Why did Shawn Michaels got fired after his first WWE match?

Shawn Michaels is one of the most iconic WWE Superstars in history, but his first years with the company were anything but smooth sailing. The multi-time world champion was even fired after his first match in the company.

Early in his career, HBK teamed up with Marty Jannetty. Known as The Midnight Rockers, their success in AWA eventually landed them a spot in WWE (then WWF) in 1987. Now known simply as The Rockers, the duo were quickly released from the company after a bar incident that involved Shawn Michaels breaking a glass over his head to prove his toughness.

In a recent episode of the IMPAULSIVE podcast, the Hall of Famer recalled the incident and cleared up the details of the story. Michaels recalled being invited to go out and show that they fit in with the superstars. That night, he smashed a glass over his own head, causing the duo to be fired the following day.

"It got exaggerated a bit, like everything wrestling does, but we got hired," Michaels said. "Like, 'Wow, we're finally here,' and of course, somebody's like, 'You need to go out with the guys, get to know them and everything.' Like, 'Gosh, we don't know.' Like, 'Go on, go on.' So, we went out and you're trying your best to stay out of trouble, but then somebody was coming around like, 'Come on here, you guys are big partiers.' Like, 'No, no,' you're trying to play reserved. Like, 'Come on," so you go, 'Alright.' I grabbed a glass off of the bar and smashed it on my head." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

Fortunately, the duo returned to the promotion the following year. Shawn Michaels then embarked on a career as a singles competitor, but notably formed D-Generation X alongside Triple H. He is the company's current Vice President of Talent Development Creative and oversees the NXT product.

Shawn Michaels recalls the reaction of former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon

In the same interview, the wrestling veteran opened up about how they tried to make it right, but to no avail.

Shawn hilariously recalled that they tried talking to Vince, who even complimented Michaels' cowboy boots. However, it wasn't enough to keep them from being fired.

"The next day it's like, that's not gonna work. I can remember we were like, 'Oh my goodness, can we at least make a last-ditch effort to talk to you?' I remember going to the office in Stamford, sitting out there and I got my cowboy boots on and Vince comes up, he goes, 'Nice boots.' I went, 'Oh, thank you, sir. They were made for walking.' I was like, 'Oh my goodness.' He goes, 'Ha ha ha, I'm just kidding. Come on in,' and then he fired us." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]