Shawn Michaels is one of the most legendary figures in WWE, and recently opened up about where his “Heartbreak Kid” persona came from.
During a recent appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony, Michaels opened up about his blossoming into the persona that would become tied to him, and exactly how it came to be.
“I was given the opportunity. They had a certain idea for me that they wanted to do. I kind of liked the look, pieces of it, but didn’t care for the name. They wanted to call me The Idol. And it just didn’t feel natural. And I just asked if I could kind of, try to find out who I was and what I was going to be as a character,” said Michaels. “Then they gave me sherry and the music and we had the mirror and, you sort of just start working with that, and it just kind of evolved organically.”
Michaels went on to talk about how his costume came together, blending together a litany of his loves while avoiding being a cowboy, something that Vince McMahon didn’t like at the time.
“Having a different person do my gear, because I was a kid from Texas, I always liked the aspect of cowboys and their chaps, so I wanted to have chaps done, but I knew I couldn’t be a cowboy that, you know, Vince at that time hated cowboys and stuff like that. So what could I do? And I kind of was inspired. I was an Elvis fan and also, you know, a fan of Freddie Mercury. I mean, I thought he was just one hell of a showman. And so anyway, it was kind of just a blend of all those things. Then Curt Hennig had mentioned calling me the Heartbreak Kid on commentary. He told me about it. I was like, I kind of like the name. And then it just came out one time on a promo.”
Obviously, Michaels’ decision paid off, as the star quickly became one of the biggest stars in the company, and a WWE Hall of Famer.
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