Shawn Michaels Recalls What The Undertaker Told Him Before His WWE Hall Of Fame Induction
Ahead of WWE Backlash, Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels took part in a conference call to promote the event. Inside The Ropes mentioned coverage of his Crown Jewel tag match with Triple H against Kane and the Undertaker on the documentary The Last Ride, and asked Michaels if he had sought out any advice about retirement and redemption from The Deadman.
The former WWF World Heavyweight Champion started by admitting he didn't know the particular side of Undertaker that the documentary captured.
"So, honestly I was like a lot of people finding out a lot of things about [Undertaker] that I did not know until the documentary. He's always been very close to the vest on a lot of that stuff."
The Heartbreak Kid revealed a conversation he had with Undertaker before Michaels' induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
"The year after we had my last match, we were sitting at baggage claim and we're waiting on our bags where I'm going to get inducted into the Hall of Fame, and he looked at me and said, 'You made the right choice. Perfect time to go out,'" Michaels said. He continued by stating he had no idea that Undertaker might have been able to retire, if the match had ended in different circumstances.
"Fast forward to the tag match, I had no idea that in his mind, had it gone well, that he would have possibly been able to retire on that. I assumed that he was more looking towards that WrestleMania moment. I just looked at that match as another tag match. I looked at that just as a chance to go out there with my buddies and have some fun, and not take anything too seriously. I didn't know that was a situation, where had it gone well, it might have made it easier for him to walk away... I assumed in his mind it needed to be the same way, and it needed to be a WrestleMania moment."
Michaels ended the question on stating Undertake was always a private person. He reiterated that he didn't know just how much Undertaker was struggling.
"You know, again, it was something that was interesting to me, that I don't know...I knew it was a struggle, I did not know that it was quite the depth of struggle that it was. He's always just been, on the surface, so very balanced, in that respect. I'll say this, it was nice to know that he is like all the rest of us, he's got all the same emotions. He just didn't show [his emotions]."
WWE Backlash airs Sunday, June 14, starting at 7 p.m. EST. Watch the pay-per-view event on the WWE Network.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Inside The Ropes, and give a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.