WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has opened up about the two kayfabe-shattering embraces he participated in, recalling the iconic Kliq curtain call and his emotional moment with Undertaker and Triple H in conversation with Inside The Ropes‘ Lead Writer Gary Cassidy.
Michaels would remember the infamous “curtain call” as simply saying goodbye to his friends – dubbing them “family” due to the amount of time they spent on the road together.
“Yeah, I mean, clearly at different points in my career, but again, the one was just saying goodbye to your buddies and certainly, for me, at that time, we had also spent so much time together and it was them leaving. Back then, we were on the road with each other 250-275 days a year. They’re family at that point. That was emotion.”
Following on to his embrace with Undertaker and Triple H, Michaels would say times were very different, but that it was similar with regards to saying goodbye to his friends – despite them both being unique and very different circumstances.
“The one with Undertaker, same thing. Now we’re talking about all of us – older, mellowed out, grown, changed with each other but still intertwined in a very unique business and very unique situation. There are some times in this line of work where it gets to be real. And I guess, as you put it, the “breaking of the kayfabe,” that realness also works for the job. It also works for the fanbase, the entertainment, whatever you want to call it, the enjoyment of the viewer as well.”
WWE legend @ShawnMichaels picks out some of his favourite Scottish wrestlers and discusses Scotland's impact on the wresting world.@WrestlingGary // @WWEUK // @thatKJGuypic.twitter.com/j6RLTHqQsA
— BBC The Social (@bbcthesocial) March 17, 2021
The Heartbreak Kid went on to say neither of those events, for him, hurt the business and that he believes the curtain call would be looked at very differently now.
“I think those are times when those aren’t things that hurt the business. Certainly not with The Undertaker. I know that the curtain call and all that, years earlier, was seen differently by a lot of people and I do, I understand that, but I think now we’ve come all these years later, I don’t think that would be looked upon the same way now, because it’s not as if a lot of people don’t understand how the business works.”
You can read Gary Cassidy‘s full interview with Shawn Michaels here.
Thank you so much to Shawn Michaels for taking the time to chat, and to WWE UK and BBC The Social for facilitating the chat.
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