The Shawn Michaels Saga
Last week I posted an e-mail I received about Shawn Michaels that questioned just how serious his back surgery was. No where did I say that the surgery did not happen. In fact to make this easier let me repost the original letter:
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Hi Fritz,
I thought I would drop you a very interesting note from the dressing room at Friday's (1-22-99) show in San Antonio Texas. This show being run back of the house by Jose Lothario.
Shawn Michaels was at the show Friday night. As a matter of fact he was at the show the same week he was released from the hospital.
Shawn was showing everyone that he was still in great shape. He was doing his "sweet chin music" super kicks for everyone in the back. And get this.......when Shawn dropped his hat he bent backwards into an arch to pick it up. He was in no kind of pain..... so someone is pulling the wool over the WWF's eyes. In this dog eat dog, dog pound kind of world, Shawn is up to something.
Shawn is expected back next Friday night again. (Name withheld for obvious reasons)
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Now a lot of you got all up in arms about this. In fact some even felt that they had to "prove" themselves by calling reporters to try to make themselves look cool and informed. One reporter on the Internet, Bradford Riley, even got fired from many newsboards because he suggested that the injury, while itself not being a work, said that the severity of it was.
While it is easy for most of the Internet to just sit back with no facts and criticize, it is also questionable as most of you wouldn't know what is going on in this sport or how it is run if it was staring you in the face. Everyone cried and complained all the way to the WCW Hotline (thanks for the plug Chad) but yet none of you could disprove my original post. All you had was hearsay and supposition but yet Riley got fired and the Internet and promotions were a buzz with this news.
What I find amusing is the fact that if I was so far off base certain people on the Internet would have been on it like white on rice, but yet they were strangely quiet. Not the usual format for these gentlemen to say the least. But then again, they do understand the way this business truly works. But now let me bring you up to date on the recent happenings in San Antonio and one Shawn Michaels.
On Thursday January 28, 1999 Shawn Michaels was once again in the company of Jose Lothario at his wrestling building in a non publicized workout and photo shoot session. In the building was Jose Lothario, Shawn Michaels, Maddog Johnson, Pete Lothario and Sho Funaki. It seems that Lothario is very interested in having Funaki work his shows and Michaels was in ring showing Funaki moves and actually taking some bumps.
Now before you all just write this off as impossible or that I am lying I'‘ll put the challenge to you right now, prove this wrong. I don't mean by siting there and thinking about it, I don't mean by writing an e-mail to your favorite webmaster and asking his/her opinion on the subject, I mean by telling me that you were in that building and that this did not go down. My source has been on the money 99.97 percent of the time. (One time they changed an angle thus killing their perfect record) Can anyone of you say that you had someone with a track record that good? I didn't think so. But I digress...there is a lot more. Let's move to Friday January 29, 1999.
Both Shawn and Funaki were at Lothario's show. Neither wrestled or came out of the back. It looks like Shawn is calling the finishes and running the back of the house for Lothario. Word is Shawn is getting paid $500.00 each Friday he is there. I do not have any word on what Funaki will be making. The scar Shawn is showing for his surgery is about two inches above his beltline on his back. Shawn is also not wearing any kind of support for his back. One of the people working in the back was quoted as saying "Shawn said he had a surgery, not a major surgery. Having an ingrown "A doctor works for the patient, and therefore he says what the patient, or client wants. That is doctor, patient confidentiality"
The interesting thing is what Shawn himself said about the situation. ""When you can't get what you want, you have to find ways to go around it to get what you want. I'm going to try to sit my contract out as long as possible and set up a promotion here in San Antonio in the mean while."
It appears that Shawn likes to have a few drinks while at the show. There is nothing wrong with that but it does make me wonder about the next thing I am going to write. Besides this is pro wrestling we're talking about and people in the business love to just shoot off their mouth for anyone who will listen. Anyway Shawn then expounded on his earlier statement.
Shawn said he is getting his own promoters license and beer license. He said he will be investing $300,000.00 to get the promotion off the ground. He said Vince and Jim (Cornette)will be helping to fund the local promotion, and will be sending WWF talent in. Stone Cold Steve Austin will be on the first card. It will be a one time thing. But before that he will make an appearance where he comes in and stuns one of the wrestlers. He said he will have to ok it with Vince to have Steve come in.The opening date for the promotion will be February 16th or 17th. Other names he mentioned coming in were : Edge, Gangrel, Christian and Al Snow. He said Vince will pay ½ their fare and he (Shawn) would pay the other ½. He said he is supposed to get plugs for his promotion on Shotgun Saturday Night. He would not say when the plugs were to start. Shawn said he will be moving the group to Woodlawn Gym where the lease will be in his name, not Jose's. He said he has talked to several of the military bases about setting up shows, and has 4 days set up in February and March for the Valley area. He said the boys would be making decent money. If you call $100.00 per night on road shows decent. He said he doesn't want Jose involved in any way. But in the same breath said Jose would be a part of it. This is one of the reasons I am skeptical of the whole story. When people double talk in virtually the same sentence it kind of makes you think that they are just running off at the mouth. But then again, with someone like Shawn you just never know do you?
Well my friends there you have the updated story on Shawn Michaels. It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, the one thing you cannot do is disprove it. Why? Because it is what happened. Shawn has been in the back running or helping to run Jose Lothario's show in San Antonio. Shawn is not wearing a girdle or back brace to support his back. They are very interested in using Funaki there. Shawn is also going around saying that he wants to start his own promotion which sounds very feasible to me. With Shawn pulling in $750,000. per year from the WWF and a measly $24,000.00 from Jose he needs a big tax shelter. What better tax write off if the business doesn't make it. And what a great set up to have WWF funding the promotion and giving it plugs on their shows, and then have the business become his alone if it does make it. Sounds like a win/win situation for Shawn all the way around.
This report is not by any means attacking Shawn Michaels. In fact, I have always liked Shawn ever since I saw his first match in Mid-South at the Lakefront Arena in the mid eighties. This is just reporting the news as it happens. Isn't that what you all cry for? Isn't that what you all demand? Funny how when you all get news that you don't like for whatever reason you all get up in arms. You are all such a fickle bunch. This is why it is called "inside reporting" now isn't it? I also apologize to all the so-called bigtime insiders for beating you to the punch on this one.
(A note to anyone clicking open to send me a trash letter, your time would be better served if you took the same amount of time "trying" to disprove this post. Just remember, when something is reported that isn't supposed to get out everyone is going to deny, deny, deny. Just ask Georgiann Makropoulos or any other reporter who had the "scoop" on something that wasn't supposed to be known.)
Fritz Capp is the editor of Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets - for comments or opposing viewpoints please e-mail to Fritz Capp