WWE Hall of Famer admits Vince McMahon intentionally hurt himself during a match

Shawn Michaels, in a recent interview, admitted that Vince McMahon intentionally hurt himself during their No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22.

Opening up on their meeting, he told The Metro that McMahon refused to protect himself from heavy impacts in the way that wrestlers would normally do.

Michaels said:

"No matter how many times you tell that man to put his hands up when you’re coming with a ladder to his head – he won’t do it! ‘He’s gonna take it. It’s hard to not appreciate someone that does that when clearly you don’t have to."’

Such physical punishment is not something Vince McMahon saved for that WrestleMania bout - the boss would routinely take heavy beatings at the hands of the likes of arch-rival, Stone Cold Steve Austin during their storied rivalry.

Michaels admitted it is this willingness to put his own body on the line that's resulted in McMahon being so respected by many in-ring performers. He added:

"He never, ever asked someone to do something he wasn’t willing to do. You have to respect that."

Michaels is himself the perfect judge of someone's WrestleMania performance. With victories over the likes of Bret Hart, Razor Ramon and Ric Flair under his belt at 'Mania over the course of his career, he was one of the event's most decorated stars.