Shawn Michaels is one of the few WWE performers who can say they’ve competed against Vince McMahon on multiple occasions.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels recently sat down with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. When asked about D-Generation X‘s match against Vince and Shane McMahon at SummerSlam 2006, Michaels said at that point in his career it wasn’t an awkward match at all.
“At one time, it may have been awkward to work against my boss and his son, but it wasn’t by that point in our careers,” Shawn Michaels said. “Talk about two guys that are unbelievably giving and open to darn near anything under the sun. They were hustlers who just worked so hard, there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do.”
Shawn Michaels admitted that he put a lot of pressure on himself when he competed against Vince at WrestleMania 22. To have a match Michaels could enjoy with him a few months later at SummerSlam was a great opportunity for him.
“That’s an opportunity for those guys not to be what they usually are,” Shawn Michaels said. “That’s the boss. It was a time for Vince and Shane to cut loose. It was very enjoyable, and it was very easy. That’s one of the reasons I picked Vince for that WrestleMania. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and that led to a lot of anxiety, so I wanted to have one I could enjoy.”
Michaels said having a tag match was a lot less pressure and that it went much better than any of them planned.
“There’s a different expectation in a match like that, and so much less pressure,” says Michaels. “For it to go so much better than we planned, that was a bonus. It’s the total opposite type of match for me. And they were willing to do anything. They were working for the best aspect of the match. It was very enjoyable for us to go through the creative process and put together the match with the boss.”
What do you make of Shawn Michaels’ comments? Do you remember this tag match from SummerSlam 2006? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comment section below.
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