Shawn Michaels On How Long Goldberg Vs. Lesnar Should Be, Part-Timer Complaints, His Mt. Rushmore
The voice of WWE's Attitude Era, Jim Ross, recently caught up with professional wrestling legend, Shawn Michaels. Among other things, Michaels discussed whether he complained about part-timers in his day, how long the Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar match at WrestleMania 33 should be, The Rock 'n' Roll Express being inducting into the WWE Hall Of Fame, sitting under their learning tree, and his personal Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling.
According to Michaels, he was one of those guys who would complain about part-timers taking the top spots, but he would also realize that he would be in a top spot if he could fill up the buildings.
"The fact of the matter is this. If I could've filled up the building, they would have had me there, but I couldn't and that was the reality. Heck, there were times where I was on top and still didn't fill up the building, so you've got to? again, it's one of those processes where it might not be fun, but you've got to man up."
Michaels said that Goldberg's rationale for wanting to return to the WWE for his family to see him perform is relatable and touching. 'Mr. WrestleMania' went on to say that Goldberg vs. Lesnar at WrestleMania should be 15 to 17 minutes, from bell to bell.
"It is, it's one of those, whatever the object that doesn't move and the immovable force or however that saying goes. And I think they will, I think they'll do their high-impact stuff, but the thing is, I think both of those guys are smart enough, they'll get some mileage out of that and be able to tell a good story with that." Michaels continued, "I'm going to say, I think with those guys, they can tell a story, I mean, you might feel that it's too much, but I feel like 17-ish, 15 to 17."
In Michaels' view The Rock 'n' Roll Express is the greatest babyface tag team of all time and he is thrilled they are getting inducted into WWE's Hall Of Fame. Michaels claimed that he had the opportunity to watch them night after night when he was 19 years old.
"Greatest tag team ever, man. Say what you want, them and The Midnight Express, I got to sit there and watch those guys tear the house down every night at 19 years old and it was a thing of beauty at the time. And yes, I was thrilled when I heard them going in the Hall Of Fame. To me, that is so deserved. And again, I recognize it's another generation, so there are probably a lot of people who may not know who they were. And I'm sure there are others, but the best, the greatest babyface tag team ever, a gimmick that was so unbelievably cool back in the day and played it to the hilt."
Michaels stated that Ricky Morton was the second best seller of pro wrestling punishment, second only to Ricky Steamboat.
"You want to learn how to sell? You watch Ricky Morton. You watch Ricky Morton sell, and, again, Ricky Steamboat might be the only guy that's better. And just, again, the quintessential babyface."
Michaels indicated that The Rock 'n' Roll Express and Terry Taylor smartened him up to the pro wrestling business.
"Those guys and Terry Taylor, those were the guys that did, they put me in the backseat." Michaels added, "and just sat in the backseat, and again, they made sense of stuff for me. I mean, because I didn't know anything. José [Lothario] didn't smarten me up about anything. So, again, they'd go over my matches and tell me about fire and, like, 'gee, you can't mess your hair up once and call it fire.'"
As for 'HBK”s personal pro wrestling Mount Rushmore, 'The Most Honored Champion In WWE History' named Tully Blanchard, Wahoo McDaniel, Ric Flair, and Terry Funk.
"Well, I mean, gosh, from my generation off the top of my head, it'd have been Tully, Wahoo, Flair, and probably Terry Funk. Yeah, well, that's what I grew up with. For the 15 year old me, that's probably what it would have been."
Click here to listen to this edition of Slobberknocker Audio. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit The Ross Report with an H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcription.
Source: The Ross Report