All language subtitles for The Heartbreak Kid Becoming Shawn Michaels (2026) 1080p

[dramatic music]

- It’s the calm before
the storm.

You know, rehearsals,
everything’s done.

Dotted all the Is,
crossed all the Ts.

And now you just
sit back and like--

That’s why I eat
so many Dum-Dums.

I just start slamming
down sugar to kill time.

That ain’t good.

Got all of our
camera shots up here.

And this is just sort of the--

I don’t know--
that they say the epicenter.

And it’s the best seat
in the house.

- Welcome to NXT.

- This is NXT.

This is all about feedback,
coaching, development.

You just got to get
more energy, more fire.

We want to get these talent
prepared for the main roster

as quickly and as efficiently
as we can.

Good stuff. Way to go, man.
Awesome job.

- If you look at this
generation of young talent,

so many of them will say,

who was your biggest influence?

Shawn Michaels.

- Approaching the ring,
from San Antonio, Texas,

weighing 227 pounds,

The Heartbreak Kid,

Shawn Michaels.

- There’s only one HBK.

Nobody is more flamboyant.

- Michaels loves
the spotlight,

loves the main event.

- I will give you
a show like you

have never ever seen before.

Why?
Because I can.

- Unbelievable!

- Ah, yes, yes, yes.

- He wanted to be the best.

- Shawn Michaels is
the heavyweight champion

of the world!

- I don’t think
there’s any difference

between him and Jordan.

- I’m Shawn Michaels.
I can do whatever I want.

- He was an asshole,
a first-rate asshole.

- I’ll be the worst guy
that the WWE has ever seen.

- I’m not going to
sugarcoat anything.

I wouldn’t have pissed
on Shawn Michaels

if he was on fire.

- There’s functioning
drug addicts.

And that’s exactly what I was.

- Backdrop on that
little wooden casket.

- Shawn’s back injury
really sent him

into a downward spiral.

- I felt like my life
and career were over.

♪ ♪

You’ve got to get to a very
raw place with yourselves

to step out of being that guy.

It’s the first time
I ever wanted to be better.

♪ ♪

And it gave me
another opportunity.

- Fans all over the world
have been waiting to see HBK.

- Shawn was super into
the behind the scenes

of the business, like I was.

- Where boom, boom.

- Once Shawn did this to Owen,
he’s jumping all in.

- Oh, my goodness.

- Shawn can speak to you
from experience

because he’s done it all.

- Shawn Michaels,
he gave me a chance.

And I feel like I
earned his respect.

- One of the greatest
ever to get in the ring.

Who else would you want
teaching the next generations

of sports entertainers?

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- W Performance Center,
it’s evolved so much.

But it has always been
a developmental system

for talent.

NXT is the brand
that gets talent

TV-ready for the main roster.

- Well, it is a big fight feel
in the Performance

Center tonight.

Welcome to NXT.

- The thought was
to create a system

to train people
in a better way,

to entice athletes
from around the globe

to want to be a part of it.

At the Performance Center,
it’s everybody’s job

to make talent good,

to have them learn
how to do this,

to have them learn how to be
great and professional

behind the scenes
and in front of the camera,

like, all the aspects that
go into doing this job.

- I knew the name
Shawn Michaels.

I knew that he was
friends with Hunter.

But that’s all I knew.

I didn’t even let him in
the building the first time

I saw him.

I was working
at the front desk.

I was relatively new here.

One day, a man comes
to the front door,

cutoff sleeves, shorts.

I believe he was wearing
sandals and a hat.

And he did one of these.

- Yeah, she came running,
asking me who this was.

And I came up,
and I peeked through there.

And there’s
Shawn Michaels looking

into the Performance Center,
not getting allowed in.

So I was like,
we can let him in.

- Good morning, everybody.

[laughs]

- Everybody’s got their way
of doing things

and their personality,
but the fundamentals

are the things that lead you
to long-term success.

He’s able to understand
the athleticism--

- Once you get him up here,

you can kinda walk
where you need him.

Zip, boom.

- --to understand
the psychology.

- The way we think eventually
becomes our actions.

As long as you let them
know that there’s

been doubt in there,
that’s the difference

between arrogance and belief.

- Then he also understands
the difficulty,

different psychology
of people along the way.

- Sorry I’m so neurotic.

- No, that’s all right.

Don’t worry about it.

I was neurotic too.

So it’s quite all right.

- He’s similar to me.

I understand that.

So in many ways,
he’s the best candidate

for doing what he’s doing,
because he can understand them

on almost every level.

- Maybe if you just take
a little do si do there.

- Oh, like a do si do
right here?

- Yeah.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.

I can do that.

- Shawn has a great ability
to connect on a nuts and bolts

from an in-ring standpoint,
from a character standpoint,

from a promo standpoint,
but also talk on a human level.

- One of the things I’ve been
most impressed with is the fact

that you’re still the guy
that’s humble enough to say,

I need to work on my craft
and get better in the ring

and stuff like that.

- What’s great about Shawn is
that he has time for everybody.

He’s accessible.

You can ask him questions.

You can collaborate.

And as a talent, it’s sometimes
hard to remember that,

because he’s the greatest
of all time.

- I’d like to think,
in many people’s eyes,

he’s probably the best
to ever do it.

So when you say I’ll do
anything to become the best,

you’re saying it to a guy
that was the best

and did a lot
to become the best.

So you better hold yourself
accountable to that statement

because he’s gonna hold you
accountable to it.

- Oh, my goodness.

[dramatic music]

I was 12 years old.

"Southwest Championship
Wrestling" comes on.

And it was just something
that captivated me

from the very beginning.

I was a very shy kid
when I was growing up.

I was a military kid.

But there was that
mystique of the other side

and that wild life and
something that I was obviously

always very curious about.

I played football, baseball.

I was a young athlete.

The only thing I could ever
remember wanting to be

other than
a professional wrestler,

when I thought about my life,
was being a stuntman.

And then years later
to understand that, you know,

they’re kind of synonymous.

It was kind of the athleticism
and the theatrics.

And those two worlds
coming together

is what professional wrestling
was to me.

And that’s why
it appealed to me.

- In the blue corner,
San Antonio, Texas,

Shawn Michaels.

- Shawn Michaels is going
right after Buddy Landel.

A really impressive rookie.

- A lot of times
when you see young people

that are green, inexperienced,

you can tell
they’re inexperienced.

They’re hesitant.

He didn’t have that.

He had an instinct.

Shawn had a way of being
in the right place

at the right time and looking
completely comfortable

and relaxed like he’d been
doing it a long time.

- Young Shawn Michaels
has really got a--

found a soft spot
in the heart of the fans

of Mid-South Wrestling.

- I was a singles wrestler
but was wanting

to continue to grow
in the wrestling business.

The AWA was the one
that put me with Marty.

- Shawn Michaels
and Marty Jannetty,

The Midnight Rockers.

[cheers and applause]

- That was sort of never
the plan starting out.

But you go
with the opportunities

that were given to you.

Marty and I clicked
immediately.

And then it becomes
something that you begin

to think about
and go, like, hey, this is

something that
could be successful

and get me to that next level.

[rock music]

- These are gutsy guys,
so I am told.

And the Rockers,
I believe, are gonna

set some new standards in the
World Wrestling Entertainment.

- I was excited.

I can remember thinking,
this is exactly what we need.

We need a new, fresh team
for the Hart Foundation.

- Double-team.

Neckbreaker.

- The Rockers were--

they were the answer to a
youth segment of the audience,

somebody that the younger
audience could identify with,

because they were young,
and they were exciting.

They weren’t the big,
lumbering giants that

seemed to dominate the WWE.

- They were the quintessential
white meat, babyface

tag team extraordinaire.

- The Rockers were just two
young, hungry, hardworking

guys just trying to get a win.

The good old-fashioned
American way, man.

- When it’s all said and done,
when the smoke clears

and the dust settles,
the Rockers

are gonna be standing tall

on top of the World
Wrestling Entertainment.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- I worked with him when
he was one of the Rockers.

I thought he was great.

Just the way
he carried himself in the ring.

- Ric’s going the hard way.

Suplex over the top rope.

- He was full of himself,
and he knew it.

He knew he was good.

- You know, as great
a team as the Rockers were,

Shawn had his mind set
on his own individual career.

- Shawn Michaels is almost a
tag team of his own in there.

- Ooh, what a maneuver.

- I could do this all night.

I don’t know that anybody
gets into this line of work

wanting to be in a tag team.

- Shawn Michaels has
great wrestling skills.

It just makes him mad
that he has to have a partner

that can’t hold his end up.

- I’d gotten a call
from Vince.

He had mentioned, I feel
like there’s an opportunity

for you to have a singles run.

And the minute he dropped that
line, I was like, oh, really?

- You now have a storyline.

You have characters
on a television show

that don’t like working
with each other anymore.

So you put them on
the Barbershop for Brutus

to say, come on, guys, you’ve
been a tag team all this time.

Settle your difference.

Come back together.

- There are absolutely
no problems

with the Rockers whatsoever.

There was an opportunity
to have a singles career.

So I did what I needed to do
from a business standpoint.

[cheers and applause]

- Oh!

Oh, I knew he was
gonna do that.

I just knew
he was gonna do that.

- What a despicable
act that was.

- You think I’m the wrong man?

- No!

- Oh, my God!

- Right through the glass
window of the Barbershop.

- Shawn lets everyone know,
no, screw you, Marty, it’s me.

That’s the beauty of it all.

- No doubt about it,
it’s the greatest

tag team breakup of all time.

It was intense and violent.

If you were watching
WWE at that time,

you hadn’t seen
anything like that.

It just jumped off the screen.

- Is there a problem
with the Rockers?

- Shock value, at that time,
was very important.

The biggest shock value
one could get

is turning on his friend.

It was something
that turned out

to be a fantastic storyline.

That thrust me into the
spotlight, which is exactly

what I was looking for.

The Rockers, they’re dead.

And now the whole world
is gonna find out

what Shawn Michaels is
really like.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- So I will need
verbal confirmation

from everyone in here
that we can use your name

and likeness for all of this.

- Ahh.
- [laughs]

- My name is Andrea Concepcion.

I am a writer
and producer for NXT.

She kind of needs
her villain origin story.

- Correct.

- I grew up, like,
a huge wrestling fan.

So my first day, I sat down.

I’m, like, all nervous.
And Shawn walks in.

And he’s like, oh, my gosh.
Nice to meet you.

My name’s Shawn.

Like, I know who you are.

Shawn is the GOAT
for a reason.

Like, there are sometimes
creative things that he

can see that, like,
we’re like, what?

- Another thing
I wanted to check on,

Vic, are people coming
to you and giving you

the story of their matches
and stuff like that?

- For the most part
we usually have to go to them.

- That is something--
talent should--like I said,

I just don’t think they
think about their wrestling

matches in that way.

We tell stories.

It’s not--you know?

It’s more about the stories
than it is the physical aspect

of the matches,
so just trying to help them

getting to understand that.

- They’re like that big
around, aren’t they?

- He’d been waiting for that
chance to be his own star

and to break out on his own.

- You step into this spur of
the moment singles career.

From a character standpoint,

I’d actually got taught
from Roddy Piper,

don’t ever stop
being who you are.

If you’re Shawn Michaels, you
need to stay Shawn Michaels.

- Shawn Michaels
is in the building.

- So I kind of just asked them
to allow me to just find out

who it was I was going to be.

You’re out there
on a promo, talking.

Shawn Michaels has been
walking around

breaking hearts all over town
for a long, long time.

I guess you could say
I’ve always been

the Heartbreak Kid.

All of a sudden, the words

Heartbreak Kid came
out of my mouth.

And after that, it kind of just
took on a life of its own.

- The Heartbreak Kid,
Shawn Michaels.

Put that camera on him.

- He went from being
a guy who kids were

supposed to root for
to a guy that women

were supposed to desire.

The Heartbreak Kid,
that was sexy time.

- Has this guy
got it all or what?

- When he first turned
into The Heartbreak Kid,

he was clearly
a great performer.

- Whoa!

- He didn’t need anyone’s
advice on how to be a star.

- I like it.

- Zebra-striped.

He had earrings.

And he had the long hair.

How this works is beyond me.

- The Kentucky Waterfall
mullet, probably one

of the greatest mullets
of all time.

But he pulled it off.

- Shawn Michaels really
became a superstar.

Everybody knew he had it.

Plus, we wrote
the theme song, "Sexy Boy."

- ♪ I send chills ♪

♪ Up and down their spines ♪

♪ I’m just a sexy boy ♪

- ♪ Sexy boy ♪

- ♪ I’m not your boy toy ♪

- ♪ Boy toy ♪

- ♪ I’m just a sexy boy ♪

- Up to date, right now, it has
24,700,000 hits on Spotify.

And it fits his character.

- Every once in a great while,
an athlete

comes along that sets himself
apart from all the rest.

[laughs]

I was out there trying
to prove myself each and every

night and hoping that would
get back to the powers that be

and it would make a difference.

And it did.

- From the top.

- On his back.

- Wait a minute.

We got a new
Intercontinental Champion!

- You could tell
how driven he was.

He was gonna take
no prisoners for what

he was willing to do
to ascend that ladder

and show the world
how good he was.

- To me, it’s just about
applying yourself

in every aspect
of this business.

- Understanding it from
a television perspective,

a creative standpoint,
and being able to understand

and see the vision
that, at that time,

Vince had for this place,
making it

a much bigger extravaganza,
making it a much bigger show.

Because I’m gonna prove
to everybody that I am

the man that I say I am,
the sexiest Intercontinental

Champion of all time.

This is what I’ve worked
my entire life to do.

So I just felt like
I had to go out

and be different
and entertaining

on a whole nother level.

[cheers and applause]

[dramatic music]

- Somewhere around
the Intercontinental title,

Shawn was in
the middle of the card.

Then he begins
to change that slightly.

He brings in Kevin Nash
with him.

- Shawn wanted to know if I
would be interested in becoming

his bodyguard.

We kind of were pretty much
inseparable for years

after that.

- And from behind,
what a clothesline

by this huge Diesel.

- Is it my imagination, Diesel,

or have the chicks been
calling me all night?

- Wow.
- Unbelievable.

Shortly after I got there,
it was Shawn and Scott Hall.

- Razor Ramon,
gold on his neck.

- The three of us
traveled together.

Sean Waltman,
the 1-2-3 Kid, joined us.

Hunter joins us later.

- Once we started
riding together,

we immediately just
kind of hit it off.

- All those guys
behind the scenes

became known as The Kliq,

because they were real life
best friends who traveled

together, hung together,
and were incredibly

passionate about the business.

- As long as we score a goal,

I don’t care
who gets the praise.

I just want that ring.

We’re all gonna
succeed together.

And that’s what
The Kliq was about.

- Top of the world!
- Yeah!

- Top of the world, bro!

- For years,
I would wrestle Shawn.

Then we’d be riding
down the road

together going, remember
when we were right here?

We did that hammerlock.

We spun into that.

[cheers and applause]

Did you hear the people?

He goes, yeah, yeah.

How about we do this?

And we go, oh, yeah,
let’s do that tomorrow.

♪ ♪

- When it came to The Kliq, we
were a band of brothers that

encouraged and embraced and
helped one another, but also,

in a lot of ways,
maybe fed each other’s demons,

maybe in a negative way.

- We would all order, like,

six Coors Lights,
first round, each.

And the guy would
leave and come back

and it’d be like,
give me four more beers.

- I had lived
a very conservative

life when I was growing up.

And then I had the ability
to be out on my own

and be around other people
that would encourage me to live

a less healthy lifestyle.

And that’s the road
I ended up going down.

♪ ♪

- They were always
out together.

They lived that life.

They lived that rock and roll
life as best they could.

But every one
of those guys in The Kliq

would steal the show
with whoever they were

in the ring with.

- If you’re with us,
you better step up.

You better get your work right.

- Oh!
- Oh!

- Unbelievable.

Unbelievable.

- The business was changing--

faster, younger, more exciting.

He was it.

- He’s going on top
of the 7-foot Diesel.

- He wanted to be the best.

I don’t think
there’s any difference

between him and Jordan.

He’s just a perfectionist.

- You will not ever,
in your lives,

see a man more charismatic,

more flamboyant,
or more talented

than The Heartbreak Kid
Shawn Michaels.

This is my opportunity.

What do I have to do
to make more of it?

- Shawn was ascending.

And I think that Vince saw
Shawn as a heel

that would always be that
antagonist, that there was

nothing to like there
until WrestleMania 11,

and he wrestled Diesel.

- Michaels,
high-risk maneuver.

Shawn Michaels is done!

- And they booed Diesel
out of the building

and cheered Shawn.

And I was like, oh, wow.

- What I enjoyed most
about WrestleMania

was seeing Shawn Michaels.

He should have won.

- Shawn Michaels number one.

- Shawn Michaels is number one.

- Shawn Michaels is number one.
- He is the best, the best--

- Shawn Michaels, number one.
- --the best, the best.

♪ ♪

- You can feel that momentum
and that shift going on.

- That’s what it’s all
about here at the World

Wrestling Entertainment.

Look at this.

- As it continued to work,
I just did more of it.

The Heartbreak Kid,
Shawn Michaels,

is going to be the man of ’96.

I guarantee it.

- He paid his dues.

He did all the work.

He had earned that chance.

And then it was
just a question of,

you have to live up
to that opportunity.

- Bret "The Hitman" Hart
against The Heartbreak Kid,

Shawn Michaels.

- Being in the main event
at WrestleMania

is obviously the dream
of every aspiring superstar.

It’s one of the highest honors
you could possibly have.

But with that honor comes
gigantic responsibility.

You’re looking
for the guy that’s

gonna draw the most money.

It’s not a team sport.

- As we headed
into WrestleMania 12,

we were looking
for Shawn to be the man.

We were looking for Shawn
to be the face of the company.

Now you’ve got
everything riding on you.

[dramatic music]

- All right, I’m done.

Business up top.

Party downstairs.
- There you go.

- Nothing gives me more joy
than busting HBK’s balls

and getting him going.

- It’s a bit late for that,
my man.

- Don’t worry about the "ones."

I just need to be
able to scroll.

And 3, 2, 1.

- The Motor City Machine Guns
will be in action as well.

Columbus, Detroit,
Cleveland, get ready.

One, one, one,
one, one, one, one.

[laughter]

Ron Burgundy.

- Ron Burgundy reads
the whole prompter, right?

- Ron Burgundy,
if it’s on the teleprompter--

Get ready, because NXT
is coming your way.

- Bing.
- Good.

Cut.

- In 3, 2.

- It’s my state.

It’s my town.

And it’s my dream.

WrestleMania and the World
Wrestling

Entertainment championship.

[Shawn Michaels’ "Sexy Boy"]

- ♪ I think I’m cute ♪

♪ I know I’m sexy ♪

♪ I’ve got the--♪

- From the second
the match starts

with the iconic image
we’ll have forever of Shawn

going down that zip line--

- There’s only one Heartbreak
Kid, Shawn Michaels!

- Vince McMahon
on commentary just losing

his mind for the moment.

- Unbelievable!

What a ride!

- It’s clearly meant
to tell you, this is the guy.

- A great reception
for Shawn Michaels.

[dramatic music]

- Shawn was
in incredible condition.

- Shawn Michaels now,
what’s he going to do

to The Hitman, Bret Hart?

- The match,
in my opinion, a classic.

- I still say Shawn was
the greatest athlete I ever saw

in the ring.

- Look at that.

- It was the perfect storm
to put Shawn over the top

and bring him
to the next level.

- He got it.

He got all of it.

Michaels got all of it.

Michaels got him covered.

5, 4--

- Oh!

[Shawn Michaels’ "Sexy Boy"]

- Ladies and gentleman,
the winner

of this fight
and the new World Wrestling

Entertainment champion,
The Heartbreak Kid,

Shawn Michaels.

[dramatic music]

- The boyhood dream
has come true

for Shawn Michaels.

- I can remember being told,
like, I want you to enjoy this.

But I didn’t have
the ability to do that.

You know, Earl not being able
to get the belt on,

and that bothering me.

I just remember,
like, just stop it.

I did not have
the ability to enjoy

that moment,
because it didn’t go exactly

the way that I wanted it to.

It wasn’t a good
attitude to have.

I was a gloomy Gus.

I mean, if nothing else.

That’s putting it lightly.

I waited a long time to get
this precious piece of metal,

and I plan on holding on to it
for as long as I possibly can.

- There’s a lot
of responsibilities

that come with being
the world champion.

The amount of media--

- You can’t have a main event
without me, for God’s sakes.

- There you go.

- Yes, yes, yes, yes.

- The signings
and the personal appearances.

So to be in those shoes,
it was pressure-filled.

- I’m concerned a lot of times
when I come and do

this kind of work,
if I do a good job,

if I’m any good at it.

Huh, a little smile in there?

Huh?

A little smile there, buddy?

I still don’t know
if I am or not,

but it’s real nice to think
that just your presence

makes people happy.

So if that’s all it takes
is me showing up,

then that’s--
that’s the easy part for me.

I always go back to the,
be careful what you wish for.

On one hand, there is that
boyhood dream aspect of it,

but there’s a lot
of responsibility

that goes with that.

- And good luck to you.
- Thank you.

- Say hello to your mama.
- I will.

Thank you so much.

I felt a lot of pressure
in that respect.

And I didn’t handle it well.

I’m just nervous about working
with people on this level.

This is a league that I’m
not accustomed to being in.

- And action.

- You were always bragging
about your daughter,

the lifeguard.

Those are all things
that I did want.

And I just didn’t
have the maturity

to allow myself to enjoy those
moments, to embrace them,

to get the most out of them.

Is that a camera?

A camera’s on.

Ah, paparazzi.
[mimicking punching]

Except that I love the camera.

Camera’s my friend.

Shawn likes the camera.

[laughs]

There’s no doubt I could have
handled things

a hell of a lot better.

- Shawn had said to me that he
was looking forward to being

champion, and that he thought
he could work with Kevin Nash,

thought he could work
with Scott Hall.

And he basically was like, I
could work with all my buddies.

And I just
kind of dismissed it.

- As we got into 1996, WCW,

our competitors
had a television

show, "Monday Nitro."

It ran opposite
to "Monday Night Raw."

And they’d been making
a lot of changes

and aggressively
coming after our talent

and trying to get people
to sign and to go there.

- This is where
the power lies, brother.

- At that time, it was
the Monday Night Wars,

and people were
changing channels.

I’m talking to WCW.

Man, I got to go.

Like, it’s not working here.

I feel like I’ve hit
this glass ceiling.

Like, Razor’s never
gonna go any higher.

And I ended up
giving my notice.

And then like
about a week later,

Kevin Nash gave his notice.

- He was really mad
at Scott and I.

And through his eyes,
I would be too.

And just like now,
here I am, the world champion.

And two of the best opponents
I’m gonna have are leaving.

And we’re best of friends.

- You’re talking about a guy
who I spent three years with,

who was my best friend.

And to know that he’s found
greener pastures elsewhere

and has made it very clear
that I’m not a part of it,

it’s very hard
to deal with that.

- He was bitter.

He wanted them to stay.

I wanted them to stay.

- More than anything else,
it’s your support system.

- I don’t need nothing but a
belt and my good-time buddies.

Your comfortable, you know,
is getting thrown into chaos.

And that’s just never fun.

And when you’re already
in a place mentally

and emotionally
that isn’t overly stable

in the first place,
it was a scary time.

- That time, business is--
it’s OK, but it’s not great.

♪ ♪

There’s a lot of banter
about Shawn’s not

working as champion.

He’s not drawing.

- Shawn first took the title.

Ratings dropped.

"WCW’s Nitro" started beating
"Raw."

Shawn felt a little
insecure about it.

It wasn’t as rosy
as maybe what he wanted,

he expected it to be.

- As the champion,
everybody’s looking at you.

Well, it’s your fault.
You’re the top guy.

So it’s your fault.

So that’s a heavy burden
to bear.

- That’s the pill
you have to swallow.

You’re the champion,
and things aren’t going well.

And it sucks to hear that.

And it’s hard not to start
to believe those things

and to keep belief in yourself

and to keep positivity.

So yeah, I got resentful.

I got angry, because you
took all of it personally.

[dramatic music]

Here’s the challenging part
of this job.

It’s not supposed
to be personal.

But there are a lot
of young men and women

that walk through these doors.

There are a lot of things
that go on in this job

that are tough to deal with.

It’s mentally--you know?

- Yeah, yeah.

- It messes with you.

I understand this job
getting to you,

letting them know that
I don’t see weakness in that.

- Thanks, Coach.

- The most surreal thing
to me is the person

that I respect the most
is the one that relates

to me the most,
believes in me the most,

wants to help me the most.

- That’s why
I like him so much.

He’s a lot like me.
He just cares so much.

Yeah.

- I know that I can call him
and be like, yo, like,

I’m going through something.
Can I just talk to you?

He’ll listen to me.
You know?

- It’s OK now?
- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- All right.

I will always be an outlet
if it’s something

that they need,
because I care.

♪ ♪

- ♪ I send chills ♪

♪ Up and down their spine ♪

The World Wrestling
Entertainment championship

brings out either
the very best in all of us,

or it brings out
the very worst.

- It feels as if the weight
of the entire company

is on your shoulders.

- Everybody says I’ve got
sort of a bad attitude.

Sometimes you like me.

Sometimes you don’t.

I run hot.

I run cold.

I wake up in good moods.

I wake up in bad moods.

- It takes its toll,
because there is no day off.

- I need a day off.

Just one day.

Even an hour would be nice.

- I can see the slide.

I can see him falling apart.

He’s collapsing
under the pressure.

- That’s a bright light.

- Shawn felt the pressure
of the world on him.

And instead of just taking it,
I think Shawn just lashed out.

- You know who I am?

I’m Shawn Michaels.

I can do whatever I want.

- Shawn was not a pleasant
person to be around.

And he could be
extremely difficult.

He could be abrasive.

I don’t care
what’s going on in your life.

It does not give you
a right to mistreat people--

- You wanted goddamn Sue here?

You idiot.
- Calm down, Shawn.

- --and to demean people.

- I’m not going
to sugarcoat anything.

On a personal level, I wouldn’t
have pissed on Shawn Michaels

if he was on fire.

[dramatic music]

- He was an asshole,
a first-rate asshole.

He said stuff to you.

You know, he disrespected you.

Like, the things that he would

say to you
in the dressing room,

confront you about stuff,
it was like,

where did that come from?

- You’re the most arrogant,
pompous guy I’ve ever seen.

- I would have to think
it was his drug problems,

which were just starting
to become

a problem at that time.

- So mostly it was pills,
blow, and marijuana.

It kind of starts out
as what you believe is fun.

Certainly, then it begins
to delve into something

way more serious.

This Elvis lifestyle,
this Jim Morrison,

this rebel Without a clue
idea, very endearing.

It sounded very cool
and rugged.

And there was a time
in my life,

I didn’t really care
if I lived past 35.

I didn’t even know
what living until 35

or 45 would even look like.

I didn’t think about tomorrow.

♪ ♪

Being liked is way better
than being hated.

I knew everybody hated me.

And that’s what starts a lot
of the downhill spiral stuff.

It was all about
running and escaping,

and honestly, running
and escaping from the dude

I’d become.

♪ ♪

There’s very realistic,
functioning drug addicts.

And that’s exactly what I was.

You can go
and look at stuff now

and see me doing stuff on TV.

And people are like,
oh, my goodness,

he must have been
out of his gourd.

Like, I was never not well
on TV.

You know what I mean?
I was not well afterwards.

Because it doesn’t matter
how I feel right now.

When it comes to crunch time,
Shawn Michaels will be ready.

- His moment of existence
was the 20 minutes

in the ring every night.

He’d go in there,
and he’d kill it.

- Here comes Michaels.

Unbelievable!

♪ ♪

- And then the second
he was done--

♪ ♪

Right?

♪ ♪

- I knew the stuff
that I was doing was wrong,

but I didn’t care.

When you’re in the middle
of the storm,

you don’t really notice it.

You’re just so used to it.

And you don’t really see it
spiraling out of control

like it did.

I tore my first ACL.

And at that time,
ACLs were a year out.

♪ ♪

I’ve never had a doctor
look me in the face and say

that I may never be able
to wrestle again.

And I was--
I was told that the other day.

- The emotion is
genuinely palpable,

because you got
the champion of the company,

and ultimately
he’s giving it up.

- Here’s your belt.

I know that
over the last several months,

I’ve lost a lot of things.

And one of them
has been my smile.

It was illuminating
something that was

going on else in my life,
because I was miserable.

And the champion
and stuff like that--

and I was having
a conversation with my mother,

and her thinking
the same thing,

like, my God, why can’t
you just enjoy this?

And she goes, jeez.

You know, she goes, I don’t
ever see you smile anymore.

She’s like, it’s like
you’ve lost your smile,

and it should be
the best time of your life.

I have to go back
and fix myself.

And I’m gonna go home now.

- Goodbye, Shawn.

Godspeed.

[dramatic music]

- You can feel the energy

in Lowell, Massachusetts,
tonight.

- So we’re in Lowell, Mass,
in the same exact building

that they were shooting "Raw"
at, to almost replicate,

to a T,
the same segment that Shawn

did when he lost his smile.

- I don’t know
if I love this anymore.

And to be honest
with everybody,

I’ve just lost my smile.

- And then Shawn offered
the spin of,

I’m going to replicate this,
but only to trick you.

- I should not be worried
about losing my smile.

I should worry
about taking yours.

- Oh.
[laughs]

♪ ♪

- On that day,
one of the craziest things

in my wrestling career
ever happened.

♪ ♪

- So he tells Ethan,
all right, you’re gonna put

Je’Von’s face in the chair.

And you’re gonna kick it.

And it’s gonna break his jaw.

- I was afraid
of doing it and hurting

another talent on the show.

- Do you want me
to stick my head in there?

Here, let me--

- And Shawn’s like,
do it to me.

And he’s like, what?

- Jump.

- Jump?

With the chair on his face.

And he’s like, yeah, go ahead.

Do it as hard as you can.

- Like for real?

- Yes.

I think that’s
the least you can do

if you’re the guy asking--

I would never ask
somebody to do something

I wasn’t willing to do.

If they could do that with me,
they’ll do it with each other.

- Ready, Shawn?
- Yeah.

- OK.

[loud thud]

- [groans]

It’s my jaw.

- So much respect to him,
because to have the balls

to be like, well,
if I want you to do it,

I’ll do it first--wherever
you want to go, boss man,

I’m gonna go with you.

Like, I just--utmost respect.

- Oh, my God!

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- I seem to be moving
around pretty well.

[cheers and applause]

Nobody told me you didn’t
need an ACL, technically,

if you’ll throw a brace on it.

That’s how we got into
Dr. James Andrews.

That’s why everybody
goes to Birmingham now.

A few weeks later,
I go down and see Dr. Andrews.

And it’s like, yeah, no,
it’s not good.

Yeah, it’s a year out, but
you can rehab it a little bit

and put a brace on it.

And so
that’s exactly what I did.

- Here he comes,
back in action!

- Shawn decides to come back.

This was a moment
where things needed to change.

Business was bad.

WCW was starting to kill us.

- The NWO is the reason for
the success of "Monday Nitro."

- I don’t give a damn

what anybody thinks of me!

I became one of the most
controversial guys

in this line of work.

All of that was by design.

I’m a very polarizing
WWE superstar.

Everybody’s got a hook.

And so I just poked the bear
at every opportunity

I could ever get, because
I felt like it would help.

I’m not the most popular guy

in the World Wrestling
Entertainment.

But then again, I’m not looking
to win any popularity contest.

- Becoming more of a jerk
and having an edge to him,

that’s who he was.

So that’s more comfortable
to portray on air.

- And at that point
in time, DX is born.

- We are D-Generation X.
- D-Generation.

- You make the rules,
and we will break ’em.

Yeah.

DX first began as Hunter,
myself, and China.

Felt like we had a really good
idea of where the wrestling

business was going and where
it felt like it needed to go.

Just wanted to push the
envelope a little bit more.

- Shawn Michaels
and D-Generation X

want you to suck it.

- Every week we’re going on TV,
and we’re crossing a line.

- We’re gonna sit down here,
and we’re going

to play a little strip poker.

- Oh!

- D-Generation X
was this really brash,

exciting, and, respectfully,
obnoxious group of people.

- DX is on its way
to State College.

And in Pennsylvania tonight,
it looks like

it’s gonna be a full moon.

[laughs]

- It was fun, and it was cool.

There’s a shift going on
with our product.

And then our ratings
are getting better.

Shawn and Paul were
such good friends.

They were always talking and
thinking about the business.

- What we were doing
was resonating.

While we’re having fun
doing it,

we’re making ourselves laugh.

We know
we’re pissing people off,

and we’re trying to be dicks.

We’re just trying to make the
other one go like, oh, my God.

I can’t believe
you just said that on TV.

- Shawn and I both got
jumbo weenies.

- That was just crazy,
wild stuff.

All the stars aligned,
and the planets come together,

and life is good
in that respect.

Shawn Michaels,
D-Generation X coming your way.

[both stuttering]

both: Right.

- Can’t say I liked it.

You’re a disgrace
to professional wrestling.

And there was real tensions
between us.

- I’m not gonna lie to you.

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels
loathe one another,

whether it be out here
or back there.

- There’s an absolute hatred
between those two

in that moment in time.

- I was fine with stirring
stuff with everybody,

because I felt like
it fed my career.

I’ve seen you on the road.

And bro, you ain’t
no role model.

- He crossed a line
that nobody should ever cross.

Those are the kind of things
that could topple my marriage.

This was all about
principle and respect.

- Welcome, everyone, to the
11th annual Survivor Series.

- Heading into Survivor Series
’97 in Montreal,

Bret’s time in WWE is actually
about to come to an end.

- Bret was negotiating
on the other side,

seeing if the grass was
greener down south at WCW.

WCW then started to approach.

- Bret was able
to get a deal with WCW.

Bret was our champion.

We had to crown
a new champion.

His final date was
going to be in Montreal,

the Survivor Series.

Shawn takes the championship.

Bret goes to WCW.

Everybody’s happy.

Bret didn’t feel that way.

- I told you guys.

I’m not doing
anything like that,

not until Shawn shows me that
he has enough respect for me.

- To be honest,
we didn’t give a shit.

Bret couldn’t be allowed to go
to WCW with the championship.

He had to drop that title.

- I went there determined

to not lose to Shawn
no matter what they tried

to do in the ring.

- Shawn’s loyalty
was to the company.

Him and Vince McMahon
and Triple H

were all aware of what the plan
was at Survivor Series.

Bret Hart was not
a part of those plans.

- Look at this.

- Oh, you’re kidding me.

- Michaels--
are you kidding me?

- He’s gonna try to beat
Bret Hart with a Sharpshooter?

Yes, he is.

- This is just supposed
to be a moment that would

happen early on in the match.

Bret gets out of it.

- I could hear Vince
yelling at the timekeeper.

I could hear him yelling
at him to ring the bell.

- Ring the bell.

[bell rings]

- This is the perfect moment
to have Brett tap

or say that Brett taps.

- Brett Hart gave up
on the Sharpshooter.

- And Shawn could be champion
as Brett moves on to WCW.

- This is high-level
espionage, man.

Like, this is as heavy
as it gets in the business.

- This was not an easy thing.

But the understanding
on our side, on all ends,

was that there is
no other option than this.

- You could tell
that I had been set up.

Shawn probably gets
a bad Academy Award

for pretending
that he wasn’t in on it,

’cause he was like, oh, my.

He was acting like he didn’t
know what was going on.

- It wasn’t fun to do.

For all of our animosity,
for all of the rivalry

that he and I had,
I was the bad guy.

And then on that night,
I was gonna

frickin’ make it even worse.

In this business,
stuff begins to take on

this life of its own.

When everything is said and
done, the best thing you can do

is swallow whatever that is
and figure out how you’re gonna

pick yourself back up,
dust yourself off,

and get back in the game.

And The Heartbreak Kid

is now the new World Wrestling

Entertainment champion.

[dramatic music]

In a storyline
with The Undertaker,

we end up getting
to this casket match.

I’m gonna take a backdrop
out of the ring

but over the casket.

- He went over the top rope,
and he caught the edge of it.

- I take the shot to my back.

I didn’t think much of it.

- A dynamic elbow drop
right off the top.

- Kept it together.

We finished the match.

And then, obviously,
he found out

that he had a much more
significant injury

than what he had thought.

- Apparently,
I had burst the disc.

And that, obviously, alters
sort of everything in my career

from that point on.

♪ ♪

- This back injury
was a career-ender.

But, you know, look, he wanted
to be in that main event

at WrestleMania.

- You don’t get one of these,
pal, which you’ve never had,

I might add, by getting
knocked down too much.

- March 29, it’s mine.

- Spend the next month
doing everything

that I can to get myself
in shape for WrestleMania,

knowing that
I’ll never wrestle again

on the other side.

The reality of what’s
going to happen to me

is kind of sinking in.

I really go off the rails.

Clearly taking way too many
prescription pills.

I could stay sober
for the two hours on TV,

but the rest of the day,
you know what I mean,

I was rolling pretty good.

- Trying to escape,
trying to drown it out,

trying to not think about it,
not sit in the car,

and stew, and think about
everything going on.

And when every single thing
in your life

is wrapped up around
that moment of success

and everything around it is
falling apart, what do you do?

Everybody handles that
differently.

He won’t think about it.

It’s funny, because when you
talk about it in that manner,

then it sounds like, well,
God damn, why would you

hang out with this misery 24/7?

No, it’s not.

We’re like this.

Right?

It’s, again,
like your brother.

- Fact of the matter is,
it should have killed me.

The reality is, it didn’t.

And a lot of that is because
of Hunter taking care of me,

watching after me,
making sure that I could

still function and maintain
and be responsible.

- This is it.

This is the WWE title match.

- I was kind of checked out
at that time.

My performance was
always the most important

thing in the world to me.

But that was the day I just--
I don’t know.

I didn’t care.

It was just about
getting through it.

- Michaels turned upside down
and inside out.

- And Shawn’s got
that bad back anyway.

I think he’s hurt bad.

- I can look back on it
and go, now you’re

a pretty tough son of a gun.

- And the elbow.

- Yes!

- But for all
intents and purposes,

my life and career were over.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

- Hello, there.

How you doing?

Goodness gracious, dude.

Doing good?
- Doing well.

Look at you.

God, Ilja, you look fantastic.

- Well, thank you.
I try, you know?

- Yeah.

How long has
the entire rehab been?

- Gonna be a while.

It’s more than a year.

- Coming back from
injury sometimes is hard.

You know what I mean?

And sometimes
it messes with your mind.

But that’s what’s always
so positive about you.

Your mind is the strongest
part of your body, man.

Having this facility
here gives him

the opportunity
to come back and be

ready to go at whatever point.

You know, obviously,
keep training.

He’s just an animal
all the time anyway.

So I feel sorry for the guys
when he’s ready

to get back and get going.

You look like a million bucks.

That’s fantastic.

I look forward to it.

- Hey,
always great to see you.

- Yeah, nice seeing you too.
Thank you.

Yeah.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- I crushed my disc, L4, L5.

So you have to get fusion.

They pull the disc out.

They just fuse that
with bone out of your hip.

All they knew at the time was,

stuff like that
you don’t recover from.

People don’t get back
in the ring and wrestle again.

♪ ♪

I was trying to find out
what life looked like

not being a wrestler.

Clearly, there was
the wrestling school,

because I felt like
that’s something--

I don’t know,
from a "monetary standpoint,"

I’d built this kind of
brand or this name.

There’s certainly something
there that I’m interested in.

But the sports thing came up
because it actually

felt and sounded like
something that might

have some real security in it.

Have you ever noticed that
the smallest guy in the band

is always the guy
carrying that big tuba?

[dramatic music]

It was with Kens 5
in San Antonio.

We started out
with a little thing

where I was
at high school football

games on Friday nights.

I’d do a little fun segment.

Where’s all the spit come out?

- It leaks out.

So I don’t have
to empty it at all.

- Oh, well, it leaks out.

Well, that’s convenient
now, isn’t it?

And of course,
you look at that.

And you’re like, OK,
well, without wrestling,

I don’t know, I guess
a local sportscaster maybe

makes, I don’t know,
75, 100, 150 grand a year.

That’s a good living.

- This reporter will never,
ever look at the band

quite ever the same again.

- But you do enough drugs, you
screw enough of that stuff up--

I don’t know, you don’t really
go about it the right way

or apply yourself.

The love and the passion
and all of that

wasn’t there for that
like it was for wrestling.

And that obviously was
what caused

so much of the downward spiral
at that time in my life.

I had never had
anything that I could grasp

that was bigger
than the wrestling business.

That’s just not enough to base
a life on.

[light music]

- You look at the Nitro Girls.

My goodness.

But it’s time for Whisper.

- I’m into the Monday Night
Wars with everybody, too.

I’m watching both shows.

And the introduction
of this new Nitro Girl.

And she’s just doing
this dance.

And she’s absolutely
the most beautiful thing

I’ve ever seen,
and called her up.

Probably talked
for three hours

on the phone each night
for two weeks.

Think I met her in January
and we got married March 31.

With Rebecca,

it started out
so joyful and fun.

And it appealed to that
romanticized, crazy kind of

lifestyle atmosphere that
she could not do any drugs,

but she could still
have fun with me,

but then at the same time,
recognize

that, OK, he’s not healthy.

And he doesn’t just
do that to have fun.

He’s like that all the time.

[dramatic music]

And before long,
it’s too late.

Now she’s married to me.

Eight weeks after
we’re married,

she finds out she’s pregnant.

Cameron Kade Hickenbottom
is born the next year.

Oh, my God.

Now the poor girl’s locked in.

And she realized, like,
man, this dude’s, like,

on stuff all the time.

You ready to go?
Get ready.

[indistinct chatter]

I was actually,
like, real-life in love.

I was real-life enamored
with being a dad.

I really wanted to be
good for all of them,

because I was filled
with love and joy.

The only thing that isn’t
wonderful in this picture

is you.

- He had kids.
He had a wife.

Like, come on.

I told him to get
his act together.

I didn’t want him to die.

- My son, at two years old,
recognized--you know,

just saying, Daddy’s tired.

And me knowing that’s when
the drugs are kicking in

and I’m not in the best shape.

But he notices it.

That was kind of the--

the dam that broke.

It’s the first time
I ever wanted to be better.

I’ve never recklessly
abused anything ever again.

Rebecca, you know,
is helping me find who I am.

She said, what is it
about you that makes you

dislike yourself so much?

You’ve got to get to a very
raw place with yourselves

to step out of being that guy.

I don’t know.

I go on this, whatever,
reflective journey that I’m--

I’m looking for something.

♪ ♪

- Shawn became
a born-again Christian.

And Shawn got saved
probably a month before I did.

He and I kind of had
this parallel journey.

So we really connect now,
because we’re

strong in the faith.

The world doesn’t get
to us anymore,

because we have
that strong faith.

- When your Bible’s falling
apart, your life isn’t.

You know what I mean?

I remember somebody
who said, hey,

I heard Shawn found religion.

Yeah.
They laughed.

And I said, well,
I don’t know anybody

that died OD’ing on religion.

If it works for him,
good for him.

If he’s off drugs,
I don’t care how he did it.

- From my faith standpoint,
it’s Jesus seeing me

the way I am, loving me in
spite of all of my screw-ups.

And my life is different.

I’ve been saved.

Book of Joshua says
to be strong and courageous,

for I am with you.

You know what I mean?

I can do all things.

And those things just--

so anyway, it’s early on
in your salvation.

So I’m like, ah-ah.

I can do--I can walk
on water, you know?

So I don’t know.

I just felt, like, invincible.

[upbeat music]

- We’re kind of
having conversations,

I believe, a little bit
at the time.

And then he said--

he was like, I want my son
to see me do this one time.

He said, I don’t know
that I can do it.

I don’t know, physically,
if I can or not.

And he said, if I’m going to,
I only trust one person.

It’s you.

But if you’d consider it,
I would love to do it.

- Shawn saying, I might
have another one in me--

him being away,
it leaves a hole.

Shawn filled a lot of--
a lot of space, man.

And having Shawn back
is a blessing.

So of course you’re gonna
be happy to have him back.

[Shawn Michaels’ "Sexy Boy"]

- He is a showstopper.

His last match March 29,
1998 at WrestleMania.

- We are witnessing something
that we, quite frankly,

thought we’d never see!

- So I remember
we just loosely talk

about some things we’ll do.

And I’ll call it in the ring.

[crowd chanting "HBK! HBK!"]

- This crowd’s chanting
for HBK.

They’re trying
to carry him through.

[bell dings]

- Got in the ring,
did a couple of things.

- Shawn Michaels, leapfrog.

What an athlete.
- Look at this!

- And Triple H--

Michaels sidestepped The Game.

- Triple H has made
a big mistake

if he underestimates
Shawn Michaels.

- We did the spot.

And when we came up,
I said, you are fine.

You haven’t missed a step.

Let’s just go.

- Shawn Michaels.

- Vintage Shawn Michaels.

- Skinning a cat.

- He goes, oh, my God,
you’re back.

- He’s like,
he didn’t miss a beat.

He was right back.

His timing, everything
was just spot-on.

It was magic.

- He looks to be
in great shape.

- He looks great.

You gotta give him credit.

- How is this possible
that he is this good

after all that time,

the injury,
and everything else?

- Oh!

- Fans, for the love of God,
the elbow

right to the heart
of The Game.

- I almost feel like
I’m trying to catch up to him.

- Oh.

Michaels rolled him.

Will it be?

Can it be?

Yes!

HBK!

My God, HBK!

[light music]

- It gives me chills.

I mean, it’s there.

You know, it’s there.

It’s not gone.

Any performer will tell you,
your confidence is what makes

or breaks you half the time.

And so to get that back
was life-altering for me.

It gave me
another opportunity.

[dramatic music]

- A lot of things he took for
granted the first time around.

And when he came
back around again,

he’s like, I don’t know
how many chances I get at this.

I’m gonna enjoy this,
because I thought it was gone.

And I got the second chance.

So I’m gonna ride this
for as long as it’s right.

- Sweet Chin Music!
- Oh, he got him.

- Sweet Chin Music!

The cover!
The cover!

He’s got--yeah!

- What?

- Shawn Michaels is
the world’s champion!

- Seeing Shawn win the World
Heavyweight Championship

at the Elimination Chamber,
it was such a feel-good

moment as a fan to see that.

When wrestling is done right,
there’s nothing like it.

The purest form
of entertainment,

because you can just
lose yourself in it.

And I think that Shawn’s
matches, more than anybody,

achieved that.

- Oh!

Oh!

- The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn
Michaels, Mr. WrestleMania.

- He’s Mr. WrestleMania
for a reason.

And he really proved it
in those late stages

of his career.

Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle.

- Look out!
- Oh my God, Michaels!

- John Cena.

One future legend
after another,

Shawn is a part
of making those guys.

And it’s kind of a crazy
foreshadowing of where

his career and legacy would go

with what he’s doing now
in NXT.

- For him, it was
an opportunity to come back

and I think maybe
right his wrongs.

- Here you are, my man.
Take care.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- There was
an easiness about him.

- I’ve been waiting
for my cookies.

Two months with no
chocolate chip cookies, man.

Can’t take it anymore.

- He was just being Shawn,
the new Shawn.

You could tell, genuinely,

that he was
a changed human being.

Those are the kind of people
that I like to be around.

- And I had a different
outlook on life

and understanding the things
that were important.

I was willing to give it
my all but at least

still have enough time at home.

I didn’t work
a full-time schedule.

I wanted to balance it
as best I could.

I wanted to be a part of
their lives, my wife and both

of our children.

- [giggling]

- Cut me some slack.

Just can’t help being able
to see your face.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
for the 23rd time,

we welcome you
to WrestleMania.

- And now, combining these
two worlds that I’ve never

had together.

If you can have peace and joy

in the midst
of doing your job,

and your family,
and all of that

is in communion
with one another,

it’s as good as it gets.

It’s heaven on Earth.

♪ ♪

As you know, there are--

- I--yeah.

- I was gonna say,
there’s cameras--

- You’re mic’d.

Shawn Michaels is my dad.

[gentle music]

He got treated like everybody
else’s dad, I feel like.

You made fun of him.

You joked with him.

We argued.

We did whatever.

He wasn’t necessarily
this guy on a pedestal

that came home and was like,
yeah, I’m pretty cool.

I’m Shawn Michaels.

So that’s--just in case
you guys didn’t know.

He was just my dad.

And he’s always been
like that.

All my dad has ever cared
about is his wife, his kids,

providing for those people.

To this day, all my dad wants
to do is put on a good show

and go home
to his wife and watch

TV together
and spend time together,

or hang out with his kids.

It’s this week, double taping,
and then "Evolve."

But you’re gonna
be gone for that.

- Next week is--
yeah, next week, double taping.

- I started working here
when I was 19.

And it’s actually
a funny story.

[light music]

I was on the way to my
high school graduation.

Hunter was on
a phone call with him.

He told him
where we were going.

And he started asking
about what I wanted to do,

what I was interested in.

And my dad told him.

I enjoyed hair and makeup.

That was just a passion of
mine, what I really enjoyed.

So Hunter got me in touch
with the head of the hair

and makeup department.

And then it turned into,
be here on Tuesday.

And if you make it,
you make it.

And if you don’t, you don’t.

And I’ve worked here
ever since.

- Oh, my goodness.

What are you doing here?

Holy shit.

- I knew he was going
to do that, too.

- Oh, my goodness.

- Hey.
- What an awesome surprise.

- How are you doing?

- I’m doing great.

Did they ask you to come down?
- Yeah.

- Oh, my goodness.
That’s so awesome.

- I’m here to help out.

- Oh, that’s wonderful.

- Looking right into camera.

Nice.

- My brother’s always
been a great artist.

And he is a part of the
creative department at WWE.

- Aw.

- It’s a huge opportunity,
a huge responsibility.

On one hand, people go like,
oh, they’re your kids.

It’s easy.

And in some respects,
I guess it is.

But then another aspect,
you get held

to a different standard
as well.

They have a work ethic
like nobody’s business.

And I couldn’t be
more proud of both of them

for who they are more
importantly than what they do.

I’m so giddy.

Thank you guys so much.
- I don’t know--

- It’s wonderful.

- You get to hang out
with all your kids.

- I know. This is so cool.
- Yeah.

- You looked at me for,
like, a solid two seconds.

- You see me four times
a week--

- You--you’re all the time.
- --all the time.

- So it’s not as cool.
- Yeah.

- Damn. Damn.
- Get that on camera.

Neglected.

- And my baby boy
is even better.

- I’m the favorite.

I’m the favorite.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- I gotta stretch
probably 15 minutes

before I can even start moving.

♪ ♪

Everything really changes
after I had my back fused.

That’s when I started
doing yoga and obviously

stretched a lot more,
and understanding

my body a bit better.

For me, it was more
about mobility.

And the older I got, the
mobility helped a lot more.

This is the player watch,
WrestleMania 24.

I got one for both
myself and Ric

when I had his retirement match
at WrestleMania.

It’s something
that means a lot to me.

So I’ve just been trying
to wear it a little more.

I’ve sort of
submitted to the fact

that I am not going
to be able to emotionally

detach myself
from the situation,

although I have tried.

The guy I idolized growing up,
my hero, made a request of me.

And that is to let me know that
the best way that I can honor

him is to go out there
and give him my best,

go out there
and be the showstopper,

be Mr. WrestleMania.

- The time has come
for the Nature Boy Ric Flair

to put his career on the line
against Shawn Michaels.

- Whoo!

- Shawn just said to me that,
I’m leading this,

and that’s the way
it’s gonna be.

It took a load
off my shoulders,

to know that he felt
that good about it.

He gave everything that
anybody could ever give

to a match that night,
and more.

- Michaels’ body is--oh.

Oh, no.
Out of nowhere.

- Shawn Michaels obviously
grew up idolizing Ric Flair.

And now he is tasked
with the unenviable mission

of ending Ric Flair’s career.

- I’m sorry.

I love you.

- Oh!

- It’s a great moment
in wrestling.

- 1, 2, 3.

[bell dings]

[somber music]

- Every time I get
the opportunity

to talk about that match,
I continue to reminisce.

And it kind of just
always restores my love

and joy for doing this job.

And being in there
with Ric always

takes me back to the idea
that, can you believe it?

You’re actually
in there with the Naytch

and gonna have his last match.

And I got to do my version
of Naytching,

which is spending a lot of
money on stuff you don’t need.

This was important to me

and clearly meant a lot
to him.

- [laughs]

- About 10 past 24,
if you feel what I’m--

- Watch with a black face
with the 24.

You’ve seen it, right?

He had it all engraved
and everything.

- I’d love to tell you
the time, but the glare off

our watches is way too bright.

The glare off of all those
diamonds is blinding me.

[laughter]

I had the moment
at 24 with Ric.

And then the opportunity
that I had with Taker.

♪ ♪

- When 25 comes along,

he is a changed human being.

And we are on a level
now where

our friendship is
just as important now

as the business side of it.

- It is game day
for Mr. WrestleMania.

- To me, it’s about
the grandeur of it.

It’s about the story

and I think
just like the visuals

of seeing Shawn Michaels
and Undertaker just being

portrayed as visual opposites.

- Big, small.

Dark and imposing.

Bright and obnoxious.

Opposite in every way.

And to me,
that’s freaking awesome.

- All he had to do
was be Shawn Michaels.

And all I had to do
was be The Undertaker.

Both of us in the twilight of
our careers, we’re going out,

and we’re gonna steal the show.

- We are seeing
two bona fide Hall of Famers.

- A sudden Sweet Chin Music.

- To me, WrestleMania 25,
Shawn-Taker, is one of the

best WrestleMania matches ever.

- Oh!
- Tombstone!

Tombstone!

My God, Michaels got caught!

Tombstone!

The count.

- 2, 3.

- And a kick out!

I am not believing this!

- All the stars aligned.

Everything’s going right.

Everything clicks.
It all works.

- Here he comes.
Incoming!

- Catching Michaels.

- One of the greatest
matches of all time,

and that was magic.

- Tombstone piledriver.

- 1, 2, 3.

- He did it!
[bell dings]

[tense music]

- It is the best match
that I think

that I have ever been in,

and it took
the least amount of effort.

- I had that match
with Taker, and that

was the first time that
I ever felt like I’d be

OK if that was the last one.

It’s one glorious moment
after another,

but how do you end it?

How does it end?

♪ ♪

- You’re coming back
for another one,

and this just so happens
to be his retirement match.

- This entire journey,
this entire arc

of this guy, this character,
that essentially when

everything is said and done,
is the Heartbreak Kid,

Shawn Michaels, you know,
to go out on your last one,

I wanted it to be poetic.

I have complete peace with it.

So I just knew that it’s like,
I can do this.

- And it does not appear
that Shawn Michaels

is intimidated at all.

- The resilience of Shawn
Michaels is unbelievable.

[dramatic music]

- If he’s going to go out,
he has to go out on his terms.

It’s art imitating life.

- Oh.

Well, if Shawn Michaels
is going out,

he’s going out
as defiant as ever.

- That look of disbelief
on the face of the Undertaker

has turned into a look
of rage.

Ahh!

- Tombstone.

Here’s the cover.

- 1, 2, 3.

[bell dings]

- Shawn Michaels’ career
is over.

[gentle music]

- I don’t know if I’ve ever
seen a moment like this.

This might be the ultimate
WrestleMania moment.

Shawn, we’ll miss you.

[applause]

- I’m in the background,
arms crossed.

I’m...

I hated The Undertaker.

- I very much enjoyed
those matches with him.

I very much enjoyed my career.

When everything
is said and done,

isn’t that how it’s
supposed to be?

[crowd chanting "HBK! HBK!"]

- I thank you all so much
for giving me

the honor and the privilege
to come out here

and let me show off in front
of you every night of my life.

[cheers and applause]

- He left the way
you should leave.

He was at such peace
with his decision.

He was fulfilled.

[cheers and applause]

- This business is your life
when you’re on the road

and doing it in a lot of ways.

- All right, call you tomorrow.

- I’ll call you
tomorrow, buddy.

- When you decide, that’s it,

there’s a brick wall
stop moment.

- I’m in it every day.

It’s all I talk about
and all I do to--

I’m not around it.

I don’t see people.

I don’t talk to those people,
because they’re all busy.

And you understand that.

So Shawn had gone down
this road where he wasn’t

involved in the business
at all.

He was doing other things.

He had a hunting show.

- Oh.
- Dude.

- Oh, I almost--[laughs]

- No way.

We have to thank
each and every one of you

for making
"MacMillan River Adventures"

one of, if not the most
successful show

on the Outdoor Channel.

- Life after wrestling
led me to retirement

and living out on a ranch
in the middle of nowhere

in West Texas.

Seeing Hunter
once in a blue moon

when I went back to do
a special appearance.

- To Shawn. It’s S-H-A-W-N.

I’m your biggest fan.

I know you hear that
all the time.

But...

- I’m your biggest fan?
- Yeah.

You’re my biggest fan.

- Yeah. [laughs]

- As Triple H’s in-ring career
started to wind down,

he just naturally transitioned
into the development

of other talent
in creating NXT.

- NXT is the next generation.

[crowd chanting "NXT! NXT!"]

- Shawn was super into
the behind-the-scenes

of the business like I was,

but just never saw it
as a path.

[soft guitar music]

But at some point,
Shawn called me.

He was bringing his family
to see his wife’s family.

♪ ♪

So he was gonna be
in the area for a few weeks

for, like, a summer vacation.

He was interested in seeing
the PC and being there.

I could just see his spark
for the business.

- It was just that feeling that
I hadn’t felt since retirement

eased its way back
into my life.

- We’re in Florida, Orlando.

Our friends are taking us
to all these places.

You’re doing
all this fun stuff.

I’m like, yeah,
and Dad’s doing work.

Great. I don’t care.

We were in Florida
on vacation still,

and we walked by a house.

They were like, yeah,
we rented this house.

We’re staying here
for a while.

Like, we’re thinking
about moving here.

- By the time we had
finished that vacation,

we had made the decision
to go back home to Texas,

pack up, move our
entire lives to Florida,

which is exactly what we did.

[soft music]

- I think Shawn becoming
part of NXT

was this long, sinister
plan by Triple H.

Hunter knew once
Shawn did this to Owen,

he was jumping all in.

- To me, the second
Shawn said, I’m in,

I didn’t have a new coach.

I had one Shawn Michaels.
Oh, good.

I got somebody with one
of the greatest minds

in the business
that can help this product

immensely across the board
no matter what it is.

- When I saw the opportunity,
like you were coming to the PC,

I literally looked online.

I was still doing the indies.

And I was like, wow,
I would be going

to work for Shawn Michaels.

I’ll drive 10 hours,
a 4-hour round trip

a couple of days a week.

That’s nothing.

- One of the greatest
to ever get in the ring.

Who else would you want
teaching the next generations

of sports entertainers?

- It’s the giving back
to the business

that had been so good
to me and my family.

I had a great amount of joy
getting to do it.

- I remember him asking me,
like, "Hey,

so I think I’m ready to start
having my own class."

And I remember telling
Hunter like,

he wants his own class now.

[soft music]

- I said, OK.

Well, we’re going to watch
the matches.

I want you to do the best
you can to listen to the crowd

while these matches
are going on.

What they inherently end up
doing is focusing on the moves

and what they’re doing
and getting

caught up in the action.

- I had us go back,
watch those same matches,

but turn the lights off
and made everybody

close their eyes
and then just listen.

♪ ♪

For a while, they all thought
I was kind of crazy

and didn’t understand
what I was doing.

But after a while,
as they began to sort of

listen to the crowd

and then recollect where
they were at in the matches,

they understood
what I was talking about.

When you set that standard,

you sort of got to live up
to it every time.

- I was in his class.

That’s why he has
all these accolades,

because he was that meticulous
in his art.

So I remember I was
working with Eric Young.

For three weeks
leading up to this match,

we had a hard time finding
our way into the finish.

So I’m like,
let’s just ask Shawn.

He goes, OK.

[clears throat]

Why don’t you slide,
hit those two?

Go to do
a Skin The Cat back in.

He grabs you off the ropes,
and hit him.

- Neckbreaker.

- 3!

[bell dings]

- He got it in, like--
at 15 seconds.

That’s the legendary mind.

And that’s just--that’s Shawn.

[bright music]

- The thing about Shawn is,
at first, he was very much,

you know,
I can contribute like this.

I can contribute like that,

you know, but I wouldn’t want
any responsibility.

He wants a job,
but he doesn’t want a job.

He doesn’t want
the responsibility of a job.

But I also knew, once you
start to get into this,

it’s addictive.

I’ve joked with him
about this before.

I just had to give you a taste,

and then you’d come back
for more.

Right? Like--like a dealer.

- My role kind of slowly
gets bigger and bigger

as time goes on.

Things are gonna move fast.

And that’s how
this line of work is.

So that’s the only thing
I’m gonna say is,

take the time.

Every now and then,
when you get out there,

take a look around.

Look at those people,
and take it all in.

I can’t speak for everybody,
but let yourself be

certainly what I was,
and that is

a 12- to 15-year-old kid
going, oh, my goodness,

I can’t believe I made it
and I’m here doing this.

Well, I was having fun
doing NXT

and all that stuff beforehand.

Now, all of a sudden,
he’s back doing it with me,

sitting next to me.

That’s awesome! That’s awesome!

Attaboy, Johnny.

That’s awesome.

Being able to work
with your best friend

on a regular basis,
it really was

as close as we could get
to getting back

in the car with one another,
driving down the road,

and talking about wrestling.

- We both, like, a big fight,
we just--

[laughter]

I know what he’s thinking.
He knows what I’m thinking.

I can bring up one thing.
He knows exactly what I mean.

I don’t have to long-form
spell it out for him

or give him the full idea,
and vice versa, same.

- Get it to work.

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

Bing, bam, bam.

- Bam, boom, kicks.

- Watching those two know what
the other person is thinking

and almost watching as--
like it’s a movie,

like you’re the firsthand,
like, seat to a movie.

- Having the opportunity to
sit there and listen to them,

the ideas that they have,
there are times that I’m like,

oh, why didn’t I think of that?

I want to think of that.

I want to be on
that level that

it comes to them like that.

- You know, he was kind of
my right hand there.

And then, in my mind,
that was becoming the plan

of, like, OK, if I ever
have to take "Raw,"

SmackDown, or any of that--

if I have to move up the line,

if I have to take on
a different role,

he could handle that.

- That stuff going on.

- And then that’s
sort of what happened.

[dramatic music]

I’m looking for people
that stand out in a crowd.

I’m looking for people
that are larger than life.

We had been running hard,
Vegas, LA, LA back to Orlando.

And I was sick while
I was along this tour.

But I just thought I had,
like, flu or something.

That leads me
to finding out, like--

getting a phone call
from a doctor telling me,

hey, you need to go
to pack a little bag

right this second.

Do not dillydally.

Put it in the car.

Have your wife drive you.

Don’t drive yourself.

Go to Yale in New Haven.

And I was like,
what is going on?

And they go,
"You’re in heart failure."

♪ ♪

[soft piano music]

- Looking back on it,
it’s all kind of a blur.

Your buddy, who’s had this
very real-life,

traumatic moment in his life,
that in and of itself,

on a whole separate level,
was just tough personally.

♪ ♪

- In 2021,
we’re looking for somebody

due to Triple H’s
health scare.

OK, who can step in
and just do this?

It was Shawn. Shawn was there.

He had prepared for it
his entire life.

He just didn’t know it.

- Honestly, I didn’t want
the responsibility.

I didn’t want the pressure.

I didn’t want the anxiety of
doing everything that he did.

I really wanted a life
where I could contribute

to this business
that I love but not

have any of the hardships
or the heartache

or the pressure or the anxiety
that goes along with it.

[bright music]

But at the same time,
the responsibility of

stepping in for my friend
was something that,

there’s no way I could
say no to that.

You know, you’re talking about
somebody who made a great deal

of sacrifice for me
at times in his career

where it was very
tough to do that.

This was a moment that
I felt like I could maybe,

in some way, pay him back

for what he had done
so selflessly.

And so I immediately
jumped in with both feet

and did everything I could
to at least

not let the ship go down
while he was off.

All right, so look,
this is where

Hunter usually gives
the speech.

All right? He’s not here,

and I’m not as good at it
as he is.

- You don’t feel ready.

But when the time came,
Shawn was--

Shawn was Shawn Michaels.

- I retired from this stuff
ten years ago,

and I was happy
as a pig in mud.

And I walked in here
five years ago,

and everybody in here,
all of you,

made me fall back in love
with this stuff.

And now I can’t get away.

I’m right back in.

I’m as hungry and as passionate
as I ever was.

And it’s because of
all of you in here.

- We all knew that Shawn was
ready to take over NXT

and take over the PC.

What Shawn definitely
didn’t know--

what was really ahead of him.

[dramatic music]

- The one thing that helped me
with all of this is,

I like a challenge.

Unfortunately,
I have such a fragile ego

that I don’t want
a lot of responsibility,

but when it’s thrust upon me,

I don’t want everybody to know
that I don’t want it.

All right, we’ll figure it out.

Live TV.

What can go wrong?

This is a 100% challenge,

a 100% struggle
each and every week.

It’s kind of a sickness,
in a way.

Oh, my God.

So I try to just do my job
and do it well

and put on a very good
two-hour wrestling show.

Thank you all very much.

Thank you.

All I know is that
I’m not sick of it yet.

So until somebody tells me
to cease and desist,

I’m gonna be doing this again
tomorrow night.

♪ ♪

- Shawn had to pick up
that ball really quick

and run with it.

In that period of time
where I was down,

a lot of company upheaval
was happening.

♪ ♪

- When I was first
taking over,

there was a transition
of going from

this black and gold to a 2.0.

- The black and gold era,
that was an era

where Hunter was
building a brand,

experienced talent.

- We got a new champion here
at NXT, Drew McIntyre.

- You know, 2.0,
we’re bringing in

these athletes now,

getting them ready for "Raw"
and "SmackDown."

We’re all here right now,
and it’s a brand-new chapter.

- All right, three, two, one.

- Shawn Michaels takes over.

And then everything changed.

Guys like myself--
Carmelo Hayes, Bron Breakker,

like, that’s when we all
kind of broke in to NXT.

They threw us out
and see if we can sink or swim.

- Welcome to a brand-new era
in the rich history of NXT.

- What’s gone on in NXT 2.0

in the last six months
is a miracle.

80% of that show are
people that have been

in the wrestling business
for six months.

[cheers and applause]

At six months,
I’d have shit a golden brick

had you sat me
in front of that crowd

that you all were in Saturday.

We won’t be able to show
any of this on film.

[laughter]

That’s OK.

After a while, you begin
to have an attachment

to the talent
that comes through

these Performance Center
doors.

You start to feel
a real responsibility to them,

and to understand
that all of this

doesn’t happen
unless somebody is there

managing this ship.

- Shawn was doing
such a great job running NXT

that when Triple H was
able to come back

and return to "Raw"
and "SmackDown"

to run creative there,
Shawn was able to just

take the ball
and keep running at NXT.

- One of the things
that Hunter taught me

that he said Dusty taught him,

which is kind of the 70% rule,
which is,

no one’s ever going
to be able to convey

the vision that you have
in your head.

Only you have that.

And you can do everything
you can to best verbalize

and vocalize that to somebody.

But it’s never going to quite
be the way you’re picturing.

So understand that,
and grade it more in a--

you know, if you can get 70%
of that, consider that a win.

You’re not gonna be able
to start slow like that.

- Yeah.
- You know what I mean?

So I just feel like, again,

you just got to get
more energy, more fire.

Right now,
you’ve got to show people

that you can do
everything under the sun

and still follow the rules.

Thank you both for it.

But again, I’m not doing my job

if I don’t give you
the honest truth.

- He’s always there.

And he’ll give us his feedback
and tell you the truth

whether you want
to hear it or not.

And I think that’s the best
kind of criticism.

Like, you can only grow
from getting real critiques.

And I think
Shawn’s great at that.

- Jacy Jayne is now
Women’s Champion.

- Attagirl.

[applause]

- He really does care
about us.

- Seriously, good job.
- Thank you.

- Congratulations.
- I appreciate it.

And it’s really funny.

A lot of my friends
would be like, "Oh, my God,

you know who
Shawn Michaels is?"

And I’m like, yeah, I see him
literally every week.

Like, he’s my boss.
He’s the best.

- Don’t mind if I do.

You just caught me
after 100 reps, man.

100 reps. Ah!

My biggest thing talking
to Shawn is about,

there’s sacrifices that you
have to take to be the man,

but most importantly,
be great at what you do.

- This is a new era being
led by Trick Williams.

- Shawn Michaels,
he gave me a chance.

And I feel like
I earned his respect.

- They know I care.

And that’s the reason that

I always want it
to go so well.

I see them with this
unbelievable opportunity

and this unbelievable
amount of ability

and want them
to harness all that.

♪ ♪

- I was like, that’s my
wrestling dad right there.

- Wrestling grandpa.

[laughter]

- He’s so funny.

Like, he’s such
a character still.

- Is that what you’re wearing?

- You don’t like the sparkly?

He’ll joke around with you,

especially if you’re
close to him.

Like, he’ll probably
talk trash about you.

- Is that what’s fly now?

Is fly still fly?

- You know, a little drip
for the youngins.

- A little drip
for the youngins?

- Yeah, for the youngins.

- All right,
go ahead and wear it.

- It’s all jokes.
It’s all jokes.

But it’s so cool, like just
being in the same room,

or just having, like,
a close enough connection

to one of the greatest
to ever do it.

All right, bet. Say less.

- Hey, I’m just kidding.
- Oh, I know.

You already know.
- Thank you very much.

- Yes, we’re all good?
- Thank, y’all. Awesome.

Thank you guys.

- He is somebody
who is never afraid to, like,

step out and learn a little bit
more about anything.

Three, two...

- Ooh, this is nice.

Girl!

- There are old-timers
rolling over

in their grave
knowing that I’m doing

TikToks and stuff like that.

It’s been something
that I never thought

I would have done.

- Well, it’s one
of those keys, Shawn.

- But at the same time,
having the opportunity

to embarrass your children
never gets old,

even when they get older.

[upbeat music]

- ♪ Go crazy ♪

- We definitely have to,
like, kind of show him

and, like, talk him through,
like, this is the trend.

This is how it works.

Like, all you have to do
is this.

We try to make it
really, really simple.

- ♪ Go crazy ♪

- Some of that is
his real personality,

which is what makes it funny.

I do think it’s funny.

I do like it.

[soft music]

- He is all about giving
everybody a platform

to be the best version
of themselves,

to be the most authentic
version of themselves.

He truly just wants
everyone to succeed.

- It’s a genuine family.

And he’s like--he’s
the head of the family.

- Darrell,
it’s his birthday today.

He’s a young 45 years old.

[laughter]

I want to wish him
a very happy birthday.

- Thank you.
- All right, very much.

- He is legitimately helping
people achieve their dreams.

- Thank you all so much for
doing this and working so hard.

Fantastic last couple weeks.

And obviously, next week, man,
we’re gonna cut you guys loose.

Go out there and show the world
who in the hell you are.

All right?

[cheers and applause]

[dramatic music]

- For so many years, here in
the WWE, it was WWE only.

And we did everything we could

to kind of make sure

we were the absolute
number one,

and possibly only,

sports entertainment brand
out there.

- Let’s get to tonight.

A bigger picture here is
NXT under attack by TNA.

And remember to put
your differences aside.

This is for brand
supremacy here.

One thing that comes across
the desk of NXT all the time

is working with
different promotions.

There’s an opportunity
with TNA.

- TNA Wrestling is
another wrestling

organization in America.

And NXT and TNA decided
to begin a partnership

that was designed to mutually
benefit both parties.

- There will be TNA and us,
TNA and NXT.

I think it’s unprecedented,
TNA wrestlers,

NXT superstars.

This truly is the answering
the question of, what if?

What if these two worlds
collided?

It happens for the first time
in "Showdown."

- I appreciate you coming in.
- I’m glad to be here.

- It’s a long time coming.
- Appreciate it.

- To see Shawn Michaels
embracing this collaboration

between TNA and NXT
was exciting, was refreshing,

because the possibilities
could be endless.

Shawn Michaels, like,
this is the guy

who was on the forefront
of the Monday Night Wars

between WCW and WWE.

- When you’re in the fight,

when you’re one
of the soldiers,

it seems like
the right thing to do.

But when you’re on the other
side and you’re talking about,

well, why can’t
the whole business flourish,

how bad would that be?

- Just don’t make it go long.

But if I can get it off of him,
get it off of him.

- Right, yeah.
- OK.

All right.

Hey, where is this thing going?

Oh, it’s going here,
"Showdown."

Here’s our best,
and let’s see what happens.

- Looking forward
to a good night.

And nothing we can do
to control it

once it’s executed.

[dramatic music]

- It is a big fight
atmosphere tonight

inside the Performance Center.

- I’m an old guy.

So for you to, you know--
- No, no.

- You to have any idea,

as young as you are,
to know what I did...

- Yeah.
- No, man.

You’re the ultimate performer.
- So I’m flattered.

That’s even better to hear.

- The collab we didn’t know
we needed.

- Yeah, exactly.
- Truly.

- Fastest man in the world
and Mr. WrestleMania.

Talk about it.
- Yeah.

- That’s awesome.

There are matchups there
that people can talk about

or think about or "dream about"

that now you’re able
to deliver on.

- It is just awesome
and amazing to see

how the Hardys have
continued to stay

at the top of their game.

- They’ve got some
veterans there

that many of our
young athletes here

might not have had
the opportunity to work with

that they can now have.

- Completely ignore
that you’re out there

with one of the best tag teams
in the world.

All right?

Show them who you are,
all right?

- Yes, sir.
- Go get ’em.

Go get ’em, boys.
Go do it.

Yeah.

- Tag team titles versus
tag team titles,

winner take all!

[crowd cheering]

Jeff Hardy going up
for the Swanton Bomb!

- Gotta love it.

all: One, two, three!

[cheers and applause]

- For the first time,

TNA wrestlers are
WWE and NXT champions.

- It’s such an honor
to be here

with him kind of
running the show

and thanking us for being here.

I mean, it’s just--
it’s unreal, man.

- Anything you guys can
pass along--

they’re good boys.

They don’t get the opportunity
to be in there

with people that are
this much better than them.

- It’s so amazing
to come and see Shawn

in this environment
to be a teacher.

Thank you, Shawn Michaels,
for giving back

like you’re giving back
right now.

[crowd cheering]

- Here it comes, boys.

Oh, shit.

Well, I guess
the thing is, like,

I’m still a wrestling fan.

I still find myself getting
caught up in the show.

- He’s grabbed my hands a few
times and started a prayer.

And I was like, yes,
count me in on this prayer.

Here we go. Let’s go.

both: Ooh!

- Holy shit.

- That was incredible!

all: One, two...

- Ooh, whoa.

- When he sees the highs,

he shares the highs
with the talent.

- Holy shit, dude.

That was good.
- Thank you.

- You happy with that?
That was freaking good.

You OK?
- I’m OK.

- Oh, yes.

Drop it like it’s hot.
Drop it like it’s hot.

Oh, yes.

Oh, yes, man.
- [chuckles]

Those are the nights
you sleep the soundest.

That’s what you work the other
six days of the week for

to have that show
that goes off really well.

Everything clicks.

It all works.

[cheers and applause]

A TNA-NXT "Showdown"
that 5, 10, 15 years ago

nobody thought would happen.

And we made it all happen
here at NXT.

That turned out really good.

Hell of a night.

- I’m gonna see
if I can hug HBK.

Let’s see what happens.

Thanks, brother.

- Boss man.
- Thank you very much, brother.

- Love you, boss man.

- All right, I get it. [laughs]

I see you hamming
to the camera.

Good boy.

- All right, NXT champions.

- Those of us
that have been doing this

for a really, really,
really long time

appreciate all
the hard work and effort

that goes into this job.

Thank you, ladies.
- Thank you, Shawn.

Appreciate it.
- Thank you very much.

Appreciate it. Thank you, dear.
- Thank you.

That was fun.
- Thank you very much.

Sometimes we didn’t have
people telling us.

And we just want to make sure
that we’re at least

a generation that acknowledges
this generation’s hard work

in hopes that they’ll do it
with the next.

Thank you guys very much.
- Thank you.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Good job, ladies.

[soft music]

Hey, thank you all very much
for a long night.

Thank y’all very much.
Appreciate it.

Thank y’all.

Overall, fantastic show.

Everything we do here
at the Performance Center

is about trying to make
"Raw" and "SmackDown"

stronger for the future.

And I think we’re doing
a hell of job,

and I think it speaks well.

All these unbelievable athletes
are coming through here,

learning how to do this stuff,
learning how to do it right,

and hopefully,

it will be successful
for a long, long time.

♪ ♪

They’re ready?

- They’re ready.

- Take it home.

- Shawn could be
on a beach right now

sipping a piña colada
or a Malibu Bay Breeze,

but he doesn’t,
because he loves this.

- If you were to ask in 1995,

where is Shawn Michaels
gonna be

in 35 years or whatever?

You’d say, hopefully,
teaching the future.

- I’ve been up on him
like this at 7 or 8.

And I do something, and he--

ah, boom, down.

- I think he values
the interactions, you know,

the real life stuff behind
everything that we do on TV,

making a difference
in people’s lives.

I got an idea.

It could be stupid.

- I’m all about stupid, Trick.
Lay it on me, man.

I have experiences
that will benefit people--

if nothing else,
scare them straight.

I don’t have anything to say.

[uplifting music]

Everybody that I had
relationships with back then,

they’re all mended now.

- The stuff that you
worried about 20 years ago...

- Seems pretty small now.
- Sort of pales--yeah.

- [laughs] Exactly, yeah.

- I think he’s changed a lot.

He’s matured,
and he’s a different guy.

- I love telling people
about my dad.

My dad deserves to be
acknowledged

as one of the greatest,
’cause he is.

- The Heartbreak Kid,
Shawn Michaels!

- Shawn’s one of those guys

that moved
the business forward.

That’s why he became one
of the greatest of all time.

- For a quarter of a century,

Shawn Michaels has entertained
the WWE Universe.

- To see the passion
that he had as a performer--

but I think leading
these new generations

of talent coming up,
that will be

his biggest contribution
to wrestling.

- Come on. You can do it.
You can do it.

Ah!

I don’t like to grow up.

I tried to stay a child
majority of my life.

And I’ve had the luxury
of doing that.

There are two things in
this life that I care about,

and that is my wife
and children and the WWE.

If I can leave them both
better off,

I’ll rest easier in eternity.

♪ ♪

[soft music]

♪ ♪

Ah. Oh, my goodness.

- Oh.

- Make sure you come back
and visit me.

- Of course. What?
- All right?

All right.
- For sure.

I appreciate you.

- Congratulations, man.

- Appreciate it.
- All right.

Like I told you
a couple weeks ago,

that number doesn’t
change, so...

- Yes, sir.
- You know what I mean?

Anything I can do
along the way.

- Yes, sir.
- All right.

- I appreciate you.

♪ ♪

- I’m more nervous for this
than I’ve ever been,

simply because
you two are here now.

My goodness.

[Shawn Michaels’ "Sexy Boy"]

- ♪ Oh, oh, Shawn ♪

- ♪ I think I’m cute ♪

♪ I know I’m sexy ♪

- I don’t know,
but I feel like

that’s a bit of a fake smile.

You got the whole family
judging now.

- I don’t--I don’t--
I don’t smile that much.

[laughter]

♪ ♪

- If he was throwing it
and yelling, that’s the photo.

- [laughs]
- That’s what really happens.

♪ ♪

"I should have just
stayed retired."

Oh. Not the--
- [laughs]

♪ ♪

[laughter]

Yeah. [laughs]

That’s it. That’s the one.

- Yeah.
- That’s the one.

[laughter]

Oh, my goodness.

♪ ♪