A former WWE writer has claimed that Shawn Michaels once swore in Vince McMahon’s face and threatened to take the WWF Championship hostage!
Long before becoming one of the elder statesmen of the WWE locker room and assuming his role backstage in NXT 2.0, Shawn Michaels was a completely different character.
Throughout the mid to late 1990’s, by his own admission, Shawn Michaels was a lot to deal with. He was known to be difficult outside of the ring and regularly use his backstage power and sometimes fractious relationship with Vince McMahon to enhance his own career.
One man who was present during these trials and tribulations was former WWE Head Writer Vince Russo. Speaking during an appearance on Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws,” Russo recalled HBK lashing out at McMahon.
“Out of everybody I ever worked with, and this used to amaze the sh*t out of me, there was one guy who I literally witnessed just telling Vince to F off to his face. And that was Shawn. The stuff Shawn got away with! I could never put my [finger on it].”
Before taking a break from the ring for four years due to a serious back injury, Michaels faced Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14. The event was the crowning moment for Austin, as he won the WWF Championship. However, before the match many feared that HBK would go into business for himself and refuse to drop the title.
In addition, by WrestleMania the relationship between McMahon and Michaels was disintegrating, meaning that Russo was left to be an intermediary between the two men. Reflecting on this period, Russo claims that Michaels threatened to take the WWF Title hostage, challenging McMahon to “come to his f*cking house” to get it back.
“Leading up to the WrestleMania with him and Austin, Vince and Shawn weren’t talking, so guess who’s the go-between?” Russo continued, referring to himself. “Okay, Vince, I’ve gotta go tell Shawn what Vince says, and then I gotta go tell Vince what Shawn says… as a shoot! And the best thing was it was getting ugly.”
“I go back, ‘Okay, Shawn, here’s the message from Vince.’ This was Shawn’s message, ‘Okay, Vince, you go tell Vince if he wants his f*cking belt, come to my f*cking house in San Antonio and take it off my f*cking mantle because that’s the only way you’re gonna get it.’
Following his break from the ring, Shawn Michaels returned in 2002 and enjoyed arguably the best in-ring run of his career until his retirement in 2010.
H/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.