WWE legend Shawn Michaels has hinted he could be open to an in-ring return… but his trademark ponytail is gone for good.
The Showstopper will be back in London later this month, 27 years after the company first came to these shores.
Michaels fought in the first ever match at the Royal Albert Hall, alongside Rockers tag-team partner Marty Jannetty as they took on The Nasty Boys in the opening bout of the Battle Royal back in 1991.
The WWE United Kingdom Championship takes place on Monday, June 18 – and The Heartbreak Kid will be in attendance.
It’s not clear what his role would be, with Michaels admitting himself he’s still not sure what he’ll be doing.
He said: “I don’t really know what I’m doing [at the show], but I think everybody knows regardless – even if I did know what I was doing, I’m going to be doing what I want to do anyway.
“I’ve got to do something [special] for the UK fans, and myself to be perfectly honest, so that we can all remember it for a long, long time.”
Michaels, an icon of the Attitude Era and a three-time heavyweight Champion and winner of the Royal Rumble in 1995 and 1996, has been retired eight years.
Despite numerous rumours, including snubbing a huge offer to take part in the Greatest Royal Rumble, Mr Wrestlemania may be ready to step back through the ropes.
HBK’S SAY The incredible career of WWE legend Shawn Michaels revealed from backstage brawls to the Montreal Screwjob
“There have been a couple of ideas that have been interesting and I’ve entertained them for a very short time,” he said.
“I’d hate to say this and make it the start of rumours or speculation but I’m so unbelievably flattered that all these years later they keep offering and asking.
“One of these days it might be tough to turn down!
“Put it this way, I thought that after five years they’d stop asking or never be interested.
But it’s still happening. So maybe, the only way to stop it is by saying yes. I don’t know.
“But when everything said and done I’m flattered people think I still have something to offer.”
Michaels, now aged 52, added that he would not consider an actual comeback, but would be happy to take part in a one-off show.
“I certainly understand from a nostalgia standpoint wanting to give fans something special.
“If it was something that was seen as that, rather than some kind of comeback.
“If nobody was expecting the Showstopper, Mr Wrestlemania, then it would be fun.”
Michaels reeled off a number of guys from the main roster he’d love to wrestle, with AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan at the top of the list.
One of D-Generation X’s founding members, Michaels shocked fans six weeks ago when he cut off his trademark ponytail.
Reaction to the haircut has been crazy – although he admitted he’s not thinking of bringing it back.
“You forget about the fact that for a lot of people they grew up with you, it’s something you’re known for. I knew it would get a response, but I did not know to that degree,” he says laughing.
“It’s amusing, for a little while there were a couple of muscle memory things I had to get over, forgetting I didn’t have to take my hair-tie out before I got in the shower or went to bed.
“It’s been nearly two months and I think everything is OK, we’re holding steady with the short hair.
“No, no it’s a heck of a lot simpler short, that’s for sure.”
Michaels is also now working at the Performance Centre, helping NXT’s next crop of stars prepare for the ring.
Not only is Michaels helping with coaching, but also with mentoring and creative.
But while he admits he doesn’t have a ‘coaching style’ as such, Michaels is imparting wrestlers with the personality and swagger that helped him become one of the most popular superstars ever.
“I don’t have a word for it,” he says, “I coach the same way I wrestle, I don’t do it with my head but with my feel, with my heart.
“I try to focus on the storytelling aspect of what we do. From a talent and athleticism standpoint, they are above and beyond what we were doing in my generation.
“But connecting with the fan, the guys who watch us, when all is said and done that’s the difference in those who make it and those who don’t.
LATEST WWE NEWS
“A lot of that comes from letting them see who you really are.
“As you tell those stories, show that talent and athleticism, you come to a point where you have to let them in to the person.
“That young guy in the crowd, like many of these guys, grew up wanting to be a wrestler and they connect with it.
“But it’s easier said than done.
“Sometimes you may be apprehensive, there’s a lot of risk with that.
“You may not always feel comfortable with it but I always try and encourage it and say that it’s OK.”
- The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament takes place at the Royal Albert Hall, London, June 18 and 19. Limited tickets are still available here. The WWE Network will air the full shows on June 25 and 26 at 9pm BST.
Leave a comment