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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Jun 21, 2021 6:12:26 GMT -5
People saw him taping his fists, but the most reliable reports say that there were never any words exchanged, and I don't think there was any chance that Taker would have actually attacked Michaels. Taker could have gotten some major criminal charges thrown his way had he assaulted an injured man. Neither a judge nor jury would care about the aura of the WWF title had Taker serious injured Shawn. I don't believe that Taker was stupid enough to have tried something that risky, even if he did hate HBK. Also, much like when Vince stopped Hogan and Sheik from trying to legitimately injure Warrior at SummerSlam '91, Vince undoubtedly had a close eye on the situation given the ill will that Shawn had created. He would not have wanted a huge lawsuit, so I'm guessing there were more than a few people willing to quickly intervene in the unlikely case that Taker threw caution to the wind and attacked Shawn. On the flip side, while Shawn was clearly upset, living a risky lifestyle, and difficult on the job. But had he to tried to screw up Wrestlemania, that might have been career suicide. Austin confirmed just how upset the locker room was with him when he left in 2002, and he was in a much standing than HBK in '98. Michaels would have risked getting blackballed from the WWF, if not wrestling completely. Intentionally sabotaging a major show would have made everyone in the business wary of Shawn far beyond his previous antics. Even though he might not have believed that he could have come back as an in-ring performer, he would have risked being used in any capacity. He was reckless back then, but he wasn't that stupid. I've always believed that this is one of those situations where wrestling embellishment took over and made the story far, far greater than what it was. Shawn didn't want to do the job, but he knew that he had no other choice. That's why he actually showed up and did what he was supposed to do. Undertaker himself said on the Steve Austin podcast on the WWE Network that he was at Gorilla and would go after HBK if he didn't lay it down for Austin. So it does have some factual truth to it. I've heard Taker fanning those flames over the years, and I think he's just working people. If he had been stupid enough, and there's no other way to phrase that, to get Shawn in a situation where he could have had time to legitimately assault him, that one incident would have caused more problems for the WWF than anything HBK ever did. Imagine Shawn in the hospital with spinal chord damage, Taker in jail for aggravated assault, and Vince fending off a lawsuit of massive proportions. This entire situation was under a microscope back then. Taker couldn't possibly have been clueless enough to think that he could have gotten away with something like that in the WWF in 1998. |
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Post by K5 on Jun 21, 2021 6:54:00 GMT -5
Undertaker himself said on the Steve Austin podcast on the WWE Network that he was at Gorilla and would go after HBK if he didn't lay it down for Austin. So it does have some factual truth to it. I've heard Taker fanning those flames over the years, and I think he's just working people. If he had been stupid enough, and there's no other way to phrase that, to get Shawn in a situation where he could have had time to legitimately assault him, that one incident would have caused more problems for the WWF than anything HBK ever did. Imagine Shawn in the hospital with spinal chord damage, Taker in jail for aggravated assault, and Vince fending off a lawsuit of massive proportions. This entire situation was under a microscope back then. Taker couldn't possibly have been clueless enough to think that he could have gotten away with something like that in the WWF in 1998. if you think screwing the wrestlemania finish would be enough to get blackballed, but not suing the boys after they rightfully kick your ass, then you're nuts. Taker said it happened, that has far more verification than your fan theory. |
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Post by JokerFC on Jun 21, 2021 17:08:23 GMT -5
Taker says it happened ✅
Prichard says it happened ✅
Jim Ross says it happened ✅
I think it's safe enough to say it happened.
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Jun 22, 2021 1:03:07 GMT -5
Taker says it happened ✅ Prichard says it happened ✅ . Prichard recently said that there was " no head-to-head and no words exchanged", which is what I have always believed about this. There was nervousness and pressure on Shawn because he was being a jerk, but the legend has grown up around that. Taker once said that he told Shawn some version of "If you come back through this curtain with that belt, you and I are going to have issues." So...you told the the guy that you supposedly didn't trust where you were going to be and threatened him? And you assumed that he wouldn't leave another way? O...K... As much as wrestling fans would like to believe this story, it's more supposition than substance. There might well be a grain of truth somewhere, but the more accounts that one reads, the more the details conflict and the story becomes sketchy. Wrestlemania played out the only way that it could have. |
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Post by K5 on Jun 23, 2021 0:14:19 GMT -5
Taker says it happened ✅ Prichard says it happened ✅ . Prichard recently said that there was " no head-to-head and no words exchanged", which is what I have always believed about this. There was nervousness and pressure on Shawn because he was being a jerk, but the legend has grown up around that. Taker once said that he told Shawn some version of "If you come back through this curtain with that belt, you and I are going to have issues." So...you told the the guy that you supposedly didn't trust where you were going to be and threatened him? And you assumed that he wouldn't leave another way? O...K... As much as wrestling fans would like to believe this story, it's more supposition than substance. There might well be a grain of truth somewhere, but the more accounts that one reads, the more the details conflict and the story becomes sketchy. Wrestlemania played out the only way that it could have. where does this 'taker once said' quote come from? he's spoken about it twice, on the OTR program in 2002 and on the broken skull sessions. neither time did he state he verbally told Shawn anything - the story has always been that he quietly taped his fists with menace and that sent the message. |
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Jun 23, 2021 6:39:03 GMT -5
Prichard recently said that there was " no head-to-head and no words exchanged", which is what I have always believed about this. There was nervousness and pressure on Shawn because he was being a jerk, but the legend has grown up around that. Taker once said that he told Shawn some version of "If you come back through this curtain with that belt, you and I are going to have issues." So...you told the the guy that you supposedly didn't trust where you were going to be and threatened him? And you assumed that he wouldn't leave another way? O...K... As much as wrestling fans would like to believe this story, it's more supposition than substance. There might well be a grain of truth somewhere, but the more accounts that one reads, the more the details conflict and the story becomes sketchy. Wrestlemania played out the only way that it could have. where does this 'taker once said' quote come from? he's spoken about it twice, on the OTR program in 2002 and on the broken skull sessions. neither time did he state he verbally told Shawn anything - the story has always been that he quietly taped his fists with menace and that sent the message. I don't remember the exact interview, because it was late 90s or early 2000s, back when I believed that the story was true. It was a TV interview, not an article. I remember Taker saying the "issues" line. But as the story got retold, it became clear to me that it was more legend than substance. Taker had said that he was "taping his hands at table", while Prichard said that he was standing quietly. Jim Ross said that he "had a feeling" that Taker would try to attack Shawn, which is why this never got reported to Vince. Taker recently confirmed that he never had a confrontation with Shawn (I think that I saw that in the NY Post) even though he said that he thought about it. Yes, there were bad feelings, but that was about it. |
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Post by K5 on Jun 23, 2021 8:52:02 GMT -5
where does this 'taker once said' quote come from? he's spoken about it twice, on the OTR program in 2002 and on the broken skull sessions. neither time did he state he verbally told Shawn anything - the story has always been that he quietly taped his fists with menace and that sent the message. I don't remember the exact interview, because it was late 90s or early 2000s, back when I believed that the story was true. It was a TV interview, not an article. I remember Taker saying the "issues" line. But as the story got retold, it became clear to me that it was more legend than substance. Taker had said that he was "taping his hands at table", while Prichard said that he was standing quietly. Jim Ross said that he "had a feeling" that Taker would try to attack Shawn, which is why this never got reported to Vince. Taker recently confirmed that he never had a confrontation with Shawn (I think that I saw that in the NY Post) even though he said that he thought about it. Yes, there were bad feelings, but that was about it. the reason I asked about the "issues" line is because it never happened. undertaker has stated that he told Shawn it didn't happen because Shawn and him had developed a friendship by the time he asked, but he has verified it did indeed occur despite what he told Shawn. so, essentially, you think the undertaker is a liar about this, when you're the one who created a quote he never said. by the way, pritchard's quote was "The Undertaker was seated directly in front of me [in Gorilla Postion] and he sat there and wrapped his hands while Shawn made his way to the ring,” . so he wasn't standing at all. I'd suggest confirming any references you make before making them. |
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Jun 23, 2021 21:36:46 GMT -5
I don't remember the exact interview, because it was late 90s or early 2000s, back when I believed that the story was true. It was a TV interview, not an article. I remember Taker saying the "issues" line. But as the story got retold, it became clear to me that it was more legend than substance. Taker had said that he was "taping his hands at table", while Prichard said that he was standing quietly. Jim Ross said that he "had a feeling" that Taker would try to attack Shawn, which is why this never got reported to Vince. Taker recently confirmed that he never had a confrontation with Shawn (I think that I saw that in the NY Post) even though he said that he thought about it. Yes, there were bad feelings, but that was about it. the reason I asked about the "issues" line is because it never happened. undertaker has stated that he told Shawn it didn't happen because Shawn and him had developed a friendship by the time he asked, but he has verified it did indeed occur despite what he told Shawn. so, essentially, you think the undertaker is a liar about this, when you're the one who created a quote he never said. by the way, pritchard's quote was "The Undertaker was seated directly in front of me [in Gorilla Postion] and he sat there and wrapped his hands while Shawn made his way to the ring,” . so he wasn't standing at all. I'd suggest confirming any references you make before making them. Here's an early interview on the subject with Taker. Notice he said there are "variations" on the story, but he never mentions anything other than bad blood (no pun intended) toward HBK. He doesn't mention a specific place where he was or what he was doing. Like I said before, there is a seed of truth in this story, but most of what has sprung up around it is fable. It didn't come close to actually happening. |
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CymruX2
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Sept 5, 2020 9:35:33 GMT -5
Posts: 318
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Post by CymruX2 on Jun 23, 2021 22:40:03 GMT -5
I wonder if they had Iron Mike there to legit KO Shawn if he tried getting out of "doing business" it's well known that Undertaker was waiting in the wings too if necessary. All it would have taken is for Vince to tell the ref to take a bump via the refs ear piece, then Taker or Tyson to deal with Shawn, ref comes around to count the pinfall.
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Jun 23, 2021 23:39:07 GMT -5
I wonder if they had Iron Mike there to legit KO Shawn if he tried getting out of "doing business" it's well known that Undertaker was waiting in the wings too if necessary. All it would have taken is for Vince to tell the ref to take a bump via the refs ear piece, then Taker or Tyson to deal with Shawn, ref comes around to count the pinfall. Some people have theorized that, but I doubt it just because there are easier ways to assure the desired outcome. All that had to happen would have been Austin cinching a cradle when HBK, who was clearly weakened and in pain from his injury, thought he was actually going to kick out. I have no doubt that Austin was physically capable of this, and had Vince told him to do it, he would have. |
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Post by K5 on Jun 23, 2021 23:58:02 GMT -5
the reason I asked about the "issues" line is because it never happened. undertaker has stated that he told Shawn it didn't happen because Shawn and him had developed a friendship by the time he asked, but he has verified it did indeed occur despite what he told Shawn. so, essentially, you think the undertaker is a liar about this, when you're the one who created a quote he never said. by the way, pritchard's quote was "The Undertaker was seated directly in front of me [in Gorilla Postion] and he sat there and wrapped his hands while Shawn made his way to the ring,” . so he wasn't standing at all. I'd suggest confirming any references you make before making them. Here's an early interview on the subject with Taker. Notice he said there are "variations" on the story, but he never mentions anything other than bad blood (no pun intended) toward HBK. He doesn't mention a specific place where he was or what he was doing. Like I said before, there is a seed of truth in this story, but most of what has sprung up around it is fable. It didn't come close to actually happening. he said in that video that the claim that he verbally threatened HBK is a variation because the well known and recognized story is that he sent the threat non verbally by taping his fists. this is beyond redundant so I am withdrawing. |
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Post by Kill Em' All on Jun 24, 2021 23:29:54 GMT -5
Mark would of been mean.
No; but really great topic. Would it kill Austin's momemtium; or only build it hotter? Would Shawn ever rebound would he get screwed like Hart in someway. Who knows.
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
Posts: 2,335
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Post by jason1980s on Jun 25, 2021 11:02:23 GMT -5
I would think if he didn't want to drop the belt he would find a way out of it before the PPV. No that may kill the PPV but not as much or less than if he did something at the PPV to hurt Austin and keep the belt. I do also think that Shawn knew his time was up with the back injury. I don't know his exact relationship with Austin but I feel like he would respect Austin being a Texas guy, working his way from the very bottom and WCW into WWF to become the hottest ticket. Also with Shawn dropping the belts without losing it was with Shane Douglas and I think a proposed match with Bret at WM 13 so obviously with guys he disliked slated for matches with him.
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