Question: Shawn, how is your knee?
Shawn: I went to the doctor yesterday and he said I was doing
good. I will continue rehab for the next 6 weeks and I will
hopefully be back at the
King of the Ring. I could come back now, but I would give the
knee some rest first.
Question: Shawn...has there been any persuasion by Vince McMahon
do get Kevin
Nash back in the WWF? If so how is the progress coming along?
Shawn: I just heard about that rumor yesterday, and I've been
staying away from that lately. I don't have an info on that yet,
but it's probably just some kind
of a wrestling rumor.
Question: Shawn, Bret made some fan bashing comments on Raw is
War. What are your comments?
Shawn: Bret Hart bashes a lot of people. So do I , don't
take it personally from him.
Question: Shawn, in the NEW Raw magazine this month, Vic Venom
said you losing your smile is
something more than just a little knee problem? Care to comment?
Shawn: First of all, it's not a little knee problem. There a lot
of
things about my knee people don't understand. I have old injuries
I never had fixed. I had
re-constructive surgery, and my knee was at the point that if
didn't get it done, something
worse could have happened to me. I lost my smile because of what
I went through
in the last year in the WWF. I was worked too hard and I got
burned out. I was thrust into
the limelight more than any other champion. I think I was sort of
taken aback by the reaction
of people to me when Bret came back and when Sid won the title. I
don't know if I dealt with it
correctly but the job just wasn't giving me back what I felt I
was putting into it. That
had nothing to do with the fans, I was just working so hard. The
problems inside the ring were
hard too, my matches weren't coming out right and it just wasn't
fun for me. I had a hard time
going out there and doing my job.
Question: Shawn, Kevin Nash recently said, "Right back at ya
HBK," while doing the
Kliq Symbol. Did you know about it? and have you seen it?
Shawn: No I didn't see it. But yes I heard about it, and it
wasn't
planned. Again, that was just a molehill that people turned into
a mountain. It
was just coincidental that people saw me do it and then him the
next night.
They know we are buddies and he was returning the hello. It was
not pre-meditated.
Question: Shawn, when you will return is there a possibility of
you and
Austin teaming up?
Shawn: The one thing that I really want to do when I come back is
be in matches that are going to be fun to me. One thing about
being Champ is that you
get matches you know very well aren't going to be fun, and that
was one thing I
didn't like about it. That's why I really don't care if I have
the belt again,
because I am more interested in having fun matches and working
good. Working with Austin
would be fun in my opinion, but there are also other guys I would
like to work with.
Not all of them are main event caliber guys, but I've been in the
main events, and I would easily
sacrifice that to work with guys I want to work with and have
good matches.
Question: Shawn, rumors have been flying that you were seen at
WCW show
this past Monday. Is that true?
Shawn: No, I was seeing Dr. Andrews yesterday, so I couldn't have
been at Nitro, and I would never go to a WCW show purely out of
respect for the WWF.
I don't need to swerve. If I ever wanted to leave the WWF I
wouldn't leave in a sneaky
way like other people did. I would leave the way Kevin Nash did.
I would do my business
and then leave.
Question: Shawn, if you did leave the WWF, do you feel you would
fit in the
NWO? Also, is that something you have thought of doing?
Shawn: It's not something I've thought about doing. But I know if
I ever left and went to WCW I would be part of the NWO.
Question: Shawn, RAW has been getting killed in the ratings. Why
do you think it has?
And how would you change things in the WWF to make it better?
Shawn: Since I got blamed not too long ago for the ratings drop,
I
may not be the one to ask about how to improve it. Although I do
have a lot of
different ideas and I think some changes need to be made in the
company. And since I'm not
going to be wrestling a full schedule anymore, I'm gonna work
more behind the scenes,
because I will have more time to.
Question: Shawn, since you have been at home maybe watching
TV...why do you
think the NWO has done so well?
Shawn: Well, I think the reason why the NWO has done so well is
because of the impact the guys here in the WWF had and then went
to WCW. No matter what
anyone says people receive that as the guys are leaving and the
other place is better. And of
course the Hulk Hogan changing heel, and no matter how much
people want to credit he is
the premier name in the business. Also, at the risk of sounding
desperate and like a
WWF corporate suit, I think they have more umph than we do right
now. Money talks folks.
Question: Shawn, since Hunter is your good friend. Do you feel he
needs a
better push in the WWF? Or even a new look?
Shawn: Yes, he does. The problem is that nobody can work with him
right now. Many of the top guys are caught up in feuds right now.
He needs to get in a
match with a major player, but no one can right now. Hopefully he
will be able to do such a thing.
Question: Shawn, many people feel that you get a bad rap because
of your
attitude? Does that bother you?
Shawn: It did for a long time, but now I'm getting accustomed to
it. And I can remember seeing Hulk Hogan getting a bad rap for a
lot of
things, some he deserved and some he didn't. But now I take it as
sort of
flattery, and to be honest, I don't anymore than any other
wrestler, it's just that
because I've gotten where I've gotten. I am underneath the
microscope so much.
I was acting just the same three or four years ago and no one
cared. And whether
anyone likes it or not, I am very hung up on my independence and
the individuality and that is also the thing I will also not
sacrifice for anything. So
I'm willing to take the heat.
Question: Shawn do you think that the WWF should make a deal with
the ECW?
Shawn: I haven't seen them enough to make a judgment. But what I
have
seen is that even though I am a small guy, they have a lot of
other guys that
seem big, but they look small on TV. I worry that some of the
things they do, people
may or may not like. Although I freely admit that the WWF does
the exact same thing at
times. But the WWF and the ECW are two separate organizations. If
Vince
could get all of their talent under contract, and he had control,
and Paul
Heyman had no pull in what they did, I think it could work. I
think there is always
a problem when two organizations try to get together.
Question: 20:32 Shawn, Bret has always seemed Bitter toward you
since he
lost the belt to you. Does that bother you? And can two great
Superstars work in the same
Federation? And can YOU get back in the ring with him?
Shawn: Yes they can! No it does not bother me. And I think if you
look at Bret Hart 's past there has never been a WWF champion
that he
was supportive of. He knocked everything just like Hogan did,
even
though he didn't want to be like him. He knocked everything Flair
did when he was
champion. He knocked Kevin Nash when he was champion and he
knocked me.
I know it bothers Bret when I say these things, but I've got a
boss that will say
the same thing as me, and that is Bret hart isn't happy unless he
has the WWF belt.
And the reason for that is, Bret really believes he's the best
man for the job.
And I do think he is wonderfully talented, and he did a great job
as champion, but
the fact of the matter is that belt has to go around different
people...whoever is hot
at the time. And whether Bret likes it or not, he is turning into
one of those
bitter guys that he and I had always talked about. We talked how
we would never turn
into one of those.
Question: Shawn, you said that you and Bret don't get along in
and out of the
ring? Does that have an effect on the other wrestlers? Will WWF
Superstars take sides?
And as far as taking sides, I'm not gonna say for people to take
them, but what I will say is that while Bret was gone, the locker
room was closer than it
had ever been since I was part of the WWF. And it was because we
were also happy we
were doing great shows. We were also doing great business too!
Question: Shawn, were you glad to see someone like the Undertaker
get the
Title? Do you think he deserved to win it?
Shawn: Undertaker and myself have a very respectful relationship.
We hang out every now and then, but I can't say we are close
friends. I was however
thrilled that he won the title, and I feel he deserved it. And
the reason for that is he
is the guy that paid his dues and has gotten screwed a dozen
times behind the scenes.
And even though a lot of fans aren't aware of that kind of stuff,
the guys look at it as "Yeah
that guy deserves the belt". The same thing happen with me
and the same thing happened
with Bret.
Question: Shawn, how has Vince McMahon handled this personal
battle between
you and Bret?
Shawn: Vince and I are very close, and I will admit that he is
closer to me than anyone else in my opinion. But I think he knows
and the fans
know the way Bret and I feel and what we say on TV is reality.
And I think he thinks
that makes for good business. He would probably prefer it to be
another way, but we are two
stubborn (and maybe egotistical?) guys of that caliber, it's just
going to feed
through on TV.
Question: Shawn, have you talked to Syxx lately? And do you feel
he is a
perfect fit for the NWO?
Shawn: I talked to him about three weeks ago, and what everyone
has
to understand about the NWO is that it is very easy to fit,
because anyone can
be a part of it. Being a major part of the NWO is another story.
Question: Shawn, do feel you made a mistake in not leaving the
WWF? And will
the WWF ever get back on top?
Shawn: No I don't feel like I made a mistake, because Vince is my
friend. And I want to be the one guy that makes it through all
this with
him. I'm not doing this for money, besides Vince and I have a
very open
relationship and the fact is if I wanted to leave, Vince would
allow me to leave. And
the reason he would let me leave is because he knows that the
reason to go down
there would make me happy. And Vince would understand that my
happiness in this
business is important to me. And he would respect that.
Otherwise, if I wasn't happy
in the WWF, and continued to stay, I wouldn't be getting my best,
and it would really
bother me to screw Vince over that way.
Question: Shawn, after all these years and busting your butt in
the WWF, do
you feel you will ever get the respect you deserve?
Shawn: I'm not worried about that anymore. I am detaching myself
from business in a way that I am not going to breathe by what
others think.. I have been
doing it 13 years and I love doing it. But I'm 31 and going to 32
and starting to
look at life after wrestling right now, and there are a lot of
things that I want to do, and
time has a lot to do with it. I need more of my life than just
wrestling you
could say. I hope this doesn't sound bitter or that I don't like
the business
anymore because I do, it's just that I am starting to see there
is a lot
more to my life back home and there are aspects of my life that I
have dearly missed.
So, sometimes you have to sacrifice a little respect or praise or
adulation or
something that you feel is greater whether it be physically or
emotionally or mentally
or spiritually. There is more out there, and since I was 19, I
haven't gotten to
see any of it. And now I want to see it.