WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels looked back on the years he was less than professional in a Miami Herald interview and was asked why he was so difficult. "If I’m putting on my psychiatrist’s hat and you dig all the way down to the root of it has nothing to do with wrestling or anything else,” Michaels said. “It just has to do with a young man’s insecurities with himself.

“Having said that, that can manifest itself in any form and how that’s interpreted obviously depends on the time and depends on the spin. Let’s face it. The ability it takes to be difficult really is to disagree with somebody. Nine times out of 10 mine were usually more creative issues than anything else. The company felt one thing. I felt another. We both feel opposite things, so therefore it’s going to be difficult.

Michael also explained how he was able to keep his job back in those days. "I fear people will misinterpret me trying to say, ‘Therefore, I should be absolved of all the stuff I did wrong,’ Michaels said. "I’m not saying that at all, but the reason I survived it, and the reason I’m still part of the WWE now is because the one guy who loves absolutely every stitch of it, which is Vince McMahon, the guy I argued with more than anybody, understood it.

"He understood that it wasn’t unprofessionalism or ego that was driving all that. It was a desire and a passion to be the guy and to be the absolute very best that I could be. His only challenge was channeling all that in the right direction, and he did that pretty darn well. He tells people all the time the reason he didn’t fire me is because he could see through all that. Ultimately, when it came down to his way or my way, he always knew when he said, ‘This is what I want done, period.’ He knew I’d do it, and I always did." You can read the interview at Miamiherald.com/2012/05/24/2814925/more-with-wwe-hall-of-famer-shawn.html.

Powell's POV: This is a great interview with Shawn going into more detail about that time in his career and the positive effect that Jim Ross had as the head of talent relations. He also noted that he was reluctant to be paired with Sherri Martel, and noted that he was also leery of the "Heartbreak Kid" monicker that Curt Hennig suggested he use.

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