WWF Excess Report with Shawn Michaels: 12/15
Hosts: The Coach and Trish Stratus
Guest: Shawn Michaels
Report by: Kevin Gregg of PowerWrestling.com

From the Vault:
Tonight's From the Vault match will be Bret "the Hitman" Hart against Shawn Michaels from Wrestlemania 12 where Shawn Michaels defeated the Hitman in a 60 minute Ironman match for the World Wrestling Federation Championship!

Backstage:
Shawn Michaels was shown walking in the backstage area, and he made his way into the studio, and he's up next on WWF Excess.

Shawn Michaels joined the show...
The Coach and Trish Stratus welcomed Shawn Michaels to WWF Excess, and The Coach asked what he has been up to. Shawn said that he's been wonderful. People may know that when Shawn Michaels does something, he likes to throw himself into it totally. That's what he's done, and he can come out here today and honestly say that he believes that he may very well be the best diaper changer in the world today. He's committed himself to that, and he challenges any other male out there to a diaper race! Just kidding. Shawn said that his son will be two on January 5th, and he is the joy of Shawn's life. Trish went over an email, and it asked if he misses being in the ring, and would he ever consider coming back? Shawn said every now and then, he misses being in the ring, but at this point in his life, his commitment is to his family. He personally wouldn't feel right going out there wrestling a match if he wasn't committed to it. He would feel that he was selling himself and his fans short.

He can't say that he would get back in the ring, but if he did, he would talk to the doctors, and then check with the boss at home, his wife. There is just so much different variables that would have to go into that decision before he would give an honest answer. They went over another email, and it asked what Shawn thinks of the current crop of WWF Superstars? Do the new guys impress him? Shawn said there are some tremendous athletes in the WWF. He's mentioned it in the past that he's a big fan of the Hardys, and Edge and Christian are going to be big stars in the future. Kurt Angle is already a big star. Chris Benoit is an amazing wrestler. Chris Jericho is fantastic. There is one guy that has recently come to the WWF, and maybe in a different time, when Shawn was healthy, and he was in his prime, he would have loved to see a Shawn Michaels in his prime against a Ric Flair in his prime. That would certainly be the biggest thrill of his life, and a thrill to the fans. (Does Shawn forget that he wrestled Ric Flair in 1992 around Wrestlemania 8? I guess he meant that he'd want it to be a 'big time' match.)

After a commercial break, they played the Triple H Desire video, and Shawn and The Coach talked about Triple H's injury. Shawn said that there are few people in this business that have a real honest commitment to this business and company. Shawn feels that he had that at one time, but he can assure us that there is no one that has the commitment that Triple H has. It's not because of belts or money, it's because he loves this business, inside his heart. This business is what he lives and breaths about, and that's what's driving him to come back. Shawn never thought for a second that he wasn't going to come back. It's just a matter of how long it'll take. He's so driven, and he will be back. Unfortunately for all the other Superstars in the WWF, he's also going to come back with something to prove. There's probably a couple of people out there who are doubting him or wondering if he's going to be as good. Shawn said that's not a wise thing to do, to underestimate Triple H. The Coach brought up Triple H's appearance on MAD TV, and they showed the clips from that show.

After the clips, Shawn said that Triple H ought to stick to the ring. Just his opinion! The Coach brought up Degeneration X, and they dominated at one point. They got some emails talking about DX. One asked what Shawn's current relationship is with the former members of the Kliq? Shawn said that his relationship is that they all still talk. A lot of them now are older and have kids, so most of the conversations concern "what did you do with your son?" Except for Triple H of course. About reuniting, Shawn would love to see it. There are fans that would love to see it. He just doesn't think that the wrestling industry is ready for all of them to be together. Individually, they're all fantastic, but together, they are a handful to deal with. He doesn't know if they bring out the best or the worst in each other. Trish read another email, and it asked about reforming a new DX? Shawn said that it's something that he would enjoy doing, but it's unfair for him to speak for Triple H or X-Pac. His feeling is that both of those two guys, and Billy Gunn have all branched out.

Everyone in this industry wants to be a success on their own. It's great to be a successful tag team, or a group, but the ultimate goal in this industry is to be the top one guy. You can't do that with a bunch of other people. Triple H, X-Pac, Billy Gunn, those guys, all of their goals are to be the number one guy in the WWF. Shawn wouldn't want to be the one to take that away from them, and he understands it. You are driven by committment, and if you're goal oriented, you want to be the number one guy. The World Champion. As fun as it would be, it would be a stop over for those guys. The Coach said that it's time for From the Vault. Shawn is here to talk about the match up for this week. This week's match is against Bret "The Hitman" Hart from Wrestlemania 12 in the Ironman match for the World Wrestling Federation Title. Shawn said that match was a sacrifice. Never before did they have a pay per view match that was 60 minutes, most pinfalls in an hour. It is something that you train for months and months, and it was definitely his favorite match as he won the World Wrestling Federation Title.

From the Vault:
They showed clips from the match at Wrestlemania 12, and the WWF Title was on the line! Of course, they didn't show the full match as it was a 60 minute match, and they never show the full matches anyway. Clips here and there of different spots in the match was shown. To read the full results to Wrestlemania 12, go to: http://wwf.powerwrestling.com/results/1996/march/wm12.html.

After the clips, Shawn said that as old as that is, he never gets tired of seeing that. That match was 60+ minutes, and a lot of people ask him if he was tired, and he said that he wasn't physically tired, because of his training, but he was emotionally spent. No matter what anyone says for the wrestling business, everyone gets in it for a reason, and that's to have that title. When you get it, it's the most real thing in the world. It was truly a wonderful moment, and he was out there with a guy that was a pro. At the time, there was no one in the industry that he could have a match with like that. Trish went over another email, and it asked what Shawn's favorite match was, and who was his favorite to go against? Shawn said that he gets asked that a lot. It's hard to answer, because he has a lot of favorites. First, he always starts with the ladder match at Wrestlemania 10 with Razor Ramon. That's the one that really made people notice him and Razor Ramon. He's extremely proud of the Hell in a Cell with the Undertaker. He's very proud of the Mind Games match with Mick Foley.

He's also very proud of the match with Bret Hart. It's hard for him to pick just one. He's had the opportunity to be out there with a lot of talented guys, and to be the first guy to do some of these innovative matches. It was great to be in the first ladder match, the first hell in a cell, the first marathon match. It's hard to narrow it down to just one, so he would say that those four or five would be right there as his favorite. The Coach thanked Shawn Michaels for joining the show, and hopefully we'll see him very soon.

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