Jim Ross: Vince McMahon Saw A Little Bit Of Himself In Shawn Michaels In WWE
HBK and McMahon were always close
Jun 17, 2021
Jim Ross believes one of the reasons Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels have such a strong bond is because the WWE Chairman saw aspects of his own personality in The Heartbreak Kid.
Despite Michaels and McMahon having huge disagreements in the 1990s about his character and creative decisions, Michaels remained loyal to WWE and didn't jump to WCW, while McMahon ensured the four-time WWE Champion was looked after financially during his four years away from the business as he recovered from a broken back.
Former WWE commentator Ross feels McMahon saw bits of himself in Michaels, in particular the defiance.
Speaking on the latest edition of the Grilling JR podcast, he said: "Vince and Shawn have always had that, a strong bond, and it's bonded together with the fact that Vince saw a little bit of himself as far being defiant, attitudinal, that type of thing with Shawn. So, they were connected in that respect.
"Even though they had great arguments, they had significant arguments. But, I just think Vince just had a, for whatever reason, he just had a special affinity for Shawn Michaels. And it just might have been - God forbid, this could be this, the fact that he was arguably the number one or number two worker in the world at the time.
And we'd built so much around Shawn, and rightfully so. God dang, he was great. And, you know, I'm glad he is still there in the company. He could help a lot of people, and I'm sure that he does."
