Credit: Raj Giri
Wrestling correspondent Scott H. was at “An Evening with Shawn Michaels” in Manchester, United Kingdom this past Monday. The night was originally supposed to be hosted by Jim Ross, but JR and HBK did the show together on stage. Below are some highlights from Scott, we will have more from the Q&A later this week.
* Jim Ross is asked about what Jerry “The King” Lawler is like on the road, and he says he is true fun, especially if you are female and under 25. JR says King loves to sing Beatles song in his full Memphis accent and that when WWE is in Liverpool, King loves doing the Beatles tour.
* The talk turns to Sherri Martel. HBK says Sherri was without a doubt a major influence on his career. He talks about how Sherri used to kick people outside of the ring if they refused to sell for him. JR talks about how talented Sherri was a worker, how she never ever took away from the talent and that today’s Divas should focus 10 minutes of their day watching Sherri Martel instead of shopping on Louis Vuitton.
* The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak ending is discussed, and Michaels admits that he wasn’t a fan of the decision, and neither was JR. JR talked about Brock Lesnar not wanting to beat the streak and asking to lose the match, but the decision had been made.
* Shawn talks about how he was suppose to be part of a team of former champions who went out to the ring to celebrate with Daniel Bryan over his title win at WrestleMania XXX, but HBK refused after the way the crowd reacted after Brock’s victory, so he left the Superdome early.
* Asked about current talent, Shawn said that all three members of the Shield are good workers, but he doesn’t really watch the product much these days.
* The art of selling is discussed, and JR says that today’s product lacks it, far too much. JR tells talent that if they want to learn how to sell, watch Shawn Michaels, Ricky Morton, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat.
* JR says that NXT is the most important aspect of WWE’s business model. He says WWE can go to Wall Street and get a VP from anywhere but they can’t just go and grab Sami Zayn, Neville, Finn Balor or Kevin Owens from just anywhere.
We will have a lot more highlights from the Q&A later throughout the week.