A WWE star has given the story behind the making of a Shawn Michaels segment that took place all the way back in 2006 but is still talked about today.
Back at Cyber Sunday 2006, Michaels met Triple H backstage as part of the DX reunion and was told that he was not controversial enough. Irate at The Game’s comments, The Heartbreak Kid superkicked a number of production staff backstage in response, including someone called Stan.
Fast forward around 10 years and the identity of Stan was revealed to be Tye Dillinger, who was signed to NXT at the time. When fans made the connection that Dillinger was the one who was attacked at Cyber Sunday, the clip gained notoriety once more.
Following a run in AEW from 2019 to the end of 2023 as Shawn Spears, the former Dillinger made his way back to the company in early 2024 and has returned to the NXT roster.
While speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Spears stated that it was Michaels who gave him the name Stan as he did not want another person called Shawn in the segment:
“I still hear about that. So when they pulled me aside for that, Cyber Sunday 2006. I just gotten down to OVW, and they needed a few extras. So they grabbed me, pulled me over, and this is where I meet Shawn and Hunter for the very first time. They’re doing DX and they’re talking, Shawn is talking with Hunter. He’s like, maybe I’ll talk to him really quick.
Shawn turns to me. He goes, ‘What’s your name?’ And this is off [camera], We haven’t begun rolling yet, but we’re gonna roll live here at any minute. My name was Shawn Spears at the time, and I went, Shawn. And he goes, ‘Stan. I’ll kick Stan.’ So he just said ‘Your name is not Shawn, my name’s Shawn. Your name is Stan.’
So he actually gave me the name. No one else did. He just went, ‘I’ll kick Stan.’ I was like, this is the best! He’s gonna kick me! Just a kid in a candy store. But, yeah, he gave me the name. So I don’t know if anybody knew that, but it wasn’t creative, it wasn’t someone on the writing team or anybody else. Shawn Michaels, you’re at fault for Stan.”
Shawn Michaels Makes Promise To TNA Star
As part of the recent NXT and TNA collaboration, multiple stars from TNA have challenged for top championships on the brand, including Joe Hendry facing Ethan Page for the title at No Mercy. While Joe Hendry was unsuccessful at the PLE, Shawn Michaels made a promise to the TNA star.
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