Shawn Michaels’ place in professional wrestling history is secure.
One of the industry’s most legendary performers, Michaels carved out a reputation as “Mr. WrestleMania” the old-fashioned way: he earned it. Through WrestleMania bouts against the likes of Bret Hart, Scott Hall, Chris Jericho, and The Undertaker, he left an enduring, indelible mark on wrestling.
Michaels’ ascent to stardom began beside Hall and Kevin Nash. Whether teaming together or tearing it up against one other, they forged a brotherhood during their endless travels. Along with Sean Waltman and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, they called themselves “The Kliq” – and Michaels watched in awe as Hall and Nash revolutionized wrestling with Hulk Hogan in the New World Order.
“I can describe Kevin and Scott in one word: cool,” said Michaels, who lost his friend Hall in 2022. “I had to try very hard and even overcompensate, but they epitomized what it meant to be cool. Even if it doesn’t show now, I was a beautiful young man – but I didn’t have any of that real deep coolness. Whether you saw them on television or backstage, Scott and Kevin had it all the time. They had this bona fide cool bravado – and humor, too. They were so perfect and natural together, and they were able to impress that upon that viewer.”
Michaels is Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative for WWE, and he oversees the developmental NXT brand. “The Heartbreak Kid,” who turned 60 last month, will be in Lowell Sunday night at the Memorial Auditorium as NXT runs its Heatwave show at 6 p.m.
“Heatwave is going to be fantastic, and I can’t wait for people to experience it,” said Michaels. “I’m thankful to be in a line of work that I know a lot about and in a role I love. And if it helps the men and women here grow personally and professionally, then that’s even more of a positive.”
One of the emerging stars on the card is Jordynne Grace, who wrestles Blake Monroe in what should be the most intense bout of the evening. Grace has played an important role for wrestling promotions in her previous stops, but Michaels and his team believe she is a talent without a ceiling.
“Shawn is very special,” said Grace. “He’s very encouraging and gives the best advice, and he does it without running anyone down. It’s rare, especially in wrestling, for the older generation to adapt to a new mentality. But Shawn has brought a new fast-paced style to WWE with NXT, which is different from the main roster.”
Michaels noted that NXT is not only different from WWE, but also from every other promotion.
“There’s not another brand out there that works so hard to create stars in order to lose them,” said Michaels. “Everybody else builds stars to be able to draw money and ratings for their show. We do it to then send them off somewhere else. That is unlike any other brand, and it is part of the value NXT brings to the wrestling business as a whole.”
Michaels’ NXT show airs every Tuesday on The CW. He also keeps a close eye on what is happening on WWE’s main roster, which is moving their premium live events to ESPN beginning next month. Michaels wrestled in some of the most iconic venues in the world, but he was also part of WWE when the company made stops in high school gyms.
“I’ve been with WWE for almost 40 years, and we continue to break new ground and grow at such a global level that I find unfathomable,” said Michaels. “WWE is part of mainstream Americana and around the world. That’s amazing to me.”
Of course, Michaels also has plenty of history in Boston. He headlined WrestleMania XIV in ’98 at the TD Garden, which marked the beginning of the Steve Austin era, and first wrestled at Boston Garden in the summer of ’88, getting the winning pin fall for The Rockers in a tag match against The Conquistadors.
“I still remember how hot it was in Boston Garden in the summer – and how freezing cold it was in the winter,” said Michaels. “I didn’t mind. Growing up in Texas, once in a blue moon I’d see a match from Boston Garden. Then I was able to wrestle in this hallowed place. I saw the parquet floor in the back, I felt the energy from the crowd.
“More than anything, I remember the building. It was this epic, iconic building, the same one I’d seen on television whenever the Celtics were playing. It was so intense, and that included afterward when the people were savage on your rental car going out of the building at the end of the night. It was a completely different era. Now every bank owns a building and it’s much more of a corporate entity. But I can say I wrestled in Boston Garden, and that is very near and dear to my heart.”
