10 Times Wrestlers Called Out Their Own BS

4. Shawn Michaels

HHH Paige
WWE.com

Shawn Michaels was a toxic ar*ehole in 1997.

He wouldn't do business with Bret Hart and expressed as much immediately after Hart had said, to diffuse their spiralling rivalry, that he would do the honours if the occasion demanded it. He had already done the honours at WrestleMania XII, and he worked hard to get him over. It was boring as sh*t, but you can't fault the effort.

Beyond the despicable but comparatively petty pro wrestling politics - these were very rich men swarming the entire company with their personal grudge, and it wasn't life or death, it was "lots of money in a promotion you like versus even more money in a promotion you probably won't - was Shawn's awful bullsh*t at One Night Only 1997.

There, he engineered a scenario in which he undermined the promise of a home country hero who had vowed to deliver the result in honour of his dying sister. Reprehensible stuff despite the promise of a return match he was definitely going to do the job in, Michaels was more than unpleasant. That was beyond the pale, even if the electricity of the heat remains so striking in its volume and earnestness all these years later. Michaels atoned later in life, found God, and has whenever asked owned up to and regretted his BS.

He's even risked upsetting colleagues to call out theirs.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!