Shawn Michaels On Why WWE Beat WCW In The Monday Night Wars
WWE Hall of Famer and former WWE Champion Shawn Michaels is one of many guest legends who will appear at the 25th Anniversary of Raw. Michaels was recently interviewed by CBS Sports' In This Corner podcast to discuss various topics regarding his personal Raw moments.
Michaels also discussed the WWE vs. WCW Monday Night War, which lasted from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001. Michaels was incredibly instrumental in WWE gaining momentum over WCW, as he led the D-Generation X faction to present a more edgy product. This shift planted seeds to Raw gaining more interest, and eventually winning the war when Vince McMahon acquired his bitter rival WCW.
Despite Michaels previously admitting on The Ric Flair Show in 2016 that he did have thoughts of joining WCW with his fellow Kliq members Scot Hall and Kevin Nash, he knows that he is a "WWE guy," and there were never any contractual offers that made him want to leave WWE. Moreover, Vince McMahon told him that he would not have any creative freedom if he went to WCW, and he would not have the ability to "be himself."
On why WWE ultimately defeated WCW in the Monday Night Wars, this is what Michaels had to say.
"I've always known the guy I work for, and the dude works 24/7, and that's why it was always easy never to leave. There was absolutely no way that guy was going to give up. You didn't know when, you didn't know how long, or whatever. But there was absolutely no way he was not going to continue standing and continue fighting. So, really once you really know that, it's just are you willing to wait it out. Of course, I was doing what I loved to do, and so I certainly didn't mind. [There was] a lot of nerves, lot of concern, lot of worry, and stuff like that, I'm sure all those years from the higher-ups, but those of us who were the workhorses, so to speak, our job was to go out there and do the best we could, and quite honestly, let them worry about the more important stuff."
After retiring from active competition in 2010, Michael has made sporadic appearances on WWE television, including being a special guest referee at WrestleMania XXVIII and appearing alongside Mick Foley and Steve Austin at WrestleMania 32.
If any portion of these quotes are used, be sure to H/T In This Corner via WrestlingINC for the transcription.
Source: In This Corner Podcast