Shawn Michaels was one of WWE’s biggest stars in the 1990s, but behind the curtain, things could get ugly. His issues with Bret Hart became personal enough that the two actually got into a backstage fight in 1997, while Michaels and The Kliq also developed a reputation for having serious political pull inside the company. Still, Vince McMahon wasn’t about to dump a top money-maker just because he was causing headaches.
Michaels’ problems during that period went well beyond wrestlers simply not liking him. His real-life feud with Hart exploded after Michaels made the infamous “Sunny Days” remark on Raw, which implied Hart was having an affair with Sunny. Weeks later, Hart and Michaels exchanged blows backstage in Hartford. WWE has also acknowledged that The Kliq — Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman — used its backstage influence to get preferential treatment and affect the careers of wrestlers who crossed them.
The tension surrounding Michaels eventually got so bad that there were even questions over whether he would cooperate with WWE’s plans. Years later, The Undertaker confirmed he was prepared to step in at WrestleMania 14 if Michaels refused to lose the WWE Championship to Steve Austin. Michaels himself admitted he had worked hard to convince people backstage that if he didn’t want to do the job, he wouldn’t.
That’s the kind of environment Vince Russo was talking about on The Coach and Bro Show when the conversation turned to WWE punishing difficult talent. Russo said hurting your own television product just to teach somebody a lesson makes no sense.
“If a talent is unhappy, they’re unhappy for a reason. They don’t wake up being unhappy. But when you’re punishing talent and it’s hurting your own product, that’s the stupidest thing I can imagine.”
Jonathan Coachman agreed and pointed out that Vince McMahon had his own way of dealing with wrestlers who became problems backstage. McMahon might punish somebody, but Coachman said he generally wasn’t going to damage his own business just to prove a point. That reminded Russo of Michaels. Russo said HBK had become such a headache for people inside WWE that he eventually went directly to McMahon and asked the obvious question: Why not just fire him?
“I remember when Shawn Michaels was creating headaches for everybody. Everybody. And I finally said, ‘Vince, why in God’s name are you not firing his ass?’”
McMahon’s response told Russo everything he needed to know. Whatever problems Michaels was causing, Vince wasn’t going to let Michaels dictate when their business relationship ended.
“Vince McMahon said to me, ‘Oh, Vince, his ass will be fired on my time, not his.’”
Russo said McMahon’s reasoning came down to one thing — money. Michaels was still valuable, so Vince was willing to deal with the aggravation rather than make an emotional decision that could hurt WWE.
“Which meant, I’m making money with him right now. So right now I’m going to suck it up. The second he stops making money for me, he’s gone. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Coachman agreed, noting that Michaels eventually had to get himself together before returning to WWE.
“That’s exactly what happened. And then he had to get right in order to come back.”
McMahon’s approach was cold, but simple. Shawn Michaels could be difficult, get into fights and create problems behind the scenes, but Vince wasn’t going to throw away one of his biggest stars while there was still money on the table. He would deal with Michaels on his terms — and nobody else’s.
What do you think of Vince McMahon keeping Shawn Michaels around despite all the backstage drama? Was it smart business, or should WWE have cut ties sooner? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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