Shawn Michaels ESPN interview - will he ever return?, when he decided to retire, "real" Vince McMahon, full-time schedule, much more
By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor
Retired former WWE wrestler Shawn Michaels covered plenty of ground on his WWE career during a 45-minute interview with Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. The following are highlights from a highly-recommended interview with Michaels.
-- Michaels said there is "absolutely no chance" he will return to pro wrestling for another match. Michaels retired after WrestleMania 26 earlier this year in his final match against The Undertaker.
Michaels added that he decided before WrestleMania 25 and the epic match against The Undertaker last year that he wanted to have his final match at WrestleMania 26.
"I understand the skepticism with that (retiring), but I wouldn't have left unless I was ready for it," Michaels said. "I made the decision the month before WrestleMania 25. I didn't know how it was going to look, but knew WrestleMania 26 would be the last one."
Michaels continued: "The company was behind it. The ending, the story, everything was perfect. You don't get a bunch of chances like that in life. To come back and have another match would taint that moment. I watched the NBC special (airing last Saturday night) and I cried. It was beautiful. I wanted to create beautiful moments. The last one was the most beautiful moment I've ever been part of. There's absolutely no way I'll ever ruin that."
Michaels summed up why he was satisfied with the WrestleMania 26 match with Undertaker as his send-off: "I felt like it was a perfect portrayal of me - Shawn Michaels, the character, whatever - and everything he encapsulated, which was just trying so hard to achieve greatness, dare I say perfection, but falling short."
Asked at the beginning of the interview if he's "getting the itch" again, especially with Summerslam this weekend, Michaels said definitely that's not the case. He added that he's glad to be "on the other side" where he doesn't have to be nervous about a big performance.
Michaels also said his retirement wasn't related to being physically banged up. He said his satisfaction in the ring was story-telling and not moves, so he felt the story was complete at WrestleMania 26.
"I could walk back in there tomorrow and smoke about 70 percent of the locker room," Michaels said, with a laugh. "Yes, I'm beat up, but I never made a decision based on that."
-- Regarding future stars in WWE, Michaels stressed that it takes time to develop the next wave of stars, especially forcing the audience to remove the thought of "it's just not the same" when watching a new product compared to a previous product.
Michaels recalled being part of the "New Generation" in the 1990s when he felt the Clique could take the ball and run with it if given the chance. He said he senses the same feeling with the newer stars in WWE.
Michaels endorsed Randy Orton and John Cena as the leaders of the next wave of talent. He said he sees Orton having the same personality he had coming up where he "almost takes the job too seriously," but is getting the handle on the mental, not the physical aspect of wrestling.
"The things Undertaker and I did, technically, we didn't really do any moves people didn't see before. It's the mental side, painting the picture. Connecting from emotional standpoint," he said. "Too many guys are thinking about the physical aspect of it."
-- On his favorite wrestlers to work with, Michaels expectantly named Taker and Triple H. "They're the only two guys that he could make a mistake with and it would be okay. I put the trust of the match, story, etc. in their hands and let go of my control freakiness."
-- Asked about whether WWE needs to be reduced from a "12-month sport" to having an off-season or mandatory time off, Michaels hedged and suggested wrestlers should be in a position where they can ask for time off at any point and not fear losing a "spot."
"I'm a soldier. Maybe in the ring with another guy, I'm the general. I don't envy having to make those decisions. I know there's this unbelievable dynamic that is weekly TV, that is PPVs, shareholders, board members going, 'What about this?' I don't envy Vince (McMahon for having to balance all that," he said.
"As a performer, everyone used to joke with me that after WrestleMania, you're taking the summer off. I hear the complaints of, 'Well, you're Shawn Michaels. You can do that.' And losing their spot - I left for four years and when I came back, people told me, 'You have to reintroduce yourself.' Shawn Michaels didn't lose a spot; Shawn Michaels is a spot. It ruffles people the wrong way, but if guys go about their business the right way - the guys in the locker room don't control your ability, you control your ability."
-- Staying on the topic of wrestler health, Michaels was asked if bumps went too far in the 1990s when wrestlers were trying to top each other every night "raising the bar." Michaels said he thinks it's just part of their DNA as competitors and athletes. Michaels opted not to evaluate the potential risks that posed with wrestlers taking dangerous bumps that add up over time.
-- The interview concluded with Michaels describing Vince McMahon from his perspective after working with him for 25 years.
"I know the real man. I know the text that he sent me after that (NBC) special and he's a good man. People don't know him. It's why I walked through fire and walls for him. Not because he's some sort of crazed Hitler, but because there is a decent dude there," Michaels said. "He's got tough, tough decisions to make. I've watched him make them, weep, and struggle. I've seen him and walked with him for 25 years. That's my opinion of him. I will always be a WWE guy and proudly say it. I am a former WWE Superstar and damn proud of it."
-- Michaels also talked in-depth about his early days in WWE, the Montreal Screwjob and where he was personally at the time, his excruciating pain at WrestleMania 14 when he walked away from wrestling the first time due to injury, how his Christian faith has changed him and how the events in his life point to his faith, and many more topics.