– During the latest edition of his Nuclear Heat Podcast (on wrestlinginc.com), Vince Russo explained how Shawn Michaels got a WrestleMania main event changed. Here are the highlights…
On Shawn Michaels Getting a WrestleMania Main Event Changed: “We had written the show. The direction was a three way between Austin, The Rock and Mick Foley for the title. I knew how excited Mick Foley was to headline WrestleMania. I was going to be the first one and tell him, and basically Mick had tears in his eyes… Shawn Michaels showed up, and when he caught wind of what the main event was going to be, he did what he did best back in that day, he was a different cat back then. He got in Austin’s ear, telling Steve how WrestleMania should be Steve and the Rock, and Mick should not be a part of this. Shawn convinced Austin of this enough to plead the case to Vince McMahon.”
On How He Reacted: “I remember cutting a promo on Shawn to his buddy Triple H, and I regret doing that. It was absolutely wrong. Triple H relayed the message, and Shawn came at me, and said if I ever said anything about him again, there would be issues.”
On Shawn Michaels’ Relationship With Vince McMahon: “Maybe Shawn didn’t have the time with Vince that he used to, this is my assessment, and this rubbed Shawn the wrong way. It had gotten so bad between Shawn and Vince at that time, that they weren’t speaking to each other at all. I was the go-between. I remember once Shawn was so irate and said ‘You go tell f’n Vince McMahon that if he wants my f’n title that he can come to my house in San Antonio and take it off my f’n mantle himself.’ It was really ugly between the two.”