The matches featuring Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker in the 1990s were downright awesome, but often get overlooked for more "iconic" bouts. Recently, the Heartbreak Kid recently sat down with ESPN to discuss his relationship with The Deadman, and admitted that while they were battling each other in the ring, things backstage were equally as unpleasant.
"I think in some ways, when we were younger, we were frustrated because we had so much unbelievable natural chemistry in the ring with each other, and had zero of it outside the ring," Michaels explained. "At the time, I was an extremely difficult person. He was less so. There was clearly never any real trouble between the two of us. We just did not care for one another because we were so different. He clearly didn't like me based on who I was and my reputation. And I didn't like him based on who he was."
"He never once raised his voice or hit somebody. It bugged me the wrong way. Because he didn't go and tape his fists. But he didn't go and make theatrics out of anything. Any time he'd do anything it was very calm, and actually a pleasant conversation. Which was diametrically opposed to the gimmick, so to speak, behind the scenes."
"My immaturity at the time didn't allow me to grasp that he had it from a respect standpoint," he continued. "He did it by example. That's the way it's supposed to be done. But as I've been apologizing for damn near 30 years for everything, I didn't have the ability to appreciate that when I was younger."
The WWE Hall of Famer elaborated on that final point, explaining how they buried the hatchet when he returned to WWE. "When I came back in 2002, he was one of the first guys I went to just to apologize for all of my actions in the past. And he was good with it, but at the same time he made it pretty clear: 'We'll see.' I had a reputation. A lot of people weren't sure that [my change] was real. Then of course he recognized how [sorry] I very much was."
"When we got to do the WrestleMania stuff, the bond just got thicker and much deeper. We had both changed and grown in a lot of ways. And when we got in the ring, that chemistry was just so dynamic."
The Undertaker and HBK's rivalry in the 2000s was epic, and culminated in the latter retiring after their match at WrestleMania in 2010. It's fascinating to get this behind the scenes glimpse of how things were between the two legendary wrestlers, and good to know that they were able to move past those differences they once had.