Shawn Michaels is currently the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative at WWE. He is one of the most respected personalities currently in the Stamford-based promotion. However, back in the mid-1990s, the Heartbreak Kid didn’t have an excellent reputation in the backstage locker room.
Michaels had been involved in various controversies backstage, one of them including an infamous backstage physical assault with a departing duo, which also became a reason behind their lack of success in the company.
Shawn Michaels got choked after calling departing duo “p**sies”
On October 5th, 1995, at Madison Square Garden, a real-life heated fight took place between Shawn Michaels and The Harris Twins. The whole story behind this incident was revealed by Sid Vicious, a former WCW & WWE champion in the company. He disclosed that during the 1990s, Shawn Michaels was getting paid well by WWE, while the Harris Brothers didn’t receive fair compensation. HBK made a derogatory remark about them, referring to them as ‘pu**ies’ or quitters.
It was specifically Ron who got annoyed by the remarks. It was also revealed that both the brothers were already frustrated with Michaels’ attitude in the company. Sid disclosed that Ron grabbed HBK by the throat and knocked him against the wall.
He further added “I remember that happened because it really bothered Kevin (Nash). Kevin was going to beat Don up, which would have never happened. Don would have killed him. I think it was Ron who did that.”
Also Kevin Nash later on revealed that both Michaels and the Harris Brothers were quite disturbed in the aftermath of the incident.
HBK’s notorious backstage image in the 90s
During the main event run of Shawn Michaels back in the 1990s, he was widely disliked by the whole locker room. Nash revealed that during that period, he was left alone by the rest of the locker room due to his backstage power in the company. Shawn Michaels also had an attitude problem that was not liked by other superstars. However, in an interview, HBK also acknowledged that he feels guilty about his younger attitude in the company and revealed that he had some bad addictions during that time.
Despite all these issues, Mr. WrestleMania was still able to build a gigantic career due to his impressive skills, which no one can deny. Even he is still giving his contribution to the company by holding a senior position in the NXT brand.
