Vince McMahon fined me $10,000 for disrespecting The Undertaker with this stunt on WWE TV
Shawn Michaels was never afraid to push the envelope a little too far back in the day, and it occasionally landed him in hot water. Michaels is now the – comparatively – straight-laced father figure of NXT, WWE’s developmental brand, as he ushers through the next generation of professional wrestlers. Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Chyna as the original DX were always up to no good in 1997WWE The Heartbreak Kid wasn’t always the sensible executive type, however, and, to a generation of fans, is still fondly remembered as the controversial and hot-headed figure of the Attitude Era. Indeed, in 1997, Michaels and Triple H – also a hugely significant senior official in WWE – were bringing D-Generation X to life while Michaels was engaged in a bitter feud with The Undertaker, the duo battling in a brace of matches in the latter part of the year at Ground Zero and Badd Blood. Prior to the latter contest, The Texan was due to address The Phenom indirectly courtesy of an in-ring interview live on Raw, conducted by legendary broadcaster Jim Ross. As was his wont at the time, Michaels struggled to stay on topic and was far more interested in causing a scene and making mischief. On this particular occasion, though, he’d gone to the ring with a little more baggage than usual, having been unable to resist a backstage dare from fellow wrestler Crush to stuff fabric gauze down his shorts – wearing little else. The star wrote: “Right before I was set to go out and do my interview with JR, Crush double dog dared me to go out into arena and on television with the gauze in my shorts. I was never one to turn down a double dog dare, so I gathered everyone at s television monitor and went out there fully loaded. Michaels added: “JR was trying to do a serious interview, but I was acting up and being obnoxious. I was jumping around, bumping and grinding, the gauze was pretty evident, and I cut the most over-the-top promo. I was having a blast, and I knew all the boys in the back were loving it.” Commentary icon Ross was, Michaels says, angered by his antics, but it was what the master of Sweet Chin Music opted to do next that really riled WWE boss Vince McMahon. His key rival in Taker was absent from that episode of Raw and, when WWE aired a pre-taped response from the Deadman, Michaels spotted an opportunity to have a little more fun by summoning him to the ring, very much knowing he wasn’t there. In a storyline sense, having a challenge from the high-flyer go unanswered by Taker would make the big man look weaker, something McMahon wasn’t prepared to tolerate. “I grabbed the mic,” he added, “Knowing full well that Undertaker wasn’t there, and yelled: ‘You know what, if the Undertaker is so tough, why doesn’t he come out and fight me right now?’ The crowd exploded, hoping to see us go at it right there. Few WWE figures are more respected than The UndertakerWWE “I continued: ‘let’s do it right here, right now. If you don’t come out here by the count of ten, that means you are afraid of me.’ I counted to ten. ‘See, he’s afraid of me!’ “I came to the back, and the boys thought it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. The next day, Vince called me [and said]: ‘I’m fining you $10,000 for that incident last night… You humiliated the company and Undertaker.’ “He went on this long tirade about how I was unprofessional and rude to J.R.” The multi-time champion went on to plead his case, saying the stunt was funny and had proved a hit – and was example of what he felt WWE should be doing more often. Though not wildly taking direct credit for the entire Attitude Era that followed, Michaels did go on to claim that two months after, McMahon summed the roster to declare that the company was moving in a different, edgier direction, saying: “This was the beginning of The Attitude Era.” As for the gauze incident itself, Michaels says he offered an apology to Ross, and that McMahon later failed to follow through with the five-figure hit to his pocket. Undertaker himself took it well enough, too, allegedly telling Michaels: “Crush is my boy, and when he told me it was funny, I knew it was okay. I love a good joke too.” Months after the incident, Michaels was WWE Champion after dethroning Bret Hart in the most controversial of circumstances. Shawn Michaels got a few laughs with his ‘gauze’ stunt but also a backlashWWE Jim Ross was less than impressed with having HBK’s ‘package’ thrust towards himWWE
Shawn Michaels was never afraid to push the envelope a little too far back in the day, and it occasionally landed him in hot water.
Michaels is now the – comparatively – straight-laced father figure of NXT, WWE’s developmental brand, as he ushers through the next generation of professional wrestlers.
The Heartbreak Kid wasn’t always the sensible executive type, however, and, to a generation of fans, is still fondly remembered as the controversial and hot-headed figure of the Attitude Era.
Indeed, in 1997, Michaels and Triple H – also a hugely significant senior official in WWE – were bringing D-Generation X to life while Michaels was engaged in a bitter feud with The Undertaker, the duo battling in a brace of matches in the latter part of the year at Ground Zero and Badd Blood.
Prior to the latter contest, The Texan was due to address The Phenom indirectly courtesy of an in-ring interview live on Raw, conducted by legendary broadcaster Jim Ross. As was his wont at the time, Michaels struggled to stay on topic and was far more interested in causing a scene and making mischief.
On this particular occasion, though, he’d gone to the ring with a little more baggage than usual, having been unable to resist a backstage dare from fellow wrestler Crush to stuff fabric gauze down his shorts – wearing little else.
The star wrote: “Right before I was set to go out and do my interview with JR, Crush double dog dared me to go out into arena and on television with the gauze in my shorts. I was never one to turn down a double dog dare, so I gathered everyone at s television monitor and went out there fully loaded.
Michaels added: “JR was trying to do a serious interview, but I was acting up and being obnoxious. I was jumping around, bumping and grinding, the gauze was pretty evident, and I cut the most over-the-top promo. I was having a blast, and I knew all the boys in the back were loving it.”
Commentary icon Ross was, Michaels says, angered by his antics, but it was what the master of Sweet Chin Music opted to do next that really riled WWE boss Vince McMahon.
His key rival in Taker was absent from that episode of Raw and, when WWE aired a pre-taped response from the Deadman, Michaels spotted an opportunity to have a little more fun by summoning him to the ring, very much knowing he wasn’t there.
In a storyline sense, having a challenge from the high-flyer go unanswered by Taker would make the big man look weaker, something McMahon wasn’t prepared to tolerate.
“I grabbed the mic,” he added, “Knowing full well that Undertaker wasn’t there, and yelled: ‘You know what, if the Undertaker is so tough, why doesn’t he come out and fight me right now?’ The crowd exploded, hoping to see us go at it right there.
“I continued: ‘let’s do it right here, right now. If you don’t come out here by the count of ten, that means you are afraid of me.’ I counted to ten. ‘See, he’s afraid of me!’
“I came to the back, and the boys thought it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. The next day, Vince called me [and said]: ‘I’m fining you $10,000 for that incident last night… You humiliated the company and Undertaker.’
“He went on this long tirade about how I was unprofessional and rude to J.R.”
The multi-time champion went on to plead his case, saying the stunt was funny and had proved a hit – and was example of what he felt WWE should be doing more often.
Though not wildly taking direct credit for the entire Attitude Era that followed, Michaels did go on to claim that two months after, McMahon summed the roster to declare that the company was moving in a different, edgier direction, saying: “This was the beginning of The Attitude Era.”
As for the gauze incident itself, Michaels says he offered an apology to Ross, and that McMahon later failed to follow through with the five-figure hit to his pocket.
Undertaker himself took it well enough, too, allegedly telling Michaels: “Crush is my boy, and when he told me it was funny, I knew it was okay. I love a good joke too.”
Months after the incident, Michaels was WWE Champion after dethroning Bret Hart in the most controversial of circumstances.
