ The match itself was very bloody, very gory. 413 00:17:14,700 --> 00:17:17,036 ‐ One of the toughest, roughest matches 414 00:17:17,161 --> 00:17:19,247 that we have ever seen. 415 00:17:19,372 --> 00:17:20,498 ‐ That was kind of like 416 00:17:20,581 --> 00:17:22,333 a defining moment in their career, 417 00:17:22,416 --> 00:17:25,419 that they were made at that level. 418 00:17:26,212 --> 00:17:28,089 ‐ If we was on the road 300 days a year, 419 00:17:28,172 --> 00:17:29,924 we partied 290 of them. 420 00:17:30,007 --> 00:17:31,217 [laughs] 421 00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:32,927 We used to do a lot of drugs. 422 00:17:33,010 --> 00:17:34,637 There was a lot of powder around. 423 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,181 ‐ You look at rock stars and you look at rock bands. 424 00:17:37,265 --> 00:17:41,394 There was a tendency to want to go wild and destroy things. 425 00:17:41,519 --> 00:17:43,229 It's fun when you're young, 426 00:17:43,312 --> 00:17:45,106 because you feel like a rebel. 427 00:17:45,189 --> 00:17:47,191 We've made it, man. Look at this. 428 00:17:47,316 --> 00:17:49,360 And throw a beer bottle up against the wall, 429 00:17:49,443 --> 00:17:51,529 and it was, like, oh, we'll pay for it later. 430 00:17:51,654 --> 00:17:53,239 ‐ We always did the job, 431 00:17:53,322 --> 00:17:54,407 but it was just partying all night. 432 00:17:54,532 --> 00:17:56,742 Destroy your room at the Showboat 433 00:17:56,867 --> 00:17:59,996 and we got the entire, uh, AWA, 434 00:18:00,037 --> 00:18:02,999 the entire company got kicked out of there. 435 00:18:03,124 --> 00:18:07,211 It wasn't very long that we had a reputation. 436 00:18:07,336 --> 00:18:12,174 And once you get it, everybody else knows you got it. 437 00:18:12,300 --> 00:18:15,136 WWE was starting to really separate itself. 438 00:18:15,219 --> 00:18:16,137 If that's where you wanted to go, 439 00:18:16,220 --> 00:18:18,139 that's where you set your goals. 440 00:18:18,180 --> 00:18:22,810 Finally, Marty got the call to go into New York. 441 00:18:22,893 --> 00:18:28,691 ‐ In 1987, the Rockers started in Buffalo, New York. 442 00:18:28,816 --> 00:18:32,737 Marty and Shawn looked at this as their big break. 443 00:18:32,862 --> 00:18:35,031 That night in the bar, 444 00:18:35,156 --> 00:18:37,450 the other talent looked at Shawn and Marty 445 00:18:37,533 --> 00:18:42,163 as these two young punks with a chip on their shoulder. 446 00:18:42,246 --> 00:18:43,581 They're gonna have to earn 447 00:18:43,664 --> 00:18:46,626 the respect of the WWE locker room. 448 00:18:46,709 --> 00:18:49,170 ‐ We were scared, man. We were scared. 449 00:18:49,295 --> 00:18:53,257 So that night, that's why we kind of kept to ourselves, 450 00:18:53,341 --> 00:18:55,051 and Terry Garvin come up and he said, 451 00:18:55,176 --> 00:18:56,135 "No, don't do that. 452 00:18:56,218 --> 00:18:58,679 Don't do that. Y'all have to mingle." 453 00:18:58,804 --> 00:19:02,558 ‐ And then all of a sudden Jimmy Jack Funk, he came over. 454 00:19:02,642 --> 00:19:05,853 He's hammering down these drinks and he's like, "Hey! 455 00:19:05,936 --> 00:19:07,313 You guys are big partiers!" 456 00:19:07,396 --> 00:19:12,443 He starts eating his glass. "Come on let's do it." 457 00:19:12,526 --> 00:19:13,986 I at least gotta be a little tough. 458 00:19:14,111 --> 00:19:17,657 So then I break a wine glass over my head. 459 00:19:17,740 --> 00:19:21,786 And that was it, I turn around, I leave. 460 00:19:21,869 --> 00:19:23,496 I would never say we didn't earn 461 00:19:23,537 --> 00:19:24,747 our reputations, any of that, 462 00:19:24,872 --> 00:19:25,915 but the wrestling business 463 00:19:25,998 --> 00:19:27,208 is one giant fish story, all right? 464 00:19:27,291 --> 00:19:29,293 So something happened once in the wrestling business, 465 00:19:29,418 --> 00:19:31,796 that gets magnified to ten times. 466 00:19:31,879 --> 00:19:33,297 ‐ Some people say 467 00:19:33,381 --> 00:19:35,633 that Shawn or Marty threw a beer bottle, 468 00:19:35,716 --> 00:19:41,222 which started a chain of events that couldn't be stopped. 469 00:19:41,347 --> 00:19:42,890 ‐ "And then these two guys, 470 00:19:42,973 --> 00:19:44,642 "I mean, they're in there just getting crazy, 471 00:19:44,767 --> 00:19:48,312 tearing up the bar, throwing stuff all over the place." 472 00:19:48,437 --> 00:19:52,274 And that's not at all what happened. 473 00:19:52,358 --> 00:19:56,070 ‐ The next day, Shawn and Marty were fired, 474 00:19:56,195 --> 00:19:58,906 and it was over for them after one day, 475 00:19:59,031 --> 00:20:03,828 from just the story and the hearsay and innuendo. 476 00:20:03,911 --> 00:20:06,372 ‐ I normally give reasons as to, you know, 477 00:20:06,497 --> 00:20:09,041 why I'm gonna do something and I'm sure I did with them, 478 00:20:09,166 --> 00:20:12,461 but that was one and done, out. 479 00:20:12,545 --> 00:20:14,880 ‐ He said, "The guys don't like it." 480 00:20:14,964 --> 00:20:17,258 He said, "They won't let you make it here." 481 00:20:17,341 --> 00:20:22,805 In my mind, I'm 23 and it's over. 482 00:20:22,888 --> 00:20:26,142 That was my one big shot. 483 00:20:26,267 --> 00:20:29,311 It happened now and it's gone. 484 00:20:33,983 --> 00:20:36,986 ‐ Take a look at Takeover. 485 00:20:37,069 --> 00:20:38,821 We'll watch it, and I'll Skull you. 486 00:20:38,904 --> 00:20:39,822 ‐ Okay. 487 00:20:39,905 --> 00:20:41,157 [laughs] 488 00:20:41,282 --> 00:20:43,534 ‐ Shawn Michaels put his heart and soul 489 00:20:43,617 --> 00:20:45,119 into being the best pro wrestler 490 00:20:45,202 --> 00:20:46,412 that he could possibly be, 491 00:20:46,537 --> 00:20:49,498 and he does the exact same thing 492 00:20:49,623 --> 00:20:51,584 as a coach and as producer. 493 00:20:51,709 --> 00:20:53,461 ‐ Stop there and look at each other. 494 00:20:53,544 --> 00:20:55,421 Can that stuff take a little longer? 495 00:20:55,504 --> 00:20:57,590 ‐ He will find ways to pick apart 496 00:20:57,673 --> 00:20:59,717 every little thing to make it better. 497 00:20:59,842 --> 00:21:02,136 ‐ Aim for the head. 498 00:21:02,219 --> 00:21:03,637 You can't hold back on that, 499 00:21:03,721 --> 00:21:05,556 because that's gonna cause you not to get all the way around. 500 00:21:05,681 --> 00:21:07,308 ‐ Shawn has this amazing ability 501 00:21:07,433 --> 00:21:10,144 to instill a confidence in you. 502 00:21:10,227 --> 00:21:11,896 This was a tremendous bout. 503 00:21:12,021 --> 00:21:13,814 ‐ I mean, someone like Shawn Michaels 504 00:21:13,898 --> 00:21:16,484 gives that to you, that's all the motivation that you need. 505 00:21:16,609 --> 00:21:20,780 [laughter] 506 00:21:22,364 --> 00:21:25,159 [crowd cheering] 507 00:21:25,242 --> 00:21:27,495 ‐ The unfortunate byproduct 508 00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:33,542 of Shawn and Marty being fired after their first day in WWE 509 00:21:33,626 --> 00:21:37,171 is Marty and Shawn had burned their bridge in the AWA. 510 00:21:37,296 --> 00:21:38,422 Where do you go? 511 00:21:38,506 --> 00:21:39,840 And welcome once again 512 00:21:39,965 --> 00:21:41,467 to Continental Championship Wrestling and we have‐‐ 513 00:21:41,509 --> 00:21:44,762 ‐ We ended up in Birmingham, Alabama. 514 00:21:44,845 --> 00:21:46,555 Continental Wrestling. 515 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:48,766 I was wrestling in front of 25 people 516 00:21:48,849 --> 00:21:50,351 at 300 bucks a week. 517 00:21:50,434 --> 00:21:52,812 If you wanted to get $50 in cash, 518 00:21:52,895 --> 00:21:55,439 you get your other $50 in blow, you could do that. 519 00:21:55,523 --> 00:22:00,194 Which is probably what I did nine times out of ten. 520 00:22:00,319 --> 00:22:03,614 ‐ I heard him talk about how depressed he was. 521 00:22:03,697 --> 00:22:06,492 At that time, we was doing a lot of cocaine. 522 00:22:06,534 --> 00:22:07,868 And we would talk about wrestling 523 00:22:07,952 --> 00:22:11,163 and we would watch wrestling videos and we would study. 524 00:22:11,247 --> 00:22:12,665 I had to go home to my girlfriend 525 00:22:12,790 --> 00:22:14,583 like at two or three or four in the morning. 526 00:22:14,708 --> 00:22:17,211 Sometimes the next morning sun was out. 527 00:22:17,336 --> 00:22:19,672 And evidently, the way he says it, 528 00:22:19,797 --> 00:22:22,258 I let him down 'cause I didn't stay with him more 529 00:22:22,341 --> 00:22:23,801 and he was by himself. 530 00:22:23,884 --> 00:22:25,761 When you're doing cocaine, you don't want to be alone. 531 00:22:25,845 --> 00:22:28,639 [laughs] 532 00:22:28,681 --> 00:22:30,850 ‐ When you're up at 4:00 in the morning 533 00:22:30,975 --> 00:22:36,438 coming down from the yayo, that's like, it's very dreary. 534 00:22:36,522 --> 00:22:39,650 Because the low is just so really low. 535 00:22:39,775 --> 00:22:41,527 I was like, "Man, if I had a gun, 536 00:22:41,652 --> 00:22:42,820 "this is one of those times 537 00:22:42,903 --> 00:22:45,823 that I was reckless enough to have the balls to do it." 538 00:22:45,906 --> 00:22:48,075 At that time, it would have wrecked my parents. 539 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:53,497 You know, their suffering is what pulled me back from that. 540 00:22:53,581 --> 00:22:56,083 But the thing is I never told them the truth. 541 00:22:56,208 --> 00:22:58,252 So I'm not telling like, "Jeez, Mama, I'm just partying, 542 00:22:58,335 --> 00:23:00,963 getting hammered and doing blow." 543 00:23:01,005 --> 00:23:04,925 ‐ Shawn and Marty, they wanted to come back. 544 00:23:05,009 --> 00:23:08,012 I remember Pat Patterson giving them the advice 545 00:23:08,137 --> 00:23:09,555 to continue to work 546 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:15,019 and continue to reverse the reputation that you have, 547 00:23:15,144 --> 00:23:17,313 and prove to us that you belong. 548 00:23:17,438 --> 00:23:19,481 And that's what Marty and Shawn did. 549 00:23:19,565 --> 00:23:21,191 ‐ Pat was instrumental in saying, 550 00:23:21,317 --> 00:23:22,985 "Vince, he's a great talent." 551 00:23:23,027 --> 00:23:25,279 and it is difficult for me to make that decision, 552 00:23:25,362 --> 00:23:26,697 because he was a jerk. 553 00:23:26,822 --> 00:23:28,324 I mean, doing some stupid things. 554 00:23:28,407 --> 00:23:30,326 But Pat was right. 555 00:23:30,409 --> 00:23:32,995 ‐ I was there in '88 when they came back. 556 00:23:33,078 --> 00:23:34,246 It had been a year 557 00:23:34,330 --> 00:23:37,583 since the Rockers had kinda screwed up on their first day. 558 00:23:37,666 --> 00:23:40,294 ‐ We're gonna bring you back, but you're on probation. 559 00:23:40,377 --> 00:23:42,004 You know, keep your [bleep] together. 560 00:23:42,087 --> 00:23:45,007 Yes, sir. 561 00:23:45,132 --> 00:23:46,467 ‐ Two newcomers, the Rockers. 562 00:23:46,592 --> 00:23:48,427 These guys are excitement personified. 563 00:23:48,510 --> 00:23:50,554 They'll be high flying. 564 00:23:50,679 --> 00:23:52,806 ‐ I met Shawn in 1990. 565 00:23:52,890 --> 00:23:55,768 They were pretty much, you know, fun loving guys. 566 00:23:55,851 --> 00:23:57,311 They even tested me a little bit with their, 567 00:23:57,394 --> 00:23:59,229 you know, their antics. 568 00:23:59,355 --> 00:24:02,483 Actually, you know, they were both pretty much peckerheads. 569 00:24:02,566 --> 00:24:04,902 I mean, I've got to call a spade a spade. 570 00:24:05,027 --> 00:24:06,487 ‐ The Rockers have got a bag full of tricks 571 00:24:06,612 --> 00:24:07,821 and you ain't seen nothing yet, 572 00:24:07,947 --> 00:24:09,615 so get ready, because here we come. 573 00:24:09,698 --> 00:24:11,200 Wow! 574 00:24:11,325 --> 00:24:13,744 ‐ They were definitely innovators 575 00:24:13,869 --> 00:24:16,246 doing tandem moves together. 576 00:24:16,330 --> 00:24:18,999 You know, such a cohesive unit. 577 00:24:19,083 --> 00:24:22,544 The fans went nuts for them, especially the women. 578 00:24:22,670 --> 00:24:26,215 You know, the long hair and all that. 579 00:24:26,298 --> 00:24:27,216 ‐ There was a transitional moment 580 00:24:27,299 --> 00:24:29,468 happening in the business 581 00:24:29,510 --> 00:24:32,012 where the athleticism was picking up. 582 00:24:32,137 --> 00:24:36,350 The ability to do things that Shawn and Marty could do. 583 00:24:36,475 --> 00:24:38,060 ‐ Oh, what a backdrop! 584 00:24:38,185 --> 00:24:40,145 ‐ Tag team wrestling now 585 00:24:40,229 --> 00:24:43,273 has been impacted a great deal by what Marty and I did. 586 00:24:43,357 --> 00:24:44,817 [camera shutter clicking] 587 00:24:44,900 --> 00:24:47,695 ‐ The first time you ever make a magazine is huge, 588 00:24:47,820 --> 00:24:50,239 and we would always go to the stores, 589 00:24:50,364 --> 00:24:51,699 stop and look at the magazine racks. 590 00:24:51,824 --> 00:24:54,827 I remember one time I heard Shawn "Oh, my God!" 591 00:24:54,868 --> 00:24:55,995 And there was a picture of us. 592 00:24:56,078 --> 00:24:59,540 It said "From Imitators To Innovators" 593 00:24:59,623 --> 00:25:01,542 and he's holding it up and he was so proud 594 00:25:01,667 --> 00:25:05,129 and I was, like, "Oh, man! Yeah, we did it! 595 00:25:05,170 --> 00:25:06,213 ‐ Shawn Michaels, 596 00:25:06,296 --> 00:25:09,258 Marty Jannetty, the Rockers. 597 00:25:09,341 --> 00:25:11,218 ‐ That's a real notch in the belt, 598 00:25:11,343 --> 00:25:13,470 to be on Saturday night's main event. 599 00:25:13,595 --> 00:25:14,722 ‐ Saturday night's main event 600 00:25:14,847 --> 00:25:16,932 was finally going to be the Rockers 601 00:25:17,016 --> 00:25:19,476 winning the Tag Team Championship 602 00:25:19,601 --> 00:25:22,688 against Bret Hart and Jim the Anvil Neidhart. 603 00:25:22,813 --> 00:25:24,982 ‐ It was gonna be five stars. 604 00:25:25,024 --> 00:25:27,234 It was gonna be as good a match as we ever had. 605 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:28,986 [crowd cheering] 606 00:25:29,028 --> 00:25:31,822 ‐ We're in the process of having that match, 607 00:25:31,905 --> 00:25:35,617 and all of a sudden, the rope breaks. 608 00:25:35,701 --> 00:25:37,494 Bret, the consummate pro, 609 00:25:37,578 --> 00:25:40,039 he understands it's not live, it's taped. 610 00:25:40,122 --> 00:25:41,540 We can fix all this. 611 00:25:41,623 --> 00:25:42,916 ‐ It's taped. All you've got to do 612 00:25:43,042 --> 00:25:45,002 is grab a hold and then they'll fix it 613 00:25:45,127 --> 00:25:46,670 and then you're still in that hold, 614 00:25:46,754 --> 00:25:48,047 then the match can carry on. 615 00:25:48,172 --> 00:25:50,841 And I told them, I said, "Just fix the rope." 616 00:25:50,924 --> 00:25:52,926 "Fix the rope, fix the rope. We'll take care of this." 617 00:25:53,010 --> 00:25:56,764 And then we get word, just to continue without it, 618 00:25:56,847 --> 00:25:59,141 so that's what we do. 619 00:25:59,266 --> 00:26:03,729 ‐ It was a disaster, and I was so sick about it. 620 00:26:03,812 --> 00:26:05,439 ‐ We get our championship victory. 621 00:26:05,522 --> 00:26:08,192 We are doing our best to look excited 622 00:26:08,317 --> 00:26:14,656 in what is this huge steaming pile of crap in the ring. 623 00:26:14,740 --> 00:26:16,241 ‐ It just looked horrible. 624 00:26:16,366 --> 00:26:18,285 So the match never aired. 625 00:26:18,368 --> 00:26:19,828 ‐ Vince calls me and said, 626 00:26:19,912 --> 00:26:22,539 "We're not going to acknowledge that you've won. 627 00:26:22,664 --> 00:26:24,333 You're going to give the belts back. 628 00:26:24,416 --> 00:26:25,542 [scoffs] 629 00:26:25,667 --> 00:26:26,960 ‐ Like, okay. 630 00:26:27,044 --> 00:26:28,754 Are we gonna have another opportunity? 631 00:26:28,837 --> 00:26:33,342 No, probably just gonna go in other directions. 632 00:26:33,425 --> 00:26:34,760 Unbelievably disappointed, 633 00:26:34,843 --> 00:26:38,138 because that's not what you imagine that moment being. 634 00:26:38,222 --> 00:26:40,099 Done, it's over. 635 00:26:44,353 --> 00:26:47,397 [crowd cheering] 636 00:26:47,523 --> 00:26:52,778 ‐ We were on the road 300 days a year for years. 637 00:26:52,861 --> 00:26:55,823 The same hotels, same rental car, 638 00:26:55,906 --> 00:26:58,617 some of the same girls. 639 00:26:58,700 --> 00:27:00,828 [crowd cheering] 640 00:27:00,911 --> 00:27:02,663 ‐ He kicked his own partner 641 00:27:02,746 --> 00:27:04,498 right in the face. 642 00:27:04,581 --> 00:27:06,834 ‐ I remember we were in Denver. 643 00:27:06,917 --> 00:27:10,629 Roddy Piper came in our room and we had a few girls there, 644 00:27:10,754 --> 00:27:13,715 and Roddy kept bragging on Shawn. 645 00:27:13,841 --> 00:27:16,927 ‐ He was stirring up the pot as far as saying, 646 00:27:17,010 --> 00:27:18,554 you know, I could be a singles and, you know, 647 00:27:18,679 --> 00:27:21,306 have great success and things like that. 648 00:27:21,390 --> 00:27:23,642 And he'd look at me and go "We've got to work on you. 649 00:27:23,767 --> 00:27:25,894 You're still rough around the edges." 650 00:27:26,019 --> 00:27:27,855 I was like, "Roddy, shouldn't we talk 651 00:27:27,980 --> 00:27:29,773 about that some other time?" 652 00:27:29,857 --> 00:27:32,776 And Shawn shoved me at that point. 653 00:27:32,860 --> 00:27:34,820 [overlapping chatter] 654 00:27:34,903 --> 00:27:36,488 ‐ Everybody got in a fight 655 00:27:36,572 --> 00:27:40,325 because everybody was not in their best frame of mind, 656 00:27:40,409 --> 00:27:41,702 like all the time. 657 00:27:41,785 --> 00:27:43,203 ‐ And he attacked me in the hallway 658 00:27:43,328 --> 00:27:45,914 and then I didn't want to hit him once, let alone, 659 00:27:46,039 --> 00:27:47,833 you know, over and over. Had blood. 660 00:27:47,916 --> 00:27:50,085 Like, it looked like you'd, you know, gutted a deer 661 00:27:50,169 --> 00:27:51,295 or something. 662 00:27:51,420 --> 00:27:53,172 ‐ There was speculation that Marty Jannetty 663 00:27:53,297 --> 00:27:55,090 and Shawn Michaels are not getting along. 664 00:27:55,174 --> 00:27:56,967 There was speculation that Shawn Michaels 665 00:27:57,009 --> 00:27:59,553 is kinda wanting to go on his own. 666 00:27:59,636 --> 00:28:01,180 ‐ All of my success at that point 667 00:28:01,305 --> 00:28:05,017 was Tag Team, but there was never a time in my career 668 00:28:05,142 --> 00:28:07,019 where someone didn't say to me, 669 00:28:07,144 --> 00:28:09,521 like, "I think you've got some talent." 670 00:28:09,646 --> 00:28:12,858 It was eventually gonna come down to me. 671 00:28:12,941 --> 00:28:15,152 I remember the first time he told me, 672 00:28:15,235 --> 00:28:17,029 "I want to be the World Champion one day. 673 00:28:17,154 --> 00:28:19,823 I don't want to tag the rest of our career." 674 00:28:19,948 --> 00:28:22,534 "I just need you to let me know when you're ready for that. 675 00:28:22,659 --> 00:28:23,994 Don't spring it on me." 676 00:28:24,077 --> 00:28:27,247 And then he sprung it on me anyway. 677 00:28:27,372 --> 00:28:31,168 Welcome to the Barbershop, ladies and gentlemen. 678 00:28:31,293 --> 00:28:36,298 Let's welcome them right now. They're the Rockers. 679 00:28:36,423 --> 00:28:37,633 [audience cheering] 680 00:28:37,674 --> 00:28:40,302 Recently there's been a lot of controversy, 681 00:28:40,427 --> 00:28:41,803 a lot of rumors flying guys. 682 00:28:41,929 --> 00:28:43,805 Maybe you guys are gonna break up. 683 00:28:43,889 --> 00:28:45,807 You've been having some problems. 684 00:28:45,891 --> 00:28:47,601 ‐ I didn't become familiar with Shawn 685 00:28:47,684 --> 00:28:52,940 until he showed up in WWE with Marty Jannetty as the Rockers. 686 00:28:53,023 --> 00:28:55,651 That's my first introduction to Shawn Michaels. 687 00:28:55,692 --> 00:28:59,071 ‐ See, one without the other isn't any good. 688 00:28:59,154 --> 00:29:01,156 Oh! Oh, I knew he was gonna do that. 689 00:29:01,281 --> 00:29:03,617 I just knew he was gonna do that. 690 00:29:03,700 --> 00:29:06,078 [overlapping chatter] 691 00:29:06,203 --> 00:29:08,622 Oh, my God! 692 00:29:08,705 --> 00:29:10,832 ‐ I would argue the Barbershop window 693 00:29:10,916 --> 00:29:13,418 was the greatest tag team breakup of all time. 694 00:29:13,502 --> 00:29:17,589 It is the standard bearer for turning on a friend. 695 00:29:17,673 --> 00:29:19,633 ‐ The super kick? Oh, he laid it in. 696 00:29:19,716 --> 00:29:23,053 [laughs] Oh, he got me back for Denver. 697 00:29:23,178 --> 00:29:24,513 [laughs] 698 00:29:24,638 --> 00:29:27,849 Is there a problem with the Rockers? 699 00:29:27,975 --> 00:29:30,269 ‐ It was so effective 700 00:29:30,352 --> 00:29:35,816 that it makes Shawn one of the most hated men in wrestling. 701 00:29:35,899 --> 00:29:39,403 Shawn Michaels changed forever that day. 702 00:29:43,865 --> 00:29:47,744 ‐ I had this strange thing with Marty, 703 00:29:47,869 --> 00:29:50,664 because without him, 704 00:29:50,747 --> 00:29:55,168 so much of the good doesn't happen for me. 705 00:29:55,294 --> 00:29:58,088 But there's a ceiling on being a tag team, period, 706 00:29:58,171 --> 00:30:02,634 when it's called a leading man as opposed to a leading duo. 707 00:30:02,718 --> 00:30:04,678 It's just a natural evolution. 708 00:30:04,761 --> 00:30:06,596 Now everybody is gonna find out 709 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,641 what Shawn Michaels has known all along, 710 00:30:09,766 --> 00:30:11,101 that he is, without a doubt, 711 00:30:11,184 --> 00:30:13,478 the hottest thing in the WWE 712 00:30:13,562 --> 00:30:15,981 has ever, ever laid eyes on. 713 00:30:16,064 --> 00:30:19,192 [rock music playing] 714 00:30:19,276 --> 00:30:21,987 ♪ 715 00:30:22,070 --> 00:30:24,865 ‐ The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels, was something 716 00:30:24,990 --> 00:30:27,659 that Shawn just pretty much came up with. 717 00:30:27,784 --> 00:30:30,996 I don't think that anybody really mapped out 718 00:30:31,079 --> 00:30:33,123 The Heartbreak Kid. 719 00:30:33,206 --> 00:30:37,961 ‐ It's sort of an Elvis meets Freddie Mercury. 720 00:30:38,045 --> 00:30:42,132 ‐ Shawn Michaels is leavin' the building! 721 00:30:42,215 --> 00:30:47,637 ‐ It was allowing me a vehicle to let this other person out. 722 00:30:47,763 --> 00:30:49,473 To get out there in front of a bunch of people 723 00:30:49,556 --> 00:30:53,643 and you can‐‐wow, you can just be somebody you've never been. 724 00:30:53,769 --> 00:30:55,312 ‐ Has this guy got it all or what? 725 00:30:55,437 --> 00:30:57,564 No, I don't know where all that came from, 726 00:30:57,689 --> 00:30:59,066 I really don't. 727 00:30:59,191 --> 00:31:01,443 He figured Shawn Michaels could do whatever he wanted to. 728 00:31:01,526 --> 00:31:03,862 What, an alter ego maybe. 729 00:31:03,987 --> 00:31:06,656 The Kentucky waterfall mullet alone, 730 00:31:06,740 --> 00:31:10,577 probably one of the greatest mullets of all time. 731 00:31:10,702 --> 00:31:14,498 The dangling earrings, the Village People outfit. 732 00:31:14,581 --> 00:31:15,832 Your girlfriend wants him, 733 00:31:15,957 --> 00:31:17,501 you're gonna go over and kick his ass, 734 00:31:17,626 --> 00:31:20,837 but maybe he's gonna kick yours and take her anyway. 735 00:31:20,962 --> 00:31:23,423 And that's where his heat was. 736 00:31:23,507 --> 00:31:24,674 ‐ I was a pretty kid. 737 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:27,427 I was a pretty man, I don't mind telling you, at one time. 738 00:31:27,511 --> 00:31:30,013 I could play the part of Mr. Confident 739 00:31:30,138 --> 00:31:31,264 and everything else, 740 00:31:31,348 --> 00:31:32,516 and could do everything under the sun. 741 00:31:32,641 --> 00:31:33,809 Couldn't do a lick. 742 00:31:33,892 --> 00:31:36,520 Elvis and Freddie Mercury were onstage, 743 00:31:36,645 --> 00:31:39,773 they were so frickin' positive, 744 00:31:39,856 --> 00:31:42,359 but in their lives they struggled. 745 00:31:42,484 --> 00:31:44,986 There was something there between me 746 00:31:45,070 --> 00:31:47,656 and those individuals that I could relate to. 747 00:31:47,739 --> 00:31:49,157 You are not comfortable with who you are, 748 00:31:49,241 --> 00:31:50,867 you're not comfortable with yourself. 749 00:31:50,992 --> 00:31:53,412 Not knowing who I was as a human being, 750 00:31:53,495 --> 00:31:56,123 out there you're playing this role, 751 00:31:56,206 --> 00:32:00,794 but you can do it with just unbridled confidence 752 00:32:00,919 --> 00:32:03,046 and you absolutely cannot do it 753 00:32:03,171 --> 00:32:05,715 by yourself in your own hotel room. 754 00:32:05,841 --> 00:32:06,925 I am a high‐performance, 755 00:32:07,008 --> 00:32:08,635 state‐of‐the‐art wrestling machine. 756 00:32:08,677 --> 00:32:12,305 ‐ I think any great character will be confused 757 00:32:12,389 --> 00:32:14,516 between the human being and the character, 758 00:32:14,641 --> 00:32:19,062 and Shawn Hickenbottom kinda morphed into the Heartbreak Kid 759 00:32:19,187 --> 00:32:20,397 at all times. 760 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,983 Shawn was becoming a little bit more difficult. 761 00:32:23,066 --> 00:32:24,234 And the Intercontinental title 762 00:32:24,359 --> 00:32:27,237 is coming to the sexiest man, hey. 763 00:32:27,362 --> 00:32:29,990 ‐ The WWE was still the land of the giants, 764 00:32:30,073 --> 00:32:31,992 and there were still a lot of big guys, 765 00:32:32,117 --> 00:32:33,994 and Shawn wanted to break through 766 00:32:34,119 --> 00:32:36,079 what he considered a glass ceiling of, 767 00:32:36,204 --> 00:32:40,000 "I'm not six‐foot‐eight, I'm not 300 pounds. 768 00:32:40,125 --> 00:32:44,963 I wanna be what I am, and I wanna be the guy." 769 00:32:45,046 --> 00:32:46,965 ‐ When you are that talented 770 00:32:47,090 --> 00:32:50,010 and that hell‐bent on succeeding, 771 00:32:50,135 --> 00:32:52,512 but you have the chip on your shoulder 772 00:32:52,637 --> 00:32:53,722 of being the little guy 773 00:32:53,847 --> 00:32:54,764 to get to where he needed to be, 774 00:32:54,848 --> 00:32:55,891 he had to stand his ground, 775 00:32:55,974 --> 00:32:57,392 he had to fight for what he wanted. 776 00:32:57,517 --> 00:32:59,436 ‐ I was at the very least as good 777 00:32:59,519 --> 00:33:01,897 or better than, you know, anybody else 778 00:33:02,022 --> 00:33:03,857 that I was sharing a locker room with. 779 00:33:03,982 --> 00:33:05,150 I was getting an opportunity 780 00:33:05,233 --> 00:33:07,194 that not many guys like me were gonna get. 781 00:33:07,319 --> 00:33:09,988 ‐ We got a new Intercontinental Champion! 782 00:33:10,113 --> 00:33:12,199 ‐ Shawn may have been six‐one, 783 00:33:12,324 --> 00:33:14,618 but his ego and the chip on his shoulder 784 00:33:14,701 --> 00:33:16,077 made him nine‐foot‐five. 785 00:33:16,161 --> 00:33:17,454 ‐ Shawn Michaels, 786 00:33:17,537 --> 00:33:19,539 he's our Intercontinental Champion! 787 00:33:19,623 --> 00:33:21,291 ‐ '92‐'93, 788 00:33:21,374 --> 00:33:23,710 Intercontinental Champion at the time, 789 00:33:23,835 --> 00:33:25,712 looking for Shawn to really step up 790 00:33:25,837 --> 00:33:28,089 and become a huge star for us. 791 00:33:28,173 --> 00:33:29,257 ‐ One thing I did have 792 00:33:29,341 --> 00:33:31,468 is I wasn't scared of anything. 793 00:33:31,551 --> 00:33:33,887 I was the most dangerous person in the world 794 00:33:34,012 --> 00:33:35,514 'cause I had nothing to lose. 795 00:33:35,639 --> 00:33:39,142 And when you are like that in a creative line of work, 796 00:33:39,267 --> 00:33:43,188 you are frickin' unbeatable. 797 00:33:43,313 --> 00:33:47,025 ‐ Welcome to WrestleMania 10! 798 00:33:47,150 --> 00:33:49,194 [cheers and applause] 799 00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:52,405 ‐ In the process of studying Shawn Michael's matches, 800 00:33:52,531 --> 00:33:54,908 the one that many people go back to 801 00:33:55,033 --> 00:33:56,409 is the infamous ladder match. 802 00:33:56,535 --> 00:33:59,913 The match that Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramone made famous 803 00:34:00,038 --> 00:34:01,373 at WrestleMania 10. 804 00:34:01,498 --> 00:34:03,124 ‐ We are making history here. 805 00:34:03,208 --> 00:34:06,002 ‐ So right before WrestleMania 10, leading up, 806 00:34:06,127 --> 00:34:07,587 there was a suspension with Shawn, 807 00:34:07,671 --> 00:34:10,215 where Shawn had been out of the company for a while. 808 00:34:10,340 --> 00:34:13,343 Shawn left as the Intercontinental Champion. 809 00:34:13,468 --> 00:34:16,179 ‐ Yeah, he failed a drug test for 'roids. 810 00:34:16,304 --> 00:34:17,973 At that time, brother, 811 00:34:18,056 --> 00:34:19,933 pills were bein' passed around in bars. 812 00:34:20,016 --> 00:34:20,934 Like, guys go, "Here, man. 813 00:34:21,017 --> 00:34:22,811 Canadian Valium, here take this." 814 00:34:22,852 --> 00:34:24,729 ‐ Shawn did not feel 815 00:34:24,854 --> 00:34:28,149 that he should have been suspended, was pissed off. 816 00:34:28,233 --> 00:34:30,235 Vince didn't wanna put up with him, 817 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:32,654 thought he was an out of control egomaniac. 818 00:34:32,779 --> 00:34:35,156 ‐ And they'd tell Shawn to send the belt back 819 00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:38,118 and he says, "No, I'm not sending it back." 820 00:34:38,201 --> 00:34:40,537 ‐ Shawn decides he wants to come back. 821 00:34:40,662 --> 00:34:42,539 Well, Razor's the Intercontinental Champion. 822 00:34:42,622 --> 00:34:44,874 ‐ So take both championship belts, 823 00:34:44,958 --> 00:34:46,084 hang 'em above the ring, 824 00:34:46,167 --> 00:34:48,253 you fight to climb the ladder, 825 00:34:48,336 --> 00:34:50,338 whoever gets the championships above the ring, 826 00:34:50,463 --> 00:34:52,090 that's your true champion. 827 00:34:52,173 --> 00:34:53,717 ‐ The two Intercontinental Championship 828 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:56,219 belts hanging from above. 829 00:34:56,344 --> 00:34:58,680 ‐ For the following contest, 830 00:34:58,805 --> 00:35:01,391 there are no rules! 831 00:35:01,516 --> 00:35:03,643 ‐ With the ladder up. Oh! 832 00:35:03,768 --> 00:35:06,313 [cheers and applause] 833 00:35:06,396 --> 00:35:07,981 ‐ From high above! 834 00:35:08,106 --> 00:35:09,149 Oh! ‐ Oh! 835 00:35:09,274 --> 00:35:12,277 It's the most barbaric, insane, 836 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:14,988 car crash excitement you've ever seen. 837 00:35:15,071 --> 00:35:16,990 ‐ It's starting to shake! Oh, no! 838 00:35:17,073 --> 00:35:18,366 ‐ Oh! 839 00:35:18,491 --> 00:35:20,994 ‐ I was able to have a presence 840 00:35:21,119 --> 00:35:23,747 that I don't think they knew that I had. 841 00:35:23,872 --> 00:35:26,625 It isn't about size, it is about presence. 842 00:35:26,708 --> 00:35:28,877 [cheers and applause] 843 00:35:29,002 --> 00:35:30,462 ‐ Oh! Oh! 844 00:35:30,587 --> 00:35:33,048 ‐ Shawn actually lost the match, 845 00:35:33,131 --> 00:35:35,634 but it put Shawn at a different level 846 00:35:35,717 --> 00:35:38,011 that people believed 847 00:35:38,136 --> 00:35:40,263 this little bastard could do anything. 848 00:35:40,347 --> 00:35:43,600 [cheers and applause] 849 00:35:43,683 --> 00:35:49,022 If you didn't before, or you didn't want to believe, 850 00:35:49,147 --> 00:35:56,696 Shawn made you believe. 851 00:35:56,780 --> 00:35:59,074 [thuds] 852 00:35:59,199 --> 00:36:00,700 ‐ Should close it and just drop it to the side. 853 00:36:00,825 --> 00:36:03,161 Boom and then you say, "Okay, mister, here we go." 854 00:36:03,244 --> 00:36:04,412 You know, whatever. 855 00:36:04,537 --> 00:36:06,164 I don't know, just throwing it out there. 856 00:36:06,289 --> 00:36:09,334 This weekend, we have one of our bigger events. 857 00:36:09,459 --> 00:36:10,835 Five‐man ladder match. 858 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:12,045 Is that gonna... 859 00:36:12,170 --> 00:36:13,463 Someone will be holding that right there. 860 00:36:13,546 --> 00:36:16,800 Many, many years ago, it was just two of us 861 00:36:16,883 --> 00:36:18,301 and one ladder. 862 00:36:18,426 --> 00:36:19,678 And now, these young men and women 863 00:36:19,803 --> 00:36:21,638 have taken it to a whole nother level. 864 00:36:21,721 --> 00:36:23,348 Got a lot of moving parts around here. 865 00:36:23,431 --> 00:36:26,393 ‐ I always dreamed of being in a ladder match 866 00:36:26,476 --> 00:36:28,144 obviously because of Shawn and Razor. 867 00:36:28,186 --> 00:36:30,146 [thuds] 868 00:36:30,188 --> 00:36:34,901 Ladder matches are about crazy stunts, big falls, 869 00:36:35,026 --> 00:36:36,111 it's a car crash come to life. 870 00:36:36,194 --> 00:36:38,154 He is the face of the ladder match 871 00:36:38,196 --> 00:36:39,572 and to have him kind of help us out, 872 00:36:39,698 --> 00:36:42,158 have him kinda watch over us, you can't dream it up. 873 00:36:42,242 --> 00:36:43,827 It's perfect. 874 00:36:43,910 --> 00:36:46,579 There you go. 875 00:36:48,832 --> 00:36:51,376 [cheers and applause] 876 00:36:51,501 --> 00:36:54,713 ‐I met him in the locker room, 1993, 877 00:36:54,838 --> 00:36:56,131 and wanted to know 878 00:36:56,256 --> 00:36:59,134 if I'd be interested in becoming his bodyguard. 879 00:36:59,217 --> 00:37:01,678 And the first thing out of Shawn's mouth is, 880 00:37:01,761 --> 00:37:05,432 "Just so you know, everybody hates us." 881 00:37:05,515 --> 00:37:08,268 The bodyguard position was 24/7. 882 00:37:08,351 --> 00:37:11,438 It wasn't just on television persona, 883 00:37:11,521 --> 00:37:13,648 a lot of people didn't like him. 884 00:37:13,732 --> 00:37:16,484 ‐ Shawn Michaels was misunderstood 885 00:37:16,526 --> 00:37:17,986 all throughout his career. 886 00:37:18,069 --> 00:37:19,571 There was a certain perception 887 00:37:19,654 --> 00:37:21,448 that he was an ass[bleep], frankly. 888 00:37:21,531 --> 00:37:23,241 Shawn was selfish. 889 00:37:23,366 --> 00:37:25,452 Shawn did have an out of control ego, 890 00:37:25,535 --> 00:37:26,995 and Shawn did feel that he 891 00:37:27,078 --> 00:37:28,413 was better than everybody else. 892 00:37:28,538 --> 00:37:32,751 To be successful and to take it to the next level, 893 00:37:32,834 --> 00:37:35,253 you have to start looking out for yourself. 894 00:37:35,336 --> 00:37:37,464 It's not a team sport. 895 00:37:37,547 --> 00:37:39,549 ‐ The one thing that was the saving grace for Shawn 896 00:37:39,674 --> 00:37:44,137 was he was so good in the ring. 897 00:37:44,220 --> 00:37:45,680 As a performer, if you work with a guy 898 00:37:45,764 --> 00:37:47,599 that makes you look that good, 899 00:37:47,682 --> 00:37:49,142 I don't care what you think of him, 900 00:37:49,267 --> 00:37:50,852 you want to work with him. 901 00:37:50,935 --> 00:37:54,481 ‐ Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, 902 00:37:54,564 --> 00:37:57,650 1‐2‐3 Kid, and then Paul LeVesque, Triple H. 903 00:37:57,734 --> 00:38:00,153 these were guys that loved hanging out together 904 00:38:00,278 --> 00:38:05,867 and hence the Kliq began to form. 905 00:38:05,992 --> 00:38:08,411 ‐ We all just hit it off, and then it was‐‐you know, we‐‐ 906 00:38:08,536 --> 00:38:10,288 All we did was talk non‐stop about the business and, 907 00:38:10,371 --> 00:38:13,750 you know, we were all just so passionate about it. 908 00:38:13,875 --> 00:38:15,043 ‐ The perception was that the Kliq 909 00:38:15,126 --> 00:38:17,086 was all‐knowing and all‐powerful, 910 00:38:17,170 --> 00:38:19,339 and that if you crossed the Kliq, 911 00:38:19,422 --> 00:38:20,924 they'll just go Vince and you'll be blackballed. 912 00:38:21,007 --> 00:38:22,884 ‐ They couldn't call any of the shots, 913 00:38:23,009 --> 00:38:26,429 but I listened, and they had some really good ideas. 914 00:38:26,513 --> 00:38:28,348 Really smart, individually. 915 00:38:28,473 --> 00:38:31,309 And Shawn's very smart when he's sober. 916 00:38:32,310 --> 00:38:34,354 Shawn had an attitude, 917 00:38:34,437 --> 00:38:37,398 when he drank even more so on top of pills 918 00:38:37,524 --> 00:38:38,775 and Shawn would say, 919 00:38:38,858 --> 00:38:41,820 you know, the wrong thing at the wrong time. 920 00:38:41,861 --> 00:38:44,656 And he was protected in a WB environment. 921 00:38:44,781 --> 00:38:49,369 You know, but outside that environment‐‐ 922 00:38:49,494 --> 00:38:50,995 ‐ Shawn Michaels, British Bulldog, 923 00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:52,831 1‐2‐3 Kid walk into a bar. 924 00:38:52,914 --> 00:38:56,042 Me, Scott, and Kev were in Europe. 925 00:38:56,125 --> 00:38:58,419 It was where we find out that this all happened. 926 00:38:58,503 --> 00:39:00,463 Bunch of Marines in a tough bar. 927 00:39:00,547 --> 00:39:04,008 Every eye in that place turns to the three wrestlers 928 00:39:04,092 --> 00:39:05,385 that just walked in the door, 929 00:39:05,510 --> 00:39:07,762 of which Shawn is the megastar. 930 00:39:07,846 --> 00:39:10,473 Every girl in that place starts to look at Shawn, 931 00:39:10,598 --> 00:39:12,517 Shawn is very enamored with that, 932 00:39:12,642 --> 00:39:14,060 and Shawn is at this point in his life, 933 00:39:14,185 --> 00:39:18,273 like, "[bleep] you lookin' at? Is there a problem, jarhead?" 934 00:39:18,356 --> 00:39:20,275 They go to walk out, six Marines walk out, 935 00:39:20,358 --> 00:39:21,526 beat the [bleep] out of Shawn 936 00:39:21,651 --> 00:39:24,654 and leave him in the side of the car. 937 00:39:24,737 --> 00:39:26,489 ‐ And the last thing I can remember is, 938 00:39:26,614 --> 00:39:28,241 you know, there being the coat check. 939 00:39:28,366 --> 00:39:31,578 The next thing is waking up in the hospital. 940 00:39:31,661 --> 00:39:36,040 And everything else is a complete blank. 941 00:39:36,165 --> 00:39:37,709 That was four days 942 00:39:37,834 --> 00:39:41,337 out of a seven day week, situations like that. 943 00:39:41,462 --> 00:39:43,715 Getting beat up by nine guys in Syracuse, 944 00:39:43,798 --> 00:39:45,133 to me, there's not a whole lot of shame in. 945 00:39:45,258 --> 00:39:48,428 You know, that kind of stuff just sort of happens to me. 946 00:39:48,511 --> 00:39:49,721 I've got two choices‐‐ 947 00:39:49,804 --> 00:39:52,432 sit home and cry, or to come out and be a pain. 948 00:39:52,515 --> 00:39:55,643 And I got news for you, folks, I'm all cried out. 949 00:39:55,768 --> 00:39:56,853 ‐ This moment of existence 950 00:39:56,978 --> 00:39:59,272 was the 20 minutes in the ring every night. 951 00:39:59,355 --> 00:40:01,024 He wouldn't be messed up. 952 00:40:01,107 --> 00:40:02,692 He'd go in there and he'd kill it every night, 953 00:40:02,775 --> 00:40:05,069 and then the second he was done‐‐ 954 00:40:05,194 --> 00:40:06,863 [clicks tongue] 955 00:40:06,946 --> 00:40:09,490 "I'm in pain, and I took some stuff, 956 00:40:09,574 --> 00:40:11,451 "so I wouldn't be in pain this morning, 957 00:40:11,534 --> 00:40:12,744 but I'm messed up." 958 00:40:12,827 --> 00:40:14,662 Why would you hang out with this misery 24/7? 959 00:40:14,704 --> 00:40:16,748 No, it's not. It's again like your brother. 960 00:40:16,873 --> 00:40:18,750 It's like a family member. 961 00:40:18,875 --> 00:40:20,793 Shawn owes his life to Triple H, 962 00:40:20,877 --> 00:40:24,047 Paul Leveque, owes his life to him. 963 00:40:24,172 --> 00:40:25,465 ‐ Shawn Michaels knows 964 00:40:25,590 --> 00:40:28,426 that the greatest match of his life 965 00:40:28,509 --> 00:40:31,304 must come this Sunday night. 966 00:40:31,429 --> 00:40:33,806 By the time you get to the mid‐90s, 967 00:40:33,932 --> 00:40:36,184 Bret Hart has become a crowd favorite. 968 00:40:36,309 --> 00:40:40,813 Bret is a very soft‐spoken, quiet, Canadian gentleman. 969 00:40:40,939 --> 00:40:44,776 Shawn is an outspoken, loud, brash American. 970 00:40:44,859 --> 00:40:48,947 Only one person can be the absolute alpha dog. 971 00:40:49,030 --> 00:40:52,617 The Iron Man match, the boyhood dream realized, 972 00:40:52,700 --> 00:40:57,372 it added another layer to the Shawn Michaels character. 973 00:40:57,497 --> 00:40:58,498 ‐ The Iron Man match, 974 00:40:58,623 --> 00:41:00,333 it's the opportunity where I get to, 975 00:41:00,458 --> 00:41:02,919 you know, get my first world championship. 976 00:41:03,002 --> 00:41:05,797 ‐ There's only one Heartbreak Kid! 977 00:41:05,838 --> 00:41:10,218 Unbelievable, what a ride! 978 00:41:10,343 --> 00:41:12,011 ‐ An hour‐long match, 979 00:41:12,095 --> 00:41:14,806 it's gonna be a long night at the office, in wrestling terms. 980 00:41:14,931 --> 00:41:19,394 ‐ For the WWE Championship! 981 00:41:19,519 --> 00:41:21,479 ‐ We start to have our issues. 982 00:41:21,604 --> 00:41:24,649 You know, I was never big on the Kliq idea. 983 00:41:24,732 --> 00:41:27,110 It was a testy match in a lot of ways. 984 00:41:27,193 --> 00:41:29,278 ‐ Hart's in big trouble. 985 00:41:29,362 --> 00:41:31,406 [cheers and applause] 986 00:41:31,531 --> 00:41:33,199 ‐ There was a famous part 987 00:41:33,324 --> 00:41:34,659 where I jump off the second rope. 988 00:41:34,784 --> 00:41:36,285 [groans] 989 00:41:36,369 --> 00:41:38,663 He comes up and kicks me in the face 990 00:41:38,705 --> 00:41:39,872 as hard as he could. 991 00:41:39,998 --> 00:41:41,165 I mean, he almost knocked me out. 992 00:41:41,290 --> 00:41:42,500 ‐ Oh, my goodness! 993 00:41:42,583 --> 00:41:44,293 We stiff each other a lot of times in that match. 994 00:41:44,419 --> 00:41:47,213 [cheering and chatter] 995 00:41:47,338 --> 00:41:50,299 ‐ One, two, out! 996 00:41:50,425 --> 00:41:52,969 [bell dings] 997 00:41:53,094 --> 00:41:57,432 ‐ The boyhood dream has come true! 998 00:41:57,515 --> 00:41:59,058 ‐ The boyhood dream has come true, 999 00:41:59,183 --> 00:42:02,645 because that was Shawn's boyhood dream, it was. 1000 00:42:02,770 --> 00:42:04,856 And that's exactly what happened. 1001 00:42:04,939 --> 00:42:07,608 ‐ It was a very big moment for my career. 1002 00:42:07,692 --> 00:42:09,736 It's like, oh, it's the first World Championship 1003 00:42:09,819 --> 00:42:11,988 and you go like, "Hmm, I pictured it being different." 1004 00:42:12,071 --> 00:42:14,824 I wasn't at a good place and all that kinda stuff. 1005 00:42:14,949 --> 00:42:18,077 Just a lot of responsibility that goes with that. 1006 00:42:18,202 --> 00:42:20,246 Now every guy in that locker room, their well‐being, 1007 00:42:20,371 --> 00:42:24,333 their life, you know, their livelihood and all that 1008 00:42:24,417 --> 00:42:26,502 depends on the job that you do. 1009 00:42:26,627 --> 00:42:29,672 You know, it all falls on your shoulders. 1010 00:42:29,756 --> 00:42:31,299 The whole thing was uncomfortable. 1011 00:42:33,384 --> 00:42:37,889 ‐ As we got into 1996, Ted Turner, who owned WCW, 1012 00:42:37,972 --> 00:42:41,642 our competitors, was being very aggressive 1013 00:42:41,684 --> 00:42:45,480 in his quest for new talent. 1014 00:42:45,605 --> 00:42:47,732 Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, 1015 00:42:47,857 --> 00:42:52,612 they were going to leave and go to Ted Turner's WCW. 1016 00:42:52,695 --> 00:42:54,822 The last matches being 1017 00:42:54,947 --> 00:42:58,618 in New York in Madison Square Garden. 1018 00:42:58,701 --> 00:43:01,370 ‐ On my 19th, 1996, 1019 00:43:01,454 --> 00:43:04,123 one of the greatest days of wrestling, 1020 00:43:04,207 --> 00:43:05,833 and my life as well. 1021 00:43:05,958 --> 00:43:08,544 Me and my friend went to a house show 1022 00:43:08,669 --> 00:43:09,962 which was not televised, 1023 00:43:10,088 --> 00:43:11,881 we would sneak in a camera past security 1024 00:43:11,964 --> 00:43:14,509 and we would film the shows. 1025 00:43:14,592 --> 00:43:18,387 Shawn was my hero and was my idol growing up. 1026 00:43:18,471 --> 00:43:19,931 [audience cheering] 1027 00:43:20,014 --> 00:43:21,557 The ending shows Shawn Michaels 1028 00:43:21,682 --> 00:43:23,267 giving Diesel a super kick. 1029 00:43:23,351 --> 00:43:25,645 Match is over. 1030 00:43:25,770 --> 00:43:28,231 And then all of a sudden Razor Ramon comes out. 1031 00:43:28,356 --> 00:43:29,816 I'm like, "Oh, cool." 1032 00:43:29,899 --> 00:43:32,485 They start hugging and I'm screaming like a little girl. 1033 00:43:32,568 --> 00:43:34,070 Oh, my God! 1034 00:43:34,195 --> 00:43:35,363 Who's this? 1035 00:43:35,446 --> 00:43:37,073 And it turns out to be Hunter Hurst Helmsley. 1036 00:43:37,156 --> 00:43:40,243 They all start hugging and, you know, obviously saying goodbye. 1037 00:43:40,368 --> 00:43:43,329 It was insane. That night was magical. 1038 00:43:43,371 --> 00:43:45,665 Yeah! 1039 00:43:45,748 --> 00:43:47,166 The business was well protected 1040 00:43:47,291 --> 00:43:50,670 up until then, and our cameras still kept going. 1041 00:43:50,753 --> 00:43:52,672 The only camera that was there. 1042 00:43:52,755 --> 00:43:55,633 If we were not involved in taping the curtain call, 1043 00:43:55,716 --> 00:43:59,387 it would not be talked about as much today. 1044 00:43:59,512 --> 00:44:01,139 ‐ Place is going insane. 1045 00:44:01,222 --> 00:44:03,558 Everybody knows everything on the inside of the business. 1046 00:44:03,683 --> 00:44:05,017 There's no secrets. 1047 00:44:05,143 --> 00:44:06,644 ‐ People in the business didn't like it. 1048 00:44:06,727 --> 00:44:09,230 They thought it was the worst thing that happened. 1049 00:44:09,355 --> 00:44:11,566 Here's this bad guy, who we have no idea 1050 00:44:11,691 --> 00:44:13,985 is friends with all these other guys. 1051 00:44:14,026 --> 00:44:16,362 ‐ It's breaking the fourth wall 1052 00:44:16,487 --> 00:44:17,864 and just telling people, 1053 00:44:17,947 --> 00:44:19,323 "Everything we just did is bull [bleep]. " 1054 00:44:19,407 --> 00:44:22,827 Shawn Michaels is now hugging and kissing the guy 1055 00:44:22,910 --> 00:44:25,997 that he's just spent 20 minutes beating the hell out of. 1056 00:44:26,038 --> 00:44:27,540 We entertained you, but now it's all over, 1057 00:44:27,623 --> 00:44:31,210 we're really good buddies. Taboo in the wrestling business. 1058 00:44:31,335 --> 00:44:34,714 ‐ The tape was leaked out to a writer. 1059 00:44:34,839 --> 00:44:36,924 The tape blows up on its own. 1060 00:44:37,008 --> 00:44:38,843 ‐ I had no idea that was gonna happen. 1061 00:44:38,926 --> 00:44:41,846 It was something that's never been done before. 1062 00:44:41,929 --> 00:44:46,601 I'm watching this and going, "What the hell is going on?" 1063 00:44:46,684 --> 00:44:49,103 The Kliq was an insult to our business. 1064 00:44:49,187 --> 00:44:51,272 If they had done that in the '70s, early '80s, 1065 00:44:51,355 --> 00:44:53,608 they'd all four of them get the [bleep] beat out of 'em. 1066 00:44:53,691 --> 00:44:57,862 They wrestle each other and they all kiss and say goodbye. 1067 00:44:57,945 --> 00:44:59,780 ‐ Somebody's gotta go down for it. 1068 00:44:59,864 --> 00:45:02,992 Kev's gone, Scott's gone, Shawn's the champ. 1069 00:45:03,075 --> 00:45:08,497 Stuff rolls downhill and, yeah, it all rolled on me. 1070 00:45:08,581 --> 00:45:10,166 ‐ Triple H is the one 1071 00:45:10,249 --> 00:45:13,336 that probably paid the heaviest price 1072 00:45:13,461 --> 00:45:15,296 as far as his career 1073 00:45:15,379 --> 00:45:18,424 kind of hitting a roadblock at that point. 1074 00:45:18,507 --> 00:45:20,134 Shawn didn't really pay a price. 1075 00:45:20,218 --> 00:45:22,637 ‐ I was inherently selfish regardless, 1076 00:45:22,762 --> 00:45:27,475 so I'm sure I didn't feel the compassion for him, 1077 00:45:27,558 --> 00:45:32,188 as maybe I should have. 1078 00:45:32,313 --> 00:45:34,690 ‐ There was a bit of a shutdown on Shawn. 1079 00:45:34,815 --> 00:45:37,652 Business is‐‐it's okay, but it's not great. 1080 00:45:37,735 --> 00:45:38,945 You know, there's a lot of banter 1081 00:45:39,028 --> 00:45:41,447 about Shawn's not working as champion. 1082 00:45:41,530 --> 00:45:43,324 He's not drawing. 1083 00:45:43,407 --> 00:45:45,534 He's collapsing under the pressure. 1084 00:45:45,618 --> 00:45:47,495 I can see him falling apart. 1085 00:45:47,620 --> 00:45:51,165 Kevin and Scott are gone, and I'm all he's got now. 1086 00:45:51,249 --> 00:45:52,416 He's a mess. 1087 00:45:52,541 --> 00:45:55,753 ‐ I felt a lot of pressure and I didn't handle it well. 1088 00:45:55,836 --> 00:45:57,672 For me, it was all about 1089 00:45:57,755 --> 00:45:59,590 running and escaping, and honestly, 1090 00:45:59,674 --> 00:46:01,092 you know, there was running 1091 00:46:01,175 --> 00:46:03,135 and escaping from the dude I'd become. 1092 00:46:03,261 --> 00:46:05,054 Better than having to face that, 1093 00:46:05,137 --> 00:46:08,349 I might just take a few of these and knock myself out. 1094 00:46:08,432 --> 00:46:10,810 Won't have to pay attention to it till tomorrow. 1095 00:46:10,893 --> 00:46:12,520 ‐ He'd be pilled up, passed out, 1096 00:46:12,645 --> 00:46:16,232 put Shawn on a luggage cart and roll him up to his room, 1097 00:46:16,315 --> 00:46:18,859 and get him undressed, take the dip out of his mouth, 1098 00:46:18,985 --> 00:46:20,361 and put him on his side, put a pillow behind him 1099 00:46:20,486 --> 00:46:22,446 so he wouldn't roll over and choke to death in his sleep. 1100 00:46:22,530 --> 00:46:25,324 And set an alarm and get up every two, three hours 1101 00:46:25,408 --> 00:46:26,575 to go check on him. 1102 00:46:26,659 --> 00:46:28,202 And that was every night. 1103 00:46:28,286 --> 00:46:32,206 Well, you know, every night? Sad existence. 1104 00:46:36,627 --> 00:46:38,671 [cheers and applause] 1105 00:46:38,796 --> 00:46:40,965 ‐ What everybody has to understand 1106 00:46:41,007 --> 00:46:43,301 about Shawn Michaels is this‐‐ 1107 00:46:43,342 --> 00:46:44,635 If I wanna come out here 1108 00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:48,639 and look like a blithering idiot on live TV, 1109 00:46:48,681 --> 00:46:50,850 believe me, I'm gonna do it. 1110 00:46:50,933 --> 00:46:54,228 Why? Because I can. 1111 00:46:54,353 --> 00:46:56,772 ‐ He had a drug problem for a while, 1112 00:46:56,856 --> 00:46:58,316 a serious one, 1113 00:46:58,357 --> 00:47:02,611 and he kind of fell in the hole even deeper. 1114 00:47:02,695 --> 00:47:06,157 But it wasn't until he became champion 1115 00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:08,659 that I felt that Shawn, uh, 1116 00:47:08,784 --> 00:47:12,747 started to question himself. 1117 00:47:12,872 --> 00:47:14,999 ‐ I called his dad, the colonel, 1118 00:47:15,082 --> 00:47:16,917 and said, "I'd like to visit." 1119 00:47:17,001 --> 00:47:18,794 So I flew down to meet him 1120 00:47:18,919 --> 00:47:21,297 and I'm saying, "You're probably not aware of this, 1121 00:47:21,339 --> 00:47:24,592 Shawn really has a drug problem." 1122 00:47:24,675 --> 00:47:26,052 The colonel got angry. 1123 00:47:26,177 --> 00:47:29,472 He just didn't want to hear it. 1124 00:47:29,597 --> 00:47:31,932 ‐ I don't know that anybody knew how to address it. 1125 00:47:32,016 --> 00:47:34,101 Even things like rehab, my parents, 1126 00:47:34,185 --> 00:47:35,311 you know, God love 'em, 1127 00:47:35,394 --> 00:47:37,897 I don't that they knew what it was that you did, 1128 00:47:37,980 --> 00:47:39,231 except just to be worried. 1129 00:47:39,357 --> 00:47:42,443 Not long after that I tweaked my knee. 1130 00:47:42,526 --> 00:47:44,653 [cheers and applause] 1131 00:47:44,779 --> 00:47:46,322 I went to this dude in San Antonio 1132 00:47:46,405 --> 00:47:48,824 who doesn't know anything about wrestling, 1133 00:47:48,866 --> 00:47:50,326 and obviously sees I've torn my ACL 1134 00:47:50,368 --> 00:47:52,244 and he's like, "Dude, you're done." 1135 00:47:52,370 --> 00:47:56,499 You know, he said, "You're not wrestling with a torn ACL." 1136 00:47:56,582 --> 00:48:00,044 I know that over the last several months, 1137 00:48:00,169 --> 00:48:01,962 I've lost a lot of things, 1138 00:48:02,046 --> 00:48:03,464 and one of them has been my smile. 1139 00:48:03,547 --> 00:48:06,634 ‐ He went in the ring to announce he was retiring 1140 00:48:06,717 --> 00:48:08,469 'cause he had a bad knee. 1141 00:48:08,552 --> 00:48:10,679 I didn't believe his knee was the issue. 1142 00:48:10,805 --> 00:48:12,598 I always thought the issue was 1143 00:48:12,681 --> 00:48:15,851 he didn't want to wrestle me at WrestleMania 13 1144 00:48:15,976 --> 00:48:17,436 and drop the belt to me. 1145 00:48:17,520 --> 00:48:21,524 I doubted Shawn's integrity as far as his injury went. 1146 00:48:21,649 --> 00:48:22,650 You phony little faker, 1147 00:48:22,775 --> 00:48:24,318 why don't you take your little pussyfoot injury‐‐ 1148 00:48:24,402 --> 00:48:25,528 ‐ All right, all right, knock it off. 1149 00:48:25,611 --> 00:48:28,072 No, no, no. ‐ It's all right. 1150 00:48:28,197 --> 00:48:29,323 I'm not going anywhere. 1151 00:48:29,407 --> 00:48:30,991 ‐ And go back and find your smile. 1152 00:48:31,033 --> 00:48:32,410 ‐ I got accused of faking it. 1153 00:48:32,535 --> 00:48:33,953 Bret told everybody I was faking it. 1154 00:48:34,036 --> 00:48:37,832 My excuse is drug addicts lie all the time. 1155 00:48:37,873 --> 00:48:39,166 Well, there's no doubt 1156 00:48:39,208 --> 00:48:41,043 that you found your smile again as you stated... 1157 00:48:41,168 --> 00:48:42,795 ‐ A year off of the wrestling business 1158 00:48:42,878 --> 00:48:43,963 was a year of no pay. 1159 00:48:44,088 --> 00:48:47,133 That's just not‐‐ That isn't feasible. 1160 00:48:47,174 --> 00:48:49,343 And they said, "Well, look, you can put a brace on it 1161 00:48:49,468 --> 00:48:51,011 and wrap it up." 1162 00:48:51,137 --> 00:48:52,805 They went and they got me a brace and everything else. 1163 00:48:52,888 --> 00:48:55,015 I was like, "Okay, I can do this." 1164 00:48:55,099 --> 00:48:58,144 And it is time for the Heartbreak Kid, 1165 00:48:58,185 --> 00:49:00,980 Shawn Michaels to return to action! 1166 00:49:01,021 --> 00:49:02,398 [suspenseful music] 1167 00:49:02,523 --> 00:49:05,860 ‐This was a moment where things needed to change. 1168 00:49:05,943 --> 00:49:07,820 Business was bad. 1169 00:49:07,903 --> 00:49:09,321 WCW was starting to kill us. 1170 00:49:09,405 --> 00:49:11,115 Put Shawn and I together on TV. 1171 00:49:11,198 --> 00:49:14,743 We will multiply each other's personalities on screen. 1172 00:49:14,827 --> 00:49:17,496 Put us together. DX is born. 1173 00:49:17,621 --> 00:49:19,123 [hard rock music] 1174 00:49:19,206 --> 00:49:21,375 ‐ ♪ Degenerate into something fool ♪ 1175 00:49:21,500 --> 00:49:24,295 ♪ We just got tired of doing what you told us to do ♪ 1176 00:49:24,378 --> 00:49:27,006 ‐ Degeneration X consisted of Shawn, 1177 00:49:27,089 --> 00:49:28,466 Triple H, and Chyna. 1178 00:49:28,591 --> 00:49:32,761 Two goofs in Shawn and Hunter that were immature, 1179 00:49:32,845 --> 00:49:36,140 and did everything that you weren't supposed to do. 1180 00:49:36,223 --> 00:49:38,267 ‐ Shawn Michaels, 1181 00:49:38,350 --> 00:49:40,895 you're a disgrace to professional wrestling. 1182 00:49:41,020 --> 00:49:44,440 I saw it as inmates had taken over the asylum. 1183 00:49:44,523 --> 00:49:46,066 I'm gonna start with the degenerate 1184 00:49:46,192 --> 00:49:47,902 right beside you in the green shirt. 1185 00:49:47,985 --> 00:49:50,029 ‐ ♪ Degeneration X 1186 00:49:50,112 --> 00:49:52,990 ‐ Suck it! [laughs] 1187 00:49:53,073 --> 00:49:54,992 ‐ Yeah, I can't say I liked it. 1188 00:49:55,075 --> 00:49:57,328 That smut and the crotch shots. 1189 00:49:57,411 --> 00:49:59,497 It did get pretty raunchy. 1190 00:49:59,538 --> 00:50:01,457 ‐ I don't think it was over the line. 1191 00:50:01,540 --> 00:50:04,710 You know, we were getting our tails kicked in the ratings. 1192 00:50:04,793 --> 00:50:08,797 DX took it to the very, very tipping point 1193 00:50:08,923 --> 00:50:10,758 of going too far. 1194 00:50:10,841 --> 00:50:12,468 But that's what we needed. 1195 00:50:12,593 --> 00:50:16,430 It was kind of a whole facelift for the company. 1196 00:50:16,514 --> 00:50:17,473 They loved it. 1197 00:50:17,556 --> 00:50:19,141 Ratings are going up, your segments are hot. 1198 00:50:19,225 --> 00:50:20,309 We are the Degeneration X, 1199 00:50:20,392 --> 00:50:24,688 you make the rules, and we will break 'em! 1200 00:50:24,772 --> 00:50:26,023 ‐ They were the anti‐authority. 1201 00:50:26,148 --> 00:50:27,650 They could do anything they wanted. 1202 00:50:27,775 --> 00:50:29,652 ‐ We were just trying to make each other laugh, 1203 00:50:29,735 --> 00:50:31,403 say something so stupid that people would go, 1204 00:50:31,529 --> 00:50:33,489 "Oh, my God, I can't believe he said that." 1205 00:50:33,572 --> 00:50:37,326 Your old lady is not too thrilled with your privates. 1206 00:50:37,409 --> 00:50:39,328 ‐ You would think, like, okay, so now everything's great 1207 00:50:39,411 --> 00:50:40,829 backstage with Shawn. No. 1208 00:50:40,955 --> 00:50:42,540 We're still approaching this from a place of anger. 1209 00:50:42,665 --> 00:50:44,291 We know we're pissing people off 1210 00:50:44,375 --> 00:50:46,460 and we're trying to be dicks. 1211 00:50:46,585 --> 00:50:48,671 ‐ I got in trouble for a lot of stuff 1212 00:50:48,754 --> 00:50:50,464 that we all thought was funny, 1213 00:50:50,548 --> 00:50:52,800 and clearly we might have been the only ones. 1214 00:50:52,883 --> 00:50:56,929 I'm goin' out in a blaze of glory! 1215 00:50:57,012 --> 00:50:58,597 [cheers and applause] 1216 00:50:58,681 --> 00:51:02,226 ‐ At that point, Shawn's DX personality 1217 00:51:02,351 --> 00:51:05,062 and his real personality have kind of morphed, 1218 00:51:05,187 --> 00:51:07,982 so Shawn really never turned it off. 1219 00:51:08,065 --> 00:51:10,317 ‐ This is what it's come down to, 1220 00:51:10,359 --> 00:51:11,485 they're looking at somebody 1221 00:51:11,610 --> 00:51:13,988 that's got no respect for anything. 1222 00:51:14,071 --> 00:51:16,907 ‐ There was a true animosity 1223 00:51:17,032 --> 00:51:18,409 between Bret and Shawn, 1224 00:51:18,534 --> 00:51:20,744 just spiraled completely out of control. 1225 00:51:20,869 --> 00:51:24,873 ‐ In the beginning, Shawn and Bret were friends 1226 00:51:24,957 --> 00:51:29,128 and the antagonistic relationship 1227 00:51:29,211 --> 00:51:33,591 that they had on camera, that was all orchestrated. 1228 00:51:33,674 --> 00:51:35,217 But it became personal. 1229 00:51:35,342 --> 00:51:37,761 It became personal between Bret and Shawn, 1230 00:51:37,845 --> 00:51:39,555 because one guy would go too far. 1231 00:51:39,638 --> 00:51:43,809 ‐ I never knew enough to avoid the confrontation. 1232 00:51:43,934 --> 00:51:46,186 If something bothered Bret, I made sure that I did it. 1233 00:51:46,312 --> 00:51:49,148 He stabbed the WWE in the back. 1234 00:51:49,231 --> 00:51:52,484 Why? For his financial gain. 1235 00:51:52,568 --> 00:51:54,528 ‐ Instead of facing me like a man, 1236 00:51:54,653 --> 00:51:58,198 but you were too busy posing for girlie magazines. 1237 00:51:58,324 --> 00:51:59,867 You know, you don't like me talking about you 1238 00:51:59,950 --> 00:52:03,162 posing for "Playgirl," but you did pose for "Playgirl." 1239 00:52:03,245 --> 00:52:07,333 And we finally had a fisticuff in the dressing room. 1240 00:52:07,416 --> 00:52:09,251 ‐ Oh, my God, Bret and Shawn just got into a fight 1241 00:52:09,335 --> 00:52:11,545 and pulled each other hair in the locker room. What? 1242 00:52:11,670 --> 00:52:13,130 I run over there and find Shawn, 1243 00:52:13,213 --> 00:52:14,673 he's got a big chunk of hair missing 1244 00:52:14,798 --> 00:52:16,008 out of the side of his head. "What are you doing?" 1245 00:52:16,133 --> 00:52:17,718 ‐ I realize that I hate your guts. 1246 00:52:17,801 --> 00:52:20,638 ‐ We had a lot of these resets and talks, 1247 00:52:20,679 --> 00:52:23,432 and we would always end up offending each other quickly 1248 00:52:23,515 --> 00:52:25,392 right after that. [laughs] 1249 00:52:28,562 --> 00:52:29,730 ‐ We are live 1250 00:52:29,813 --> 00:52:33,734 in the sold‐out Molson Centre in Montréal, Quebec, 1251 00:52:33,859 --> 00:52:38,113 where tonight, it will finally be settled. 1252 00:52:38,197 --> 00:52:40,866 Who is the man? 1253 00:52:40,991 --> 00:52:42,534 ‐ Bret is the champion, 1254 00:52:42,660 --> 00:52:45,287 but Bret's on his way to WCW, 1255 00:52:45,371 --> 00:52:49,458 and he doesn't wanna drop the title to Shawn. 1256 00:52:49,541 --> 00:52:52,628 But they couldn't let Bret leave with the title, 1257 00:52:52,753 --> 00:52:56,131 and then show up on WCW TV the next night. 1258 00:52:56,173 --> 00:52:58,926 ‐ Who's gonna win? 1259 00:52:59,009 --> 00:53:00,511 ‐ I don't know. 1260 00:53:00,594 --> 00:53:02,805 ‐ Bret thought the match was going to go one way, 1261 00:53:02,930 --> 00:53:07,184 Shawn and Vince McMahon come up with a different plan. 1262 00:53:07,309 --> 00:53:09,520 Bret doesn't know about the plan. 1263 00:53:09,645 --> 00:53:12,106 ‐ We're being told by Vince, 1264 00:53:12,189 --> 00:53:14,316 like, this goes to your grave. 1265 00:53:14,441 --> 00:53:17,903 This is high‐level espionage, man. 1266 00:53:18,028 --> 00:53:19,822 Nobody ever knows this. 1267 00:53:19,863 --> 00:53:22,533 ‐ It's kind of what's best for business. 1268 00:53:22,658 --> 00:53:23,826 ‐ Look out! 1269 00:53:23,867 --> 00:53:25,703 Shawn Michaels is not gonna waste any time. 1270 00:53:25,786 --> 00:53:28,288 ‐ The whole thing was uncomfortable. 1271 00:53:28,372 --> 00:53:31,792 I was out there, you know, being Judas. 1272 00:53:31,875 --> 00:53:35,087 [dramatic music] 1273 00:53:35,170 --> 00:53:37,131 [groans] 1274 00:53:37,256 --> 00:53:38,507 ‐ They had created a spot 1275 00:53:38,632 --> 00:53:41,969 where Shawn was gonna put Bret's move, 1276 00:53:42,094 --> 00:53:46,098 which is a submission hold, the Sharpshooter, on Bret. 1277 00:53:46,181 --> 00:53:47,808 ‐ Look at this! 1278 00:53:47,891 --> 00:53:49,643 ‐ Oh, you're kidding me. 1279 00:53:49,727 --> 00:53:52,646 ‐ It's definitely one of the most fabled stories 1280 00:53:52,688 --> 00:53:53,981 in our industry. 1281 00:53:54,064 --> 00:53:55,607 The Montreal Screw Job. 1282 00:53:55,691 --> 00:53:58,485 ‐ It's just minutes into that match, 1283 00:53:58,569 --> 00:54:01,280 not one person on Planet Earth 1284 00:54:01,363 --> 00:54:04,283 thinks the match is going to end. 1285 00:54:04,366 --> 00:54:06,660 ‐ Are you kidding me? 1286 00:54:06,785 --> 00:54:09,496 [bell rings] 1287 00:54:09,580 --> 00:54:13,333 [rock music playing] 1288 00:54:13,417 --> 00:54:15,669 ‐ So when, all of a sudden, the bell rings, 1289 00:54:15,794 --> 00:54:19,882 there's complete confusion as to why the match has ended. 1290 00:54:20,007 --> 00:54:21,300 ‐ What happened? 1291 00:54:21,383 --> 00:54:23,218 Bret Hart gave up in a Sharpshooter. 1292 00:54:23,343 --> 00:54:26,305 ‐ He said, "Bret submitted," which didn't happen. 1293 00:54:26,346 --> 00:54:29,433 ‐ Wow, you talk about controversy. 1294 00:54:29,516 --> 00:54:30,851 ‐ It was basically a hit 1295 00:54:30,934 --> 00:54:33,479 to make sure that they got the title off of Bret. 1296 00:54:33,562 --> 00:54:36,815 ‐ Ring the bell! Ring the bell! 1297 00:54:36,899 --> 00:54:39,276 ‐ I could see Vince yell at him to ring the bell. 1298 00:54:39,359 --> 00:54:41,570 ‐ Ring the bell! [bell rings] 1299 00:54:41,695 --> 00:54:43,322 ‐ Like, "They're trying to screw me now." 1300 00:54:43,405 --> 00:54:44,907 ‐ Michaels with a Sharpshooter 1301 00:54:44,990 --> 00:54:47,743 has become the WWE Champion! 1302 00:54:47,826 --> 00:54:52,331 And Bret Hart is standing in disbelief. 1303 00:54:52,414 --> 00:54:53,916 ‐ He didn't know Vince was coming out. 1304 00:54:53,999 --> 00:54:56,376 I think he just felt like maybe if he was out there, 1305 00:54:56,502 --> 00:54:57,795 he might get some heat off me, 1306 00:54:57,920 --> 00:55:01,548 you know, thus making my denial plausible. 1307 00:55:09,932 --> 00:55:12,726 Vince says, "I wanna take the heat for this. 1308 00:55:12,851 --> 00:55:13,644 "I don't want anyone to think 1309 00:55:13,727 --> 00:55:14,937 you had anything to do with it." 1310 00:55:15,020 --> 00:55:16,230 ‐ Maybe you could go? 1311 00:55:16,313 --> 00:55:17,689 ‐ Okay, let's get outta here. 1312 00:55:17,815 --> 00:55:19,274 ‐ I took the heat, and should have. 1313 00:55:19,358 --> 00:55:22,653 I didn't want anyone to know Shawn was involved. 1314 00:55:22,736 --> 00:55:26,740 And Bret comes over and knocks the [bleep] outta me. 1315 00:55:26,824 --> 00:55:30,494 One punch, and knocked him out cold. 1316 00:55:30,577 --> 00:55:32,579 He went straight down on his back. 1317 00:55:32,663 --> 00:55:33,705 Out cold. 1318 00:55:33,831 --> 00:55:38,043 And after I knocked Vince out, 1319 00:55:38,168 --> 00:55:39,711 Shawn was crying. 1320 00:55:39,837 --> 00:55:42,464 Shawn was sat on the bench and was crying. 1321 00:55:42,589 --> 00:55:43,799 ‐ And even though I didn't feel 1322 00:55:43,882 --> 00:55:45,634 like I did anything wrong that night, 1323 00:55:45,717 --> 00:55:49,888 you're still carrying a burden by not coming clean with that. 1324 00:55:50,013 --> 00:55:52,182 To say, "Yes, I knew." 1325 00:55:52,307 --> 00:55:54,434 ‐ Vince asked Shawn to do something 1326 00:55:54,518 --> 00:55:56,353 for everyone in this company. 1327 00:55:56,478 --> 00:55:58,397 Who else would have had the balls, 1328 00:55:58,522 --> 00:56:01,650 the guts, right or wrong, 1329 00:56:01,733 --> 00:56:04,027 how many other people would have done it? 1330 00:56:08,866 --> 00:56:11,743 ‐ I remember going to his house in San Antonio, 1331 00:56:11,869 --> 00:56:13,203 and I'm driving my minivan down there. 1332 00:56:13,328 --> 00:56:14,329 I've got my wife and three kids at home, 1333 00:56:14,371 --> 00:56:17,332 and I pull into his gorgeous home. 1334 00:56:17,416 --> 00:56:19,293 I don't have 20 bucks in my pocket. 1335 00:56:19,418 --> 00:56:20,627 And I'll never forget, 1336 00:56:20,752 --> 00:56:23,589 he put his arms out like this, and he just looked up 1337 00:56:23,672 --> 00:56:26,967 and he goes, "You could have had all this." 1338 00:56:27,092 --> 00:56:29,678 But I realize, you know, somewhere along the way, 1339 00:56:29,761 --> 00:56:31,889 that I saw him lose so much. 1340 00:56:32,014 --> 00:56:33,181 He got into drugs 1341 00:56:33,307 --> 00:56:35,893 and there were some really bad side effects to his fame. 1342 00:56:36,018 --> 00:56:38,437 ‐ I looked at Kenny a lot of times, 1343 00:56:38,520 --> 00:56:40,480 and having a wife and a family, 1344 00:56:40,564 --> 00:56:43,567 and just being as happy as can be. 1345 00:56:43,692 --> 00:56:45,360 And I've always looked at and admired, 1346 00:56:45,485 --> 00:56:49,615 and thought it was pretty enviable to have. 1347 00:56:49,698 --> 00:56:52,451 But in my line of work, it was always wondering 1348 00:56:52,534 --> 00:56:56,997 can you have both, or is that not possible? 1349 00:56:57,122 --> 00:56:59,291 They don't mix. 1350 00:56:59,374 --> 00:57:02,711 [cheers and applause] 1351 00:57:02,794 --> 00:57:07,007 ‐ The following contest is a casket match 1352 00:57:07,132 --> 00:57:11,553 for the WWE Championship! 1353 00:57:11,678 --> 00:57:13,639 [cheers and applause] 1354 00:57:13,764 --> 00:57:15,182 ‐ This casket match 1355 00:57:15,307 --> 00:57:19,227 is the Undertaker's specialty. 1356 00:57:19,311 --> 00:57:21,063 ‐ The object of a casket match 1357 00:57:21,146 --> 00:57:22,898 is to beat your opponent down far enough 1358 00:57:22,981 --> 00:57:25,901 that you can throw them into the casket or coffin 1359 00:57:26,026 --> 00:57:26,860 and shut the lid. 1360 00:57:26,985 --> 00:57:30,656 And if you do that, you win the match. 1361 00:57:30,781 --> 00:57:33,659 Somewhere through the course of that match, 1362 00:57:33,742 --> 00:57:37,996 I threw him over this giant coffin... 1363 00:57:38,121 --> 00:57:40,123 [grunts] 1364 00:57:40,207 --> 00:57:41,500 ‐ Michaels' back dropped 1365 00:57:41,583 --> 00:57:43,460 on that big old wooden casket. 1366 00:57:43,543 --> 00:57:46,380 I wanted to clear it and go to the floor, 1367 00:57:46,505 --> 00:57:48,799 and I just didn't quite get far enough, 1368 00:57:48,924 --> 00:57:50,550 and bam, I just hit the corner. 1369 00:57:50,676 --> 00:57:52,636 But I didn't really think much about it. 1370 00:57:52,719 --> 00:57:53,971 You know, you still finish the match. 1371 00:57:54,054 --> 00:57:56,264 ‐ Look at the look on his face! 1372 00:57:56,348 --> 00:57:57,975 The Undertaker dragging Michaels 1373 00:57:58,058 --> 00:58:00,602 right down into the depths of Hell! 1374 00:58:00,686 --> 00:58:03,063 The next day, I just remember getting up like, 1375 00:58:03,188 --> 00:58:07,818 ah, you know, waking up and not being able to move. 1376 00:58:07,901 --> 00:58:10,654 First time I recall being in that much pain. 1377 00:58:10,696 --> 00:58:13,156 We do all the X‐rays. 1378 00:58:13,240 --> 00:58:14,282 Apparently, I blew a disc, 1379 00:58:14,366 --> 00:58:17,869 and that's the kind of stuff that needs to be fused. 1380 00:58:17,995 --> 00:58:20,831 Doctor says, "Oh, you can't wrestle after that." 1381 00:58:20,956 --> 00:58:23,834 [explosion] [cheers and applause] 1382 00:58:23,917 --> 00:58:27,045 He said I'm never gonna wrestle again, yadda, yadda, yadda. 1383 00:58:27,170 --> 00:58:28,714 And I said, "Nobody tells me what to do, 1384 00:58:28,839 --> 00:58:31,717 so we're going to WrestleMania with Steve." 1385 00:58:31,842 --> 00:58:34,761 You have never, ever had one of these! 1386 00:58:34,845 --> 00:58:36,430 So you give me enough drugs, all right, 1387 00:58:36,513 --> 00:58:41,143 so let's do whatever we can to get me to WrestleMania. 1388 00:58:41,184 --> 00:58:45,439 ‐ Getting Shawn to WrestleMania was a battle. 1389 00:58:45,522 --> 00:58:50,360 He had a bad back, he was heavily medicated. 1390 00:58:50,485 --> 00:58:52,487 He is the WWE Champion 1391 00:58:52,612 --> 00:58:53,822 and the man who will defend his title 1392 00:58:53,905 --> 00:58:54,823 against Stone Cold, 1393 00:58:54,906 --> 00:58:56,950 with Mike Tyson as the Enforcer. 1394 00:58:57,034 --> 00:58:59,411 Here, ladies and gentlemen, Shawn Michaels. 1395 00:58:59,536 --> 00:59:01,204 ‐ I choose to make an ass 1396 00:59:01,329 --> 00:59:04,207 out of a toughest SOB. 1397 00:59:04,332 --> 00:59:06,084 I can do that anytime I want. 1398 00:59:07,878 --> 00:59:11,923 [overlapping chatter] 1399 00:59:12,007 --> 00:59:13,925 ‐ I was gonna have to dope myself up 1400 00:59:14,009 --> 00:59:15,761 and drop the belt to Steve, 1401 00:59:15,844 --> 00:59:18,764 and then I guess I'll let my career be over. 1402 00:59:18,847 --> 00:59:20,599 [dramatic music] 1403 00:59:20,682 --> 00:59:22,100 ‐ He was bitter. 1404 00:59:22,184 --> 00:59:24,436 It had nothing to do with him losing, 1405 00:59:24,519 --> 00:59:25,979 it had to do with being replaced. 1406 00:59:26,104 --> 00:59:29,107 He never had his moment. He never had his run. 1407 00:59:29,191 --> 00:59:30,650 I'm still the greatest. And then this‐‐ 1408 00:59:30,776 --> 00:59:31,985 Now it's his run. 1409 00:59:32,110 --> 00:59:35,405 What do I do? Now I'm the backup guy? 1410 00:59:35,530 --> 00:59:36,531 One of the most messed‐up things 1411 00:59:36,656 --> 00:59:37,991 I ever heard Shawn say in his life is, 1412 00:59:38,075 --> 00:59:39,409 "I should've taken so many pills, 1413 00:59:39,493 --> 00:59:40,869 "I died after WrestleMania 10. 1414 00:59:40,994 --> 00:59:42,704 "I'd have been the biggest star of all time. 1415 00:59:42,829 --> 00:59:45,665 I'd have been Elvis." 1416 00:59:45,791 --> 00:59:47,084 ‐ It's hopelessness, 1417 00:59:47,167 --> 00:59:49,044 and certainly, that's where I was. 1418 00:59:49,169 --> 00:59:52,798 I am not just, uh, you know, a drug addict. 1419 00:59:52,881 --> 00:59:53,799 I'm an angry one, 1420 00:59:53,924 --> 00:59:56,259 and I mean angrier than ever. 1421 00:59:56,343 --> 00:59:59,096 At that time in my life, that's all I had. 1422 00:59:59,179 --> 01:00:02,974 I identified who I was with what I was doing in that ring. 1423 01:00:03,100 --> 01:00:06,728 And without it, I wouldn't have known what to do with my life. 1424 01:00:06,853 --> 01:00:08,563 [cheers and applause] 1425 01:00:08,688 --> 01:00:10,732 ‐ On the day of WrestleMania 14, 1426 01:00:10,816 --> 01:00:12,651 we barely talked. 1427 01:00:12,734 --> 01:00:14,945 He didn't feel like doing business with me. 1428 01:00:15,028 --> 01:00:18,824 Triple H was a conduit between most of it. 1429 01:00:18,907 --> 01:00:20,450 ‐ He was pissed. 1430 01:00:20,534 --> 01:00:22,410 He wasn't about to talk to Steve about this match. 1431 01:00:22,494 --> 01:00:25,330 I helped him put it together by going from room to room, 1432 01:00:25,372 --> 01:00:27,874 and it was just‐‐it was so difficult to do. 1433 01:00:27,999 --> 01:00:30,794 ‐ It was difficult. I remember that day. 1434 01:00:30,877 --> 01:00:34,798 I'm thinking, I don't know what Shawn's going to do. 1435 01:00:34,881 --> 01:00:36,133 ‐ He's retiring, 1436 01:00:36,216 --> 01:00:39,177 you know, this could be his final screw you. 1437 01:00:39,302 --> 01:00:42,639 ‐ Nobody has ever, ever outperformed 1438 01:00:42,722 --> 01:00:46,268 Shawn Michaels in a big match situation. 1439 01:00:46,351 --> 01:00:47,769 ‐ I'm not in great shape. 1440 01:00:47,853 --> 01:00:51,815 My back, pretty bad being in that much pain. 1441 01:00:51,857 --> 01:00:54,151 Get the cortisone shots and stuff like that. 1442 01:00:54,276 --> 01:00:56,319 ‐ Oh, my God! 1443 01:00:56,444 --> 01:00:59,614 I feel like I'm putting him over, that's good enough. 1444 01:00:59,698 --> 01:01:03,326 ‐ Awesome, he got it! The Stunner! 1445 01:01:03,451 --> 01:01:05,871 Mike Tyson in! 1446 01:01:05,996 --> 01:01:08,081 [cheers and applause] 1447 01:01:08,165 --> 01:01:09,541 ‐ Shawn's always been a troublemaker, 1448 01:01:09,666 --> 01:01:12,002 he always wants to get in your face, talk [bleep]. 1449 01:01:12,127 --> 01:01:13,962 Even when he's on your team, he was talking. 1450 01:01:14,045 --> 01:01:16,923 He's an irritant, that's what he is. 1451 01:01:17,007 --> 01:01:22,804 Shawn, um, has sour grapes. 1452 01:01:22,929 --> 01:01:24,472 [cheers and applause] 1453 01:01:24,598 --> 01:01:26,474 ‐ Tyson! Tyson! 1454 01:01:26,600 --> 01:01:27,893 ‐ It was kind of a close blow, 1455 01:01:28,018 --> 01:01:33,690 'cause Shawn was pretty much out for a little while. 1456 01:01:33,815 --> 01:01:35,692 ‐ Tyson takes the Austin 3:16 shirt 1457 01:01:35,775 --> 01:01:37,777 and lays it across Shawn's chest. 1458 01:01:37,861 --> 01:01:39,654 This was adding insult to injury, 1459 01:01:39,779 --> 01:01:41,823 and this was rubbing salt in the wound. 1460 01:01:41,907 --> 01:01:43,909 I would have been pissed too. 1461 01:01:44,034 --> 01:01:45,994 ‐ Not exactly the screw job, 1462 01:01:46,077 --> 01:01:48,747 but it was them getting the last laugh 1463 01:01:48,872 --> 01:01:51,666 as far as, you know, "Good, little prick, 1464 01:01:51,791 --> 01:01:53,210 "you put us through hell this week, 1465 01:01:53,335 --> 01:01:55,420 but we're at least gonna get you going out the door." 1466 01:01:55,503 --> 01:01:57,797 ‐ The new WWE Champion, 1467 01:01:57,839 --> 01:02:00,133 Stone Cold Steve Austin. 1468 01:02:00,258 --> 01:02:01,509 [applause] 1469 01:02:01,593 --> 01:02:03,803 He was going to that press conference 1470 01:02:03,929 --> 01:02:06,389 to just let everybody know I'm pissed off. 1471 01:02:06,514 --> 01:02:10,435 He walked in the door and he yelled some stuff. 1472 01:02:10,518 --> 01:02:11,811 ‐ Oh, yeah. It's [bleep] up. 1473 01:02:11,937 --> 01:02:13,855 It was just‐‐it's selfish and it's stupid, 1474 01:02:13,980 --> 01:02:17,859 but, you know, that's where he was at that time. 1475 01:02:17,984 --> 01:02:20,820 ‐ Shawn is suffering from ruptured disc 1476 01:02:20,904 --> 01:02:23,573 as we speak, and will not participate 1477 01:02:23,698 --> 01:02:25,158 at this press conference. 1478 01:02:25,242 --> 01:02:28,536 Nonetheless, he participated, uh, in the arena 1479 01:02:28,662 --> 01:02:30,163 in an extraordinary way, 1480 01:02:30,247 --> 01:02:31,581 and there is no athlete in the world 1481 01:02:31,665 --> 01:02:35,418 that can say they can do what Shawn Michaels does. 1482 01:02:35,502 --> 01:02:36,211 [dramatic music] 1483 01:02:40,507 --> 01:02:43,301 [soft music] 1484 01:02:43,385 --> 01:02:45,637 ‐ I got on the plane the next morning 1485 01:02:45,762 --> 01:02:49,808 and went home and began to, I don't know, 1486 01:02:49,849 --> 01:02:52,018 let it all sort of sink in. 1487 01:02:52,143 --> 01:02:53,520 It takes some time 1488 01:02:53,645 --> 01:02:57,357 before it goes from being time off to the reality 1489 01:02:57,482 --> 01:03:00,944 of how exactly is the rest of your life gonna go 1490 01:03:01,027 --> 01:03:04,364 when you're done at 33? 1491 01:03:04,489 --> 01:03:07,450 Okay, see if I can get one done here. 1492 01:03:07,534 --> 01:03:09,202 All they knew at the time 1493 01:03:09,286 --> 01:03:12,330 was stuff like that, you don't recover from, 1494 01:03:12,455 --> 01:03:14,624 people don't get back in the ring and wrestle again. 1495 01:03:14,708 --> 01:03:15,959 The thing is, 1496 01:03:16,084 --> 01:03:19,796 I can't keep coming out here week after week after week 1497 01:03:19,879 --> 01:03:21,298 going back and forth with all this. 1498 01:03:21,381 --> 01:03:23,967 I get to get busy with my rehab‐‐ 1499 01:03:24,050 --> 01:03:25,635 My physical therapy. 1500 01:03:25,719 --> 01:03:28,513 My physical therapy for my back. 1501 01:03:28,596 --> 01:03:29,597 [sighs] 1502 01:03:29,681 --> 01:03:33,059 Now I've got a legitimate reason to have pain pills 1503 01:03:33,184 --> 01:03:37,731 and I've got a prescription and everything else. 1504 01:03:37,856 --> 01:03:39,190 I just wanna be a pro wrestler. 1505 01:03:39,316 --> 01:03:41,484 That's what I was trying to go back to. 1506 01:03:41,568 --> 01:03:45,530 So I began to start the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy. 1507 01:03:45,655 --> 01:03:47,824 We had a couple of rings, I had a little workout room. 1508 01:03:47,907 --> 01:03:50,952 There were a couple of guys that came through my school 1509 01:03:51,036 --> 01:03:53,830 that went on to have WWE success. 1510 01:03:53,913 --> 01:03:55,582 It was a great experience, it really was. 1511 01:03:55,707 --> 01:03:59,336 I did it for about two and a half, three years. 1512 01:03:59,461 --> 01:04:03,506 So I'm at home, and I'm watching TV, 1513 01:04:03,631 --> 01:04:04,799 and then all of a sudden 1514 01:04:04,883 --> 01:04:06,343 the introduction of this new Nitro Girl. 1515 01:04:06,468 --> 01:04:10,055 ‐ Tampa Bay girl herself, Whisper. 1516 01:04:10,180 --> 01:04:15,018 And she's out there with this chair, 1517 01:04:15,143 --> 01:04:20,106 just doing this dance, and it's captivating. 1518 01:04:20,190 --> 01:04:23,526 And she's absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. 1519 01:04:23,651 --> 01:04:25,779 [soft music] 1520 01:04:25,862 --> 01:04:27,405 ‐ We were at a rehearsal 1521 01:04:27,489 --> 01:04:29,157 and one of the Nitro Girls, Spice, 1522 01:04:29,240 --> 01:04:31,368 had mentioned to me that a man named Shawn Michaels, 1523 01:04:31,451 --> 01:04:33,953 a former wrestler, wanted to meet me 1524 01:04:34,037 --> 01:04:35,830 and that was the first time I'd ever heard of him. 1525 01:04:35,914 --> 01:04:36,998 I called her up. 1526 01:04:37,082 --> 01:04:38,875 We probably talked for three hours 1527 01:04:38,958 --> 01:04:40,668 on the phone each night for two weeks. 1528 01:04:40,794 --> 01:04:42,670 ‐ Two weeks of talking and emailing, 1529 01:04:42,754 --> 01:04:46,716 and then I flew out to San Antonio to see him, 1530 01:04:46,841 --> 01:04:49,010 and we dated for about two weeks. 1531 01:04:49,094 --> 01:04:50,637 After that he told me he loved me, 1532 01:04:50,720 --> 01:04:51,888 and I told him I loved him. 1533 01:04:52,013 --> 01:04:53,973 Two weeks after that, we got married. 1534 01:04:54,057 --> 01:04:57,769 ‐ It was the Graceland Wedding Chapel, yeah. Yeah. 1535 01:04:57,852 --> 01:04:59,729 You know, an Elvis impersonator 1536 01:04:59,854 --> 01:05:00,772 walking down the aisle. 1537 01:05:00,855 --> 01:05:02,732 [humming] 1538 01:05:02,857 --> 01:05:04,234 It was fantastic. 1539 01:05:04,359 --> 01:05:08,154 It was just the greatest‐‐ the greatest thing ever. 1540 01:05:08,279 --> 01:05:12,492 There was one evening where my pills have kicked in, 1541 01:05:12,617 --> 01:05:15,328 and I'm out of it. 1542 01:05:15,412 --> 01:05:17,455 ‐ Shawn was in tremendous pain. 1543 01:05:17,539 --> 01:05:19,958 When he would take the muscle relaxers, 1544 01:05:20,041 --> 01:05:24,546 he would usually pass out over his food. 1545 01:05:24,629 --> 01:05:27,006 The very first time that Shawn ever did that 1546 01:05:27,132 --> 01:05:28,299 was when we were first married, 1547 01:05:28,383 --> 01:05:30,009 so it was a bit of a shock to me. 1548 01:05:30,093 --> 01:05:31,511 So I got him in the shower, 1549 01:05:31,636 --> 01:05:33,430 'cause he had spilled food all over his chest, 1550 01:05:33,513 --> 01:05:38,017 and I would say it probably happened a couple times a week. 1551 01:05:38,101 --> 01:05:40,937 ‐ The worst time, again, 1552 01:05:41,020 --> 01:05:43,815 was when she was eight months pregnant 1553 01:05:43,898 --> 01:05:45,233 and she's doing everything she can, 1554 01:05:45,316 --> 01:05:46,860 at eight months pregnant with her belly, 1555 01:05:46,985 --> 01:05:49,779 trying to hold me up. 1556 01:05:49,863 --> 01:05:51,239 ‐ I took pity on him, 1557 01:05:51,364 --> 01:05:53,491 and I just prayed for him, is all I could do. 1558 01:05:53,616 --> 01:05:55,326 But it didn't make me think, you know, 1559 01:05:55,410 --> 01:05:57,203 "What in the world have I gotten into?" 1560 01:05:57,287 --> 01:06:00,206 If I was fearful, I was fearful for our unborn child. 1561 01:06:00,290 --> 01:06:03,835 And I hoped that it would end whenever the baby was born, 1562 01:06:03,960 --> 01:06:06,254 and it didn't. 1563 01:06:06,337 --> 01:06:11,426 ‐ Here in Cleveland, Ohio, we will make history. 1564 01:06:11,509 --> 01:06:13,803 ‐ I don't remember why Shawn was there. 1565 01:06:13,928 --> 01:06:17,056 He must have been some doing something in the show. 1566 01:06:17,182 --> 01:06:21,936 We all go, me, Taker, Rock, Vince is in the ring. 1567 01:06:22,020 --> 01:06:23,688 "Now I own WCW." 1568 01:06:23,813 --> 01:06:28,318 Shawn is messed up, pilled up. 1569 01:06:28,401 --> 01:06:31,654 So this is a celebratory moment. 1570 01:06:31,779 --> 01:06:36,367 He's belligerent, loud, falling down, staggering, 1571 01:06:36,493 --> 01:06:42,040 Vince calls him in, tells him, "Go home, I'm done with you." 1572 01:06:42,165 --> 01:06:44,501 Shawn goes ballistic. 1573 01:06:44,584 --> 01:06:47,962 Walks by me in the hallway, just goes off. 1574 01:06:48,046 --> 01:06:51,007 ‐ You know, I went 1575 01:06:51,132 --> 01:06:54,010 and browbeat Hunter unfairly, obviously. 1576 01:06:54,135 --> 01:06:56,513 ‐ And I just went off back, 1577 01:06:56,596 --> 01:06:59,849 you know, in his face, screaming match back and forth, 1578 01:06:59,933 --> 01:07:01,267 and he storms out. 1579 01:07:01,351 --> 01:07:02,560 ‐ Now that's another one that makes me cry. 1580 01:07:02,685 --> 01:07:04,646 I went and said some mean stuff to him 1581 01:07:04,771 --> 01:07:06,439 and walked out. 1582 01:07:06,523 --> 01:07:10,026 And, you know, 1583 01:07:10,151 --> 01:07:12,487 that sucks as well. 1584 01:07:13,988 --> 01:07:18,826 ‐ And I don't talk to him for a long time. 1585 01:07:18,910 --> 01:07:22,080 ‐ We didn't speak, I don't know, 1586 01:07:22,205 --> 01:07:25,166 I mean I would think at least a year, two years. 1587 01:07:25,250 --> 01:07:28,586 It was, what do they call it, the rock bottom. 1588 01:07:28,670 --> 01:07:31,881 [dramatic music] 1589 01:07:32,882 --> 01:07:36,302 [indistinct chatter] 1590 01:07:36,386 --> 01:07:39,055 ‐ Our son was at the age to where he was, 1591 01:07:39,180 --> 01:07:41,641 you know, walking around, more aware of things, 1592 01:07:41,683 --> 01:07:43,184 and it was the night 1593 01:07:43,309 --> 01:07:45,019 when Shawn had fallen asleep on the couch‐‐ 1594 01:07:45,144 --> 01:07:46,145 a drug‐induced sleep‐‐ 1595 01:07:46,229 --> 01:07:48,064 with our son climbing all over him 1596 01:07:48,189 --> 01:07:49,566 and saying, "Daddy's asleep." 1597 01:07:49,691 --> 01:07:51,484 ‐ To me, the biggest thing again 1598 01:07:51,568 --> 01:07:54,153 was Cameron saying, "Daddy's tired." 1599 01:07:54,237 --> 01:07:56,281 And it sort of dawning on me 1600 01:07:56,364 --> 01:07:59,075 that he was now being able to recognize 1601 01:07:59,200 --> 01:08:02,745 clearly my state of mind. 1602 01:08:02,829 --> 01:08:05,373 I went into the bathroom and closed the door. 1603 01:08:05,456 --> 01:08:07,166 Looking at yourself in the mirror 1604 01:08:07,250 --> 01:08:09,168 and, you know, 1605 01:08:09,252 --> 01:08:12,046 I sat there and cried like a baby and wept, 1606 01:08:12,171 --> 01:08:15,008 you know, realizing that you are failing, 1607 01:08:15,133 --> 01:08:17,260 you know, a two‐year‐old little boy. 1608 01:08:17,343 --> 01:08:19,220 And all of those things 1609 01:08:19,345 --> 01:08:22,515 sort of came crashing down that night, 1610 01:08:22,640 --> 01:08:26,060 and I just‐‐it's the first time I ever feel 1611 01:08:26,144 --> 01:08:28,479 like such a frickin' failure. 1612 01:08:28,605 --> 01:08:30,106 And I think that that was the last straw for him, 1613 01:08:30,189 --> 01:08:32,817 and when he woke up the next morning, 1614 01:08:32,900 --> 01:08:35,945 he told me he was never taking pills or drinking again, 1615 01:08:36,029 --> 01:08:37,989 and from that point, he didn't. 1616 01:08:38,072 --> 01:08:39,991 It was an instantaneous letting go 1617 01:08:40,074 --> 01:08:41,534 of the drugs and alcohol. 1618 01:08:41,659 --> 01:08:43,369 ‐ I just called him up out of the clear blue, 1619 01:08:43,494 --> 01:08:46,539 I just asked him when the last time he talked to Paul, 1620 01:08:46,664 --> 01:08:51,711 and, um, he just avoided that situation. 1621 01:08:51,836 --> 01:08:56,924 I just said, "Man, you're wrong, you got to call him." 1622 01:08:57,008 --> 01:08:58,593 I called Hunter and let him know, 1623 01:08:58,676 --> 01:09:02,680 you know, how sorry I was and how out of line I was. 1624 01:09:02,805 --> 01:09:04,807 And I said, "I hope you can forgive me." 1625 01:09:04,932 --> 01:09:07,143 I needed that from Hunter. 1626 01:09:07,226 --> 01:09:09,479 For me, it was easy, like, I didn't‐‐ 1627 01:09:09,562 --> 01:09:11,981 as long as it wasn't drugs talking to me. 1628 01:09:12,065 --> 01:09:13,650 ‐ It's good to see you. 1629 01:09:13,691 --> 01:09:14,651 [patting] 1630 01:09:14,776 --> 01:09:15,652 ‐ Group hug. 1631 01:09:15,777 --> 01:09:18,279 ‐ Of course, I do regret the pain 1632 01:09:18,363 --> 01:09:20,281 that it caused people in my life, 1633 01:09:20,365 --> 01:09:23,076 but there is a part of that that I don't think 1634 01:09:23,201 --> 01:09:27,288 that Michael Shawn Hickenbottom can get 1635 01:09:27,372 --> 01:09:29,582 to where he got creatively 1636 01:09:29,707 --> 01:09:34,671 without a little bit of that reckless, risky mindset. 1637 01:09:34,796 --> 01:09:38,758 I wouldn't have had the guts to do it. 1638 01:09:38,841 --> 01:09:41,219 ‐ It was our first Christmas together, 1639 01:09:41,344 --> 01:09:43,429 and I gave Shawn a Bible and some other books, 1640 01:09:43,513 --> 01:09:45,348 and he began reading them. 1641 01:09:45,473 --> 01:09:48,976 ‐ I had never had anything that I could grasp 1642 01:09:49,060 --> 01:09:51,312 that was bigger than the wrestling business. 1643 01:09:51,396 --> 01:09:55,566 That's just not enough to base, I don't know, a life on. 1644 01:09:56,651 --> 01:09:59,153 ‐ I worked at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. 1645 01:09:59,237 --> 01:10:02,031 All of a sudden I heard a deep voice said, 1646 01:10:02,115 --> 01:10:04,450 "I want to come to a Bible study." 1647 01:10:04,534 --> 01:10:06,577 And then I got up from my desk 1648 01:10:06,703 --> 01:10:08,830 and stuck my head out the door, 1649 01:10:08,913 --> 01:10:10,748 and I said, "Well, you can come to mine." 1650 01:10:10,873 --> 01:10:12,917 When he left, everybody came out and said, 1651 01:10:12,959 --> 01:10:14,585 "Do you know who that was?" 1652 01:10:14,669 --> 01:10:16,212 I said, "No, I don't know who that was, who was it?" 1653 01:10:16,337 --> 01:10:17,630 And they said, "Shawn Michaels," 1654 01:10:17,714 --> 01:10:19,674 and I said, "Well, who's Shawn Michaels?" 1655 01:10:22,093 --> 01:10:23,553 He said, "Well, first, Keith, 1656 01:10:23,678 --> 01:10:26,305 I want you to pray for my back." 1657 01:10:26,389 --> 01:10:28,057 He says, "I've been out of wrestling 1658 01:10:28,182 --> 01:10:29,308 and I want to go back." 1659 01:10:29,392 --> 01:10:31,060 I said, "Well, there's a simple prayer 1660 01:10:31,144 --> 01:10:32,478 that we can pray together." 1661 01:10:32,603 --> 01:10:34,981 And while he was saying that prayer, 1662 01:10:35,064 --> 01:10:38,359 tears just come out of his eyes. 1663 01:10:38,484 --> 01:10:40,486 ‐ I got nobody to blame but me, 1664 01:10:40,570 --> 01:10:43,489 and I don't have anything in common with the other dude, 1665 01:10:43,573 --> 01:10:45,408 and I don't know how I got that way. 1666 01:10:45,533 --> 01:10:48,244 It wasn't from family. It wasn't from upbringing. 1667 01:10:48,327 --> 01:10:50,079 ‐ He was so desperate 1668 01:10:50,163 --> 01:10:54,208 to get back in that close relationship with Rebecca 1669 01:10:54,333 --> 01:10:55,918 and his son. 1670 01:10:56,002 --> 01:10:57,795 ‐ I was now a dad, I was a husband, 1671 01:10:57,837 --> 01:11:03,134 and I was really devoted and thrilled about that. 1672 01:11:03,259 --> 01:11:04,469 ‐ You're like a child, 1673 01:11:04,594 --> 01:11:07,346 you just want to tell everybody, "I've been saved." 1674 01:11:14,312 --> 01:11:15,980 ‐ Once Shawn got his life together 1675 01:11:16,022 --> 01:11:18,232 and found Christ, it was night and day. 1676 01:11:18,316 --> 01:11:19,692 When he looks back at his life, 1677 01:11:19,776 --> 01:11:22,153 that's the biggest thing that he ever did. 1678 01:11:22,236 --> 01:11:23,529 ‐ You were dealing with the grownup 1679 01:11:23,654 --> 01:11:24,906 when Shawn came back, 1680 01:11:25,031 --> 01:11:27,825 someone who was there to do business. 1681 01:11:27,909 --> 01:11:31,162 Shawn was a lot calmer and much easier to deal with. 1682 01:11:31,245 --> 01:11:32,830 ‐ Shawn Michaels of old 1683 01:11:32,955 --> 01:11:34,582 is very different from Shawn Hickenbottom, 1684 01:11:34,707 --> 01:11:35,917 the man I married. 1685 01:11:36,000 --> 01:11:37,960 The sexy boy and all that kinda stuff, 1686 01:11:38,002 --> 01:11:39,253 and his cocky attitude 1687 01:11:39,337 --> 01:11:41,130 and the cocky little smile that he does. 1688 01:11:41,214 --> 01:11:45,301 That's so far from who he really is. 1689 01:11:45,426 --> 01:11:47,011 ‐ I remember somebody asking me, 1690 01:11:47,136 --> 01:11:50,556 they said, you know, "Hey, I heard Shawn found religion." 1691 01:11:50,640 --> 01:11:52,058 Yeah. They laughed, 1692 01:11:52,141 --> 01:11:56,979 and I said, "I don't anybody that died OD'ing on religion." 1693 01:11:57,104 --> 01:11:58,648 ‐ He had called Triple H. 1694 01:11:58,731 --> 01:12:01,818 He thanked Hunter for the time on the road 1695 01:12:01,901 --> 01:12:04,695 because before his marriage to me, 1696 01:12:04,821 --> 01:12:08,449 the one who took care of him was Hunter. 1697 01:12:08,533 --> 01:12:10,993 That night, after Shawn had gone to bed, 1698 01:12:11,077 --> 01:12:14,747 he woke up in the morning and the pain was gone in his back. 1699 01:12:14,872 --> 01:12:16,749 It was definitely a miracle. 1700 01:12:16,833 --> 01:12:19,710 So, he was physically ready to go back in the ring, 1701 01:12:19,836 --> 01:12:24,048 and I knew that the Lord would take care of him. 1702 01:12:24,173 --> 01:12:25,716 ‐ We were kind of having conversations 1703 01:12:25,800 --> 01:12:27,718 at the time, and then he said, 1704 01:12:27,844 --> 01:12:29,262 "I want my son to see me do this one time," 1705 01:12:29,345 --> 01:12:30,805 he said, "But I don't know that I can do it, 1706 01:12:30,888 --> 01:12:32,723 I don't know physically if I can or not," 1707 01:12:32,807 --> 01:12:34,308 and he said, "If I'm going to, 1708 01:12:34,392 --> 01:12:37,436 I only trust one person, that's you. 1709 01:12:37,520 --> 01:12:40,481 If you consider it, I would love to do it. 1710 01:12:40,565 --> 01:12:44,402 What do you think?" 1711 01:12:44,527 --> 01:12:48,030 ‐ Moments away from the non‐sanctioned fight 1712 01:12:48,155 --> 01:12:51,659 between two men who were, at one time, best friends, 1713 01:12:51,701 --> 01:12:53,786 Shawn Michaels and Triple H. 1714 01:12:53,870 --> 01:12:59,375 Shawn Michaels last wrestled 1,609 days ago, 1715 01:12:59,500 --> 01:13:02,044 if you can believe that. 1716 01:13:02,169 --> 01:13:03,337 ‐ His whole family was there. 1717 01:13:03,421 --> 01:13:06,048 You know, they were all scared to death. 1718 01:13:06,173 --> 01:13:07,842 Got in the ring, did a couple of things. 1719 01:13:07,967 --> 01:13:09,635 [bell rings] 1720 01:13:09,719 --> 01:13:12,722 Never missed a beat, not a moment, not an anything. 1721 01:13:12,847 --> 01:13:14,724 ‐ I was on my chair like a redneck, 1722 01:13:14,807 --> 01:13:16,517 just screaming and yelling for him. 1723 01:13:16,601 --> 01:13:17,894 Of course, I cried at the end. 1724 01:13:17,977 --> 01:13:19,478 ‐ Like, how is this possible, 1725 01:13:19,604 --> 01:13:24,525 that he is this good still, after all that time 1726 01:13:24,609 --> 01:13:28,821 and injury and everything else? Unbelievable. 1727 01:13:28,905 --> 01:13:32,783 ‐ It was just as easy as the day is long, 1728 01:13:32,867 --> 01:13:34,660 it was poetic, it was phenomenal, 1729 01:13:34,744 --> 01:13:38,205 it was everything that is right and good about the world 1730 01:13:38,289 --> 01:13:41,334 in this line of work, and, you know, my family there, 1731 01:13:41,417 --> 01:13:42,960 out there with my best friend. 1732 01:13:43,085 --> 01:13:50,134 ‐ The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels! 1733 01:13:50,217 --> 01:13:51,802 ‐ After the Summerslam, 1734 01:13:51,886 --> 01:13:54,221 that's when there was a sense of peace and joy 1735 01:13:54,347 --> 01:13:56,807 in the midst of doing your job and your family, 1736 01:13:56,933 --> 01:14:01,270 combining these two worlds that I've never had together, 1737 01:14:01,354 --> 01:14:02,939 and I'm not even the same person. 1738 01:14:03,022 --> 01:14:06,525 And now, and it all feels so right. 1739 01:14:06,609 --> 01:14:07,735 That's as good as it gets, you know, 1740 01:14:07,818 --> 01:14:10,488 it's heaven on Earth here in this room. 1741 01:14:10,571 --> 01:14:12,990 ‐ Shawn Michaels changed completely 1742 01:14:13,115 --> 01:14:14,367 as a human being. 1743 01:14:14,492 --> 01:14:16,243 And somehow, as a character, 1744 01:14:16,369 --> 01:14:21,874 he managed to keep a lot of the aura that he always had. 1745 01:14:21,999 --> 01:14:26,587 I could argue that Shawn was at his best after he came back. 1746 01:14:26,671 --> 01:14:29,757 [cheers and applause] 1747 01:14:29,840 --> 01:14:31,634 ‐ To me, 1748 01:14:31,717 --> 01:14:36,222 the greatest in‐ring performer 1749 01:14:36,347 --> 01:14:38,307 of all time. 1750 01:14:39,642 --> 01:14:41,560 [soft music] 1751 01:14:41,644 --> 01:14:43,729 ‐ It gets more difficult 1752 01:14:43,854 --> 01:14:46,023 to find a new mountain, a new challenge. 1753 01:14:46,148 --> 01:14:48,651 Sometimes that mountain or that new challenge 1754 01:14:48,693 --> 01:14:49,860 just isn't there. 1755 01:14:49,944 --> 01:14:51,404 And so later on in my career, I learned that 1756 01:14:51,529 --> 01:14:54,281 when I disconnect from it, something will usually happen, 1757 01:14:54,365 --> 01:14:56,158 and, you know, the one with Flair 1758 01:14:56,200 --> 01:14:59,328 is the one I honestly always speak of. 1759 01:14:59,453 --> 01:15:01,914 Remember the story of Old Yeller? 1760 01:15:01,998 --> 01:15:05,126 The Showstopper's gonna take you, Old Yeller, 1761 01:15:05,209 --> 01:15:10,339 behind the woodshed and put you out of your misery. 1762 01:15:10,464 --> 01:15:14,510 I lost myself in that drama. [laughs] 1763 01:15:14,635 --> 01:15:16,012 I get a call from my buddy, Kenny, 1764 01:15:16,137 --> 01:15:17,888 who's now been made aware of the match. 1765 01:15:18,014 --> 01:15:19,890 It's like, oh my goodness, he said, "Can you believe it?" 1766 01:15:20,016 --> 01:15:23,811 ‐ It was overwhelming to think that the guy that we idolized 1767 01:15:23,853 --> 01:15:27,606 that we would watch a little TV box in San Antonio, Texas, 1768 01:15:27,690 --> 01:15:30,276 somehow their lives were going to interconnect. 1769 01:15:30,359 --> 01:15:33,195 Ric was his guy. He absolutely loved Ric Flair. 1770 01:15:33,279 --> 01:15:36,365 ‐ Kenny took me back to that time. 1771 01:15:39,744 --> 01:15:43,247 ‐ This was why I went from New York to Orlando, 1772 01:15:43,372 --> 01:15:46,167 was to see this moment. 1773 01:15:46,208 --> 01:15:47,209 [bell rings] 1774 01:15:47,293 --> 01:15:48,753 ‐ Now in this match, 1775 01:15:48,836 --> 01:15:53,382 should Ric Flair lose, he must retire. 1776 01:15:53,466 --> 01:15:54,759 ‐ I remember feeling 1777 01:15:54,842 --> 01:15:56,802 like the way Ric Flair started this match, 1778 01:15:56,927 --> 01:15:59,805 that he had a chance. 1779 01:15:59,930 --> 01:16:02,224 [grunts] 1780 01:16:02,308 --> 01:16:04,977 ‐ There's no other way to put it‐‐he carried me. 1781 01:16:05,061 --> 01:16:08,564 He gave everything that anybody could ever give 1782 01:16:08,689 --> 01:16:10,232 to a match that night. 1783 01:16:10,316 --> 01:16:13,194 ‐ Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, look out. 1784 01:16:13,319 --> 01:16:15,613 Good grief! 1785 01:16:15,696 --> 01:16:17,573 Oh, not again! 1786 01:16:17,656 --> 01:16:18,866 ‐ It becomes clear 1787 01:16:18,991 --> 01:16:22,244 that Ric Flair just doesn't have enough. 1788 01:16:22,328 --> 01:16:25,247 I love this part, I could tear up talking about it. 1789 01:16:25,372 --> 01:16:28,292 Flair, like an old dog, still fighting, 1790 01:16:28,375 --> 01:16:30,127 he thinks he still has it. 1791 01:16:30,211 --> 01:16:34,131 And that's when Shawn sort of has to have that moment 1792 01:16:34,256 --> 01:16:36,634 where he says, "I'm sorry, I love you." 1793 01:16:36,759 --> 01:16:38,761 ‐ Flair wants to fight. 1794 01:16:38,844 --> 01:16:40,971 ‐ And just turns the lights out. 1795 01:16:41,055 --> 01:16:46,477 It was as beautiful and perfect an ending to a wrestling match 1796 01:16:46,602 --> 01:16:48,479 as you will ever have. 1797 01:16:48,521 --> 01:16:50,898 ‐ He knew I didn't want to go, 1798 01:16:51,023 --> 01:16:53,734 and he said, "I love you." 1799 01:16:53,818 --> 01:16:54,902 It's a great moment in wrestling. 1800 01:16:54,985 --> 01:16:56,737 I don't care what anyone says, 1801 01:16:56,821 --> 01:16:59,782 you can't replace something like that. 1802 01:16:59,865 --> 01:17:01,158 ‐ Unashamed 1803 01:17:01,242 --> 01:17:03,619 that it was my love letter to, you know, 1804 01:17:03,702 --> 01:17:07,706 the wrestling business and to Ric Flair. 1805 01:17:12,336 --> 01:17:16,173 ‐ It is show day, and we're off to the shi‐zow. 1806 01:17:16,257 --> 01:17:19,760 I've been doing this for 35 years, 1807 01:17:19,844 --> 01:17:20,970 and days like today, 1808 01:17:21,053 --> 01:17:22,930 it's a different kind of anxiety that I have now. 1809 01:17:23,013 --> 01:17:24,765 I have anxiety for the performers 1810 01:17:24,849 --> 01:17:26,892 for the entire show as a whole. 1811 01:17:27,017 --> 01:17:29,186 For me it's just all fantastic, 1812 01:17:29,311 --> 01:17:31,522 especially when it goes well for them, 1813 01:17:31,647 --> 01:17:33,023 and they come back and they're jacked. 1814 01:17:33,107 --> 01:17:34,900 It's ten times better than‐‐ 1815 01:17:35,025 --> 01:17:36,652 than when I had that opportunity. 1816 01:17:36,777 --> 01:17:38,696 This is where I'm supposed to be. 1817 01:17:38,821 --> 01:17:41,740 I absolutely love it. 1818 01:17:43,367 --> 01:17:45,536 [soft music] 1819 01:17:45,619 --> 01:17:46,871 ‐ What moment would you say 1820 01:17:46,996 --> 01:17:49,081 you're most proud of, and then by the same token, 1821 01:17:49,165 --> 01:17:51,041 what moment would you say you are least proud of? 1822 01:17:51,167 --> 01:17:52,585 ‐ Most proud I guess would be 1823 01:17:52,668 --> 01:17:54,128 winning the world title. 1824 01:17:54,211 --> 01:17:57,715 And least proud would probably be the Montreal incident. 1825 01:17:57,840 --> 01:18:00,676 One is everything you aspire to do, 1826 01:18:00,801 --> 01:18:02,219 and the other is the complete opposite. 1827 01:18:02,344 --> 01:18:05,139 Something you really don't want to be a part of. 1828 01:18:05,264 --> 01:18:08,809 It's the long‐term guilt, it's the shame, 1829 01:18:08,893 --> 01:18:11,687 it's the loathing that you know this person has for you. 1830 01:18:11,812 --> 01:18:13,522 ‐ There was so much bad blood between us, 1831 01:18:13,647 --> 01:18:18,110 and I was always like, if I see him, I'll kill him. 1832 01:18:18,194 --> 01:18:20,654 I've always believed that I had so much anger, 1833 01:18:20,779 --> 01:18:22,281 that I think it led to my stroke 1834 01:18:22,364 --> 01:18:23,991 and lot of things that I went through. 1835 01:18:24,116 --> 01:18:25,451 And I remember thinking about Shawn 1836 01:18:25,534 --> 01:18:27,703 and how we were good friends once upon a time, 1837 01:18:27,786 --> 01:18:29,997 and, you know, that it wasn't just Shawn. 1838 01:18:30,122 --> 01:18:31,373 I was guilty too. 1839 01:18:31,457 --> 01:18:33,959 And I remember thinking it'd be good to put it to bed. 1840 01:18:34,084 --> 01:18:36,503 ‐ And I've certainly talked about my regret 1841 01:18:36,629 --> 01:18:39,173 and the hope for reconciliation. 1842 01:18:39,298 --> 01:18:41,217 It took him some time to get there. 1843 01:18:41,342 --> 01:18:42,927 Vince had suggested there's gotta be a way 1844 01:18:43,010 --> 01:18:46,472 we can do this live, in front of the world. 1845 01:18:46,513 --> 01:18:48,098 ‐ I've got 12 years of things 1846 01:18:48,182 --> 01:18:49,391 that I've wanted to get off my chest. 1847 01:18:49,516 --> 01:18:50,768 I want to call back there 1848 01:18:50,851 --> 01:18:53,479 and ask Shawn Michaels to come out here. 1849 01:18:53,562 --> 01:18:55,147 I call for a truce, 1850 01:18:55,231 --> 01:18:57,233 and I call for you to shake my hand. 1851 01:18:57,358 --> 01:18:59,401 The fact that we did that in the ring 1852 01:18:59,485 --> 01:19:01,737 and we shook hands and all that was very honest 1853 01:19:01,862 --> 01:19:03,656 and very sincere. 1854 01:19:03,739 --> 01:19:05,407 ‐ You know that everybody's watching 1855 01:19:05,491 --> 01:19:06,742 when you are trying to have this very real moment 1856 01:19:06,867 --> 01:19:07,993 with one another. 1857 01:19:08,035 --> 01:19:09,745 Art does imitate life. 1858 01:19:09,870 --> 01:19:12,081 ‐ He's matured, and he's a different guy, 1859 01:19:12,206 --> 01:19:13,916 [cheers and applause] 1860 01:19:14,041 --> 01:19:15,167 and I thought he finally, you know, 1861 01:19:15,292 --> 01:19:16,919 he's got his priorities all in order. 1862 01:19:17,002 --> 01:19:19,213 [cheers and applause] 1863 01:19:19,296 --> 01:19:20,589 ‐ Welcome 1864 01:19:20,673 --> 01:19:23,467 to the 25th anniversary 1865 01:19:23,550 --> 01:19:27,805 of WrestleMania! 1866 01:19:27,888 --> 01:19:31,308 70,000 WWE fans. 1867 01:19:31,433 --> 01:19:34,311 ‐ By the time Shawn Michaels and Undertaker 1868 01:19:34,436 --> 01:19:36,814 meet at WrestleMania 25, they're veterans, 1869 01:19:36,897 --> 01:19:38,274 they've been around forever. 1870 01:19:38,357 --> 01:19:39,358 And somehow, 1871 01:19:39,483 --> 01:19:43,696 they're actually both in their absolute prime. 1872 01:19:43,821 --> 01:19:48,659 [ethereal music playing] 1873 01:19:48,742 --> 01:19:50,369 ‐ One of my favorite entrances, 1874 01:19:50,494 --> 01:19:51,870 Shawn as The Undertaker, 1875 01:19:51,954 --> 01:19:56,083 but in all white, ascending from the clouds. 1876 01:19:56,208 --> 01:20:01,964 Such a stark contrast to what I'm about to do. 1877 01:20:02,006 --> 01:20:05,426 It was the battle between heaven and hell. 1878 01:20:05,509 --> 01:20:06,760 ‐ Prior to 2002, 1879 01:20:06,844 --> 01:20:09,013 we did not have a great relationship. 1880 01:20:09,096 --> 01:20:11,181 We did not like each other outside the ring. 1881 01:20:11,307 --> 01:20:14,018 ‐ This guy, I genuinely liked now. 1882 01:20:14,101 --> 01:20:16,645 And it had been years and years and years 1883 01:20:16,770 --> 01:20:19,356 since we had worked together, 1884 01:20:19,440 --> 01:20:21,400 since the time that he had injured himself 1885 01:20:21,483 --> 01:20:22,985 in the casket match. 1886 01:20:23,068 --> 01:20:24,403 ‐ Unknown to us at the time, 1887 01:20:24,528 --> 01:20:27,656 we're about to create one of the most epic things ever done 1888 01:20:27,781 --> 01:20:29,325 in the wrestling business. 1889 01:20:29,408 --> 01:20:31,327 ‐ There's that brash arrogance. 1890 01:20:31,452 --> 01:20:36,582 70,000 chanting HBK the other half, Undertaker. 1891 01:20:36,665 --> 01:20:38,167 [audience screaming] 1892 01:20:38,208 --> 01:20:40,586 ‐ Ooh! ‐ Whoa! 1893 01:20:40,669 --> 01:20:43,672 [cheers and applause] 1894 01:20:43,756 --> 01:20:46,800 [triumphant music] 1895 01:20:46,884 --> 01:20:48,385 ‐ You know when you're in the middle 1896 01:20:48,510 --> 01:20:50,721 of something really special, and we did. 1897 01:20:50,846 --> 01:20:52,931 ‐ Incoming! 1898 01:20:53,015 --> 01:20:56,810 Tombstone piledriver. 1899 01:20:56,894 --> 01:21:00,481 1900 01:21:00,606 --> 01:21:04,318 [bell rings] 1901 01:21:04,443 --> 01:21:06,862 ‐ I just remember getting to Shawn, 1902 01:21:06,987 --> 01:21:09,114 and we just embraced, and hugged, 1903 01:21:09,198 --> 01:21:10,699 and thanked each other. 1904 01:21:10,824 --> 01:21:12,493 It was an awesome moment. 1905 01:21:12,576 --> 01:21:14,411 ‐ It was on the ride home the next day, 1906 01:21:14,495 --> 01:21:16,705 just settling into me that I just don't know 1907 01:21:16,789 --> 01:21:19,875 that I'm ever going to encounter, 1908 01:21:19,958 --> 01:21:21,960 from a performance standpoint, 1909 01:21:22,044 --> 01:21:24,129 anything greater than that thing 1910 01:21:24,254 --> 01:21:26,715 that I experienced last night. 1911 01:21:26,840 --> 01:21:28,509 ‐ There's only one match 1912 01:21:28,634 --> 01:21:31,220 that can be considered Match of the Year, 1913 01:21:31,303 --> 01:21:33,889 Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. 1914 01:21:33,972 --> 01:21:37,893 [rock music playing] 1915 01:21:38,018 --> 01:21:42,314 ‐ Undertaker, I can beat you. 1916 01:21:42,356 --> 01:21:49,029 You and me, WrestleMania, one more time. 1917 01:21:49,154 --> 01:21:52,449 [cheers and applause] 1918 01:21:52,533 --> 01:21:55,911 ‐ So, I remember tuning into WrestleMania 26. 1919 01:21:55,994 --> 01:21:57,746 I had a knot in my stomach 1920 01:21:57,871 --> 01:22:01,625 knowing that if Shawn Michaels wasn't able to win this one 1921 01:22:01,708 --> 01:22:03,043 that he would retire. 1922 01:22:03,168 --> 01:22:05,003 But it was a beautiful, artistic way 1923 01:22:05,129 --> 01:22:07,548 to end the career of Shawn Michaels. 1924 01:22:07,673 --> 01:22:13,178 [cheers and applause] 1925 01:22:13,303 --> 01:22:17,891 ‐ One, two, three! [bell dings] 1926 01:22:17,975 --> 01:22:22,980 ‐ Shawn Michaels' career is over. 1927 01:22:23,063 --> 01:22:24,648 ‐ My heart was broken. My heart was broken. 1928 01:22:24,731 --> 01:22:27,484 but I'm glad also that he got to leave on his own terms. 1929 01:22:27,568 --> 01:22:30,195 ‐ It was important that I get out of there 1930 01:22:30,320 --> 01:22:33,574 to let the fans show him the appreciation he deserved. 1931 01:22:33,699 --> 01:22:38,120 [cheers and applause] 1932 01:22:38,203 --> 01:22:40,205 ‐ I have to imagine that Tom Brady 1933 01:22:40,330 --> 01:22:43,625 and Michael Jordan, as much as they appreciate the fans, 1934 01:22:43,709 --> 01:22:46,336 I think more than anything it's about their teammates 1935 01:22:46,420 --> 01:22:49,673 and the people that they played that means the most to them. 1936 01:22:49,798 --> 01:22:52,593 [clapping] 1937 01:22:52,676 --> 01:22:54,595 [dramatic music] 1938 01:22:54,678 --> 01:22:57,139 A lot of time, there's still a chasing 1939 01:22:57,222 --> 01:22:58,515 of that last perfect one, 1940 01:22:58,640 --> 01:23:01,059 and that's why I'm so appreciative 1941 01:23:01,185 --> 01:23:03,312 that I can define some form of finish line. 1942 01:23:04,605 --> 01:23:06,607 There's two things that I thrive on, 1943 01:23:06,690 --> 01:23:07,941 it's two things that I'm in love with, 1944 01:23:08,025 --> 01:23:10,152 which is, you know, Rebecca and the kids, 1945 01:23:10,194 --> 01:23:11,570 and the wrestling business. 1946 01:23:11,653 --> 01:23:14,156 Oh, yeah, my team. 1947 01:23:14,281 --> 01:23:16,241 They're the two greatest loves of my life. 1948 01:23:16,366 --> 01:23:18,494 That's never changed. 1949 01:23:18,577 --> 01:23:21,205 [applause] 1950 01:23:22,748 --> 01:23:24,416 You've probably been to more ladder matches 1951 01:23:24,541 --> 01:23:27,336 than half the people in the ring, I would imagine. 1952 01:23:27,461 --> 01:23:29,087 [soft music] 1953 01:23:29,171 --> 01:23:31,715 And then stops, loads up the‐‐ 1954 01:23:31,840 --> 01:23:33,133 Whoa, he goes down. 1955 01:23:33,217 --> 01:23:35,969 ‐ It's awesome for me to have Shawn there. 1956 01:23:36,053 --> 01:23:37,513 I can tell you what he's thinking, 1957 01:23:37,638 --> 01:23:40,015 he can tell you what I'm thinking, 1958 01:23:40,098 --> 01:23:41,433 and there's a chemistry there. 1959 01:23:41,517 --> 01:23:42,476 We have this uncanny with each other. 1960 01:23:42,559 --> 01:23:44,311 ‐ There's just a little something in there 1961 01:23:44,353 --> 01:23:46,230 to do, just a small little‐‐ 1962 01:23:46,313 --> 01:23:48,023 ‐ Shawn's, you know, a legend 1963 01:23:48,148 --> 01:23:51,902 and for a legend to walk into an environment 1964 01:23:52,027 --> 01:23:52,903 full of performers. 1965 01:23:53,028 --> 01:23:54,446 ‐ Go get them, boys. [laughs] 1966 01:23:54,530 --> 01:23:56,907 ‐ They revere him so much. 1967 01:23:56,990 --> 01:23:59,326 ‐ Welcome to NXT Takeover. 1968 01:23:59,409 --> 01:24:02,329 There is the North American Championship. 1969 01:24:02,412 --> 01:24:04,206 Who will climb the ladder? 1970 01:24:04,289 --> 01:24:05,874 ‐ Shawn has been a role model 1971 01:24:05,958 --> 01:24:07,751 both in and out of the ring. 1972 01:24:07,834 --> 01:24:09,253 ‐ Ding, ding, ding. 1973 01:24:09,336 --> 01:24:10,963 ‐ I have so much respect for that man, 1974 01:24:11,088 --> 01:24:13,799 for not just what he's done for professional wrestling, 1975 01:24:13,882 --> 01:24:15,008 but for the type of person he is. 1976 01:24:15,133 --> 01:24:16,301 ‐ [laughs] 1977 01:24:16,426 --> 01:24:19,972 ‐ To me and so many others, he's the greatest. 1978 01:24:20,055 --> 01:24:22,015 [all exclaiming] 1979 01:24:22,140 --> 01:24:25,686 And it's insane how kind, generous, 1980 01:24:25,811 --> 01:24:26,770 and humble the guy is. 1981 01:24:26,853 --> 01:24:28,272 ‐ That is good stuff. 1982 01:24:28,355 --> 01:24:31,024 ‐ Sometimes I think he doesn't realize 1983 01:24:31,149 --> 01:24:32,067 that he's Shawn Michaels. 1984 01:24:32,192 --> 01:24:36,280 Step carefully. Whoa! Gee. 1985 01:24:38,031 --> 01:24:41,201 Oh, my God! 1986 01:24:41,285 --> 01:24:42,619 That was frickin' great! 1987 01:24:42,703 --> 01:24:45,414 When you said a tale of two lives, 1988 01:24:45,539 --> 01:24:49,960 that's what it's been. 1989 01:24:50,085 --> 01:24:52,129 Believe it or not, the same business 1990 01:24:52,212 --> 01:24:54,339 that might have almost killed me, 1991 01:24:54,423 --> 01:24:56,550 I think, is the same business that saved me. 1992 01:24:56,633 --> 01:24:58,343 No, you did a great job, phenomenal. 1993 01:24:58,468 --> 01:24:59,636 Thank you very much. 1994 01:24:59,720 --> 01:25:02,264 ‐ These guys are easy to work with, so‐‐ 1995 01:25:02,347 --> 01:25:05,392 ‐ I know I accomplished more than what I wanted. 1996 01:25:05,517 --> 01:25:08,145 I never lost touch with the 19‐year‐old dude 1997 01:25:08,270 --> 01:25:11,523 that was hoping to have a car and an apartment, 1998 01:25:11,607 --> 01:25:14,109 and be the Southwest Heavy weight champion. 1999 01:25:14,192 --> 01:25:16,486 A lot more has happened since then. 2000 01:25:16,570 --> 01:25:20,407 [applause] 2001 01:25:20,532 --> 01:25:22,659 Whoa! 2002 01:25:22,784 --> 01:25:24,703 Jiminy Cricket. 2003 01:25:24,828 --> 01:25:29,666 Holy Toledo. [laughs] 2004 01:25:29,708 --> 01:25:33,754 ‐ That's like the Shawn thing. That's like the Shawn dance. 2005 01:25:33,837 --> 01:25:36,965 ‐ Golly! 2006 01:25:37,049 --> 01:25:39,092 Frickin' awesome. 2007 01:25:39,176 --> 01:25:40,844 ‐ ♪ I'm just a sexy boy 2008 01:25:40,969 --> 01:25:43,347 ♪ Sexy boy 2009 01:25:43,430 --> 01:25:48,477 Oh, goodness gracious! That is good stuff.