During an interview with the Ministry of Slam podcast two weeks ago, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels acknowledged a recent conversion he had with WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon where the 67-year-old said he doesn’t “see money” in a certain, unnamed WWE Superstar. Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com reported on Friday that according to sources within the sports-entertainment organization, that individual is Daniel Bryan. Michaels, however, is denying online that they were discussing Bryan, and that the individual in question is actually 6’3″ and 250 pounds.
In a response to a Twitter user directing a message to McMahon stating, “Remember when you didn’t have faith in @ShawnMichaels ?…. Bottom line is that @WWEDanielBryan is HOT!,” Michaels responded, “We weren’t speaking of [Daniel Bryan], that was the assumption of net folks. Way off, as usual.”
In response to a query to name the individual in question, Michaels said he would not, but noted that “he’s 6’3 250.” The WWE Hall of Famer later said that those figures may not be exact, as it is his estimate. “Well, I didn’t measure or weigh him, it’s a guess. Therefore, in their eyes I am a LIAR!!!” he said in response to a user guessing the individual as Dolph Ziggler.
Michaels again denied assumptions that he was talking about the Washington native, stating the following in response to outing the individual: “I would have said if I thought relevant. Not [Daniel Bryan] tho.”
Michaels revealed that McMahon is actually high on Bryan. In response to a user labeling the WWE CEO as “stupid” for not firmly backing Bryan, Michaels said, “That isn’t even who we were talking about. [Vince McMahon]’s big on DB. Shame y’all let those folks work you like that. #thinkforyourself.”
As reported earlier, Michaels said in the interview, “I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago with the man in charge and we were talking about a certain individual and he goes, ‘I just don’t see money in him.’ And I said, ‘You said the same thing about me.’ He said, ‘I did not.’ I said, ‘Yes you did!’ (laughs) I said, ‘And it’s okay. It’s just one of those things.'”
Michaels compared McMahon’s views on the unnamed wrestler to himself, as he believes he wasn’t viewed as a “prototypical main event guy” during his rise to the top of WWE.
“I wasn’t your prototypical—heck, I wasn’t anybody’s prototypical main event guy. And I knew that. So, you just do your absolute best,” said Michaels. “Yes, I was very scared and very worried, which had a lot to do with how bad I handled stuff because I spent a great deal of my career waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because it was a very real view of me and my ability and my talent. I’m a firm believer that talent does rise to the top, but you have to be patient. So, I spent a great deal of time worried, intimidated, and concerned that with each passing storyline, it might be the last one.”
