WWE Rumor Roundup - Heat on Superstar for being Shane McMahon's close friend, Roman Reigns' Royal Rumble opponent to be changed, Former US Champion called lazy - 11th January 2021

#1. People were concerned about Shawn Michaels when he returned to WWE

Shawn Michaels' in-ring WWE career witnessed a significant speedbump when he was forced to retire for a few years in 1998. However, HBK managed to make an in-ring return and have another memorable spell as an active competitor.

Bruce Prichard revealed on his 'Something to Wrestle' podcast that there were legitimate concerns about Shawn Michaels during the early days of his return.

"There were times throughout it from the second week of Shawn returning when he did. We were thinking, 'Okay, how long is this going to be able to last? How long are we going to be able to do this?"

Prichard quickly noted that WWE Superstars who return after a lengthy hiatus are more prone to suffering new injuries or aggravating previously existing ones. The same theory was applied to Shawn Michaels' case, and WWE monitored him closely.

"So, every day in many respects was a gift that, 'Okay, man, he's going alright,' but the more that he worked, the more he felt like, 'Okay, I can do this a little longer.' It's when you stop working, you're not working as much, and it's harder to get back into the swing of things and get back into the groove of things."

Prichard explained that Shawn Michael's body was experiencing the business's wear and tear, which meant that there were phases where he was injured in WWE.

"So, you would periodically have these times where Shawn was hurt, and he was. He had an awful lot of wear and tear on his body, and his body was paying the price."

Shawn Michaels was a more mature performer during his run in the 2000s, and he thankfully had enough in the tank to cement his spot as an all-time great.