"That's where all the heat with Shawn came" - Veteran drops bombshell on Vince McMahon and HBK's relationship (Exclusive)
In his prime, Vince McMahon trusted few WWE Superstars more at the top than Shawn Michaels. However, that all changed after Steve Austin's arrival, according to Vince Russo, who recently revealed the origins of HBK's heat with Mr. McMahon.
Shawn Michaels became world champion and was pushed as one of WWE's premier stars during the mid-90s as the company simultaneously battled a worthy rival in WCW. Stone Cold Steve Austin's unbelievable rise to stardom was the perfect time for the Stamford-based company, but it might not have been good for Michaels' run in the promotion.
During the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Vince Russo revealed that Shawn Michaels' heat with Vince McMahon stemmed from the former WWE boss shifting his focus to Steve Austin. Russo surprisingly claimed that he saw McMahon kick Michaels' career to the curb and was willing to move on to the "next thing," Stone Cold Steve Austin.
"Bro, I say this all the time. When Austin was on his rise, I watched Vince McMahon kick Shawn Michaels to the curb. That's where all the heat with Shawn came. That's where it all came [from]. He was onto the next thing, bro; that's where the heat started between them," Vince Russo revealed. [From 05:26 to 05:45]
Vince Russo on Vince McMahon's lack of plans for Bryan Danielson (aka Daniel Bryan)
The main topic of discussion on this week's show was Bryan Danielson's comments about his world title win at WrestleMania 30 and his underwhelming creative direction as champion.
Russo recently explained how McMahon probably didn't understand human nature and, in Danielson's case, didn't fully get what the superstar wanted: to become WWE's top player, similar to John Cena.
Vince McMahon and WWE weren't ready to go all the way with Daniel Bryan at the time, and Russo felt they only put the title on the current AEW star to please the crowd momentarily.
"I could tell you, I wasn't in that room, but 1000% it happened (laughs). They put the belt on him because the mob was demanding it; they never wanted to put it on him, and they couldn't wait to take it off him. Like that is [shakes his head and smiles in disbelief]." [From 01:57 to 02:16]
The decisions regarding who leads the main event scene in WWE now lie in Triple H's hands, and his regime has been noticeably different from Vince McMahon's time.
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