Jim Ross gives interesting backstage details on why Vince McMahon always favored Shawn Michaels
There have been many great competitors in the world of pro-wrestling. Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles are some of the names who are touted as the best in-ring wrestlers of all time. However, the man who leads the debate on being the best in-ring wrestler is none other than Shawn Michaels.
The Heart Break Kid was not only a great performer but had the charisma and 'X' factor that helped usher in the attitude era. While speaking on his podcast - Grilling JR - Jim Ross talked about why Vince McMahon favored Shawn Michaels instead of Bret Hart.
"At that time, the plans for major events like WrestleMania were made farther out than I feel like they are nowadays. Shawn kept having great match after great match and he had the one thing Vince loved, sizzle, charisma. Shawn had an abundance of that, Vince has always been a fan of sizzle at times more than steak. Bret always delivered steak, I thought he had plenty of sizzle, but Shawn was the flavor of the week.''
Jim Ross praised Bret Hart a lot stating that Hart was one of the best performers he has ever worked with. Ross believes that Bret Hart always stood for his principles and that resulted in him being respected by the locker room.
Jim Ross also talked about Shawn Michaels. Ross said that him praising Hart isn't a knock on the Heart Break Kid. He has always maintained that Michaels is one of the best in-ring performers of all time.
"I'm not knocking Shawn. I've always said Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels are the two best all around in ring performers I could remember calling matches for. It wasn't something that was just a spur of the moment decision."
(H/t: Wrestlinginc)
Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart
The rivalry between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels took place both on and off-screen in the mid-nineties. The two men didn't speak to each other for over a decade following the Montreal Screwjob. However, in 2010, the two former WWE Champions made amends.
There is no denying that Bret Hart had a major role to play in Shawn Michael's success story.