According to WWE Hall of Famer, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, WWE wanted Shawn Michaels to come out of retirement and be a surprise entrant in this year’s Royal Rumble match. Flair said on his podcast – WOOOOO! Nation – that WWE contacted Michaels, and tried to convince him to make his in-ring return during this Sunday’s main-event.
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“They want him so bad for the Royal Rumble, but he ain’t budging from his ranch down there in Texas.”
Michaels has been retired since 2010, and he’s been asked repeatedly if he’s going to return to the ring, and every time he’s been asked, he’s said no.
In his final match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26, it was clear that Michaels was still on top of his game, and that he could continue wrestling, and steal the show for years to come. However, Micheals just felt like it was time to hang up the tights.
One of the biggest reasons why Micheals has chosen to stay retired is that he just feels like he can’t top what he did in his retirement match. Basically, he doesn’t want to end his wrestling career by having less than what he feels is a five-star match.
In 2014, it was rumored that Michaels was going to come out of retirement, and face Daniel Bryan, who was Michaels’ student way back when. However, Bryan ended up wrestling Michaels’ buddy, Triple H, and in the same night, he went on to defeat both Randy Orton and Batista to become the WWE world heavyweight champion.
Some were suggesting that Michaels may come back and wrestle at this year’s WrestleMania 32 because it’ll be in his home state of Texas, and on an edition of Jim Ross’s podcast – The Ross Report – Michaels confirmed that WWE had made him an offer to wrestle on the show, but he said that he turned it down. Michaels didn’t reveal the details of the offer, but it probably involved him wrestling either Daniel Bryan, Triple H, or The Rock.
In previous interviews, when the idea of Michaels wrestling The Rock has come up, Michaels has said that he’s not really interested in wrestling “The People’s Champion.” So, unfortunately, it looks like Shawn Michaels vs. The Rock will end up being one of those dream matches that just never happened, even though both men are more than capable of returning to the ring, and wrestling one another.
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