"What a ride it's been" - Hall of Famer sends message to fans on the 35th anniversary of his WWE debut

A WWE Hall of Famer has delivered a message to wrestling fans to celebrate 35 years with the company.

Shawn Michaels is a legend in the wrestling business and is considered to be one of the best in-ring talents of all time. Most wrestling fans will remember his battles against The Undertaker at WrestleMania, but he has been a part of countless iconic matches throughout his career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011 and still works with the promotion to this day.

HBK took to Twitter to respond to WWE congratulating him on 35 years with the company and noted that he couldn't have done it without the fans. Shawn claimed that he wouldn't still have the sweet chin music today if it were not for their support.

"35 years ago, I entered @WWE as The Heartbreak Kid and what a ride it's been! Thank you to WWE for giving me an opportunity of a lifetime and to the incredible WWE Universe for your unending support! You're the reason I've still got that sweet chin music after all these years!" he tweeted.

Former WWE writer Vince Russo on Shawn Michaels going off script

Wrestling veteran Vince Russo recently discussed the time when Shawn Michaels went off-script in 1997.

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were in a rivalry at the time, which eventually culminated in the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series that year. Six months before the controversial match, Michaels went off script on the May 19, 1997, edition of RAW and suggested that Hart was having an affair with Sunny.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws show, Vince Russo claimed that Michaels might have been impaired when he commented and suggested that it led to the Montreal Screwjob.

"He [Shawn Michaels] was high out of his mind. He'd tell you. Obviously he's a different man today. He was high on whatever, bro, painkillers, whatever these wrestlers take. He was high out of his mind, and he just said it and he didn't give a cr*p. That line right there led to the [Montreal] Screwjob. Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, that line started it all," said Russo. [From 7:59 – 8:32]

You can check out the full video below:

Shawn Michaels will go down as one of the greatest superstars of all time. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact the 57-year-old will have as a leader in NXT moving forward.

What are some of your favorite memories of The Heartbreak Kid's career? Let us know in the comments section below.