But at that time, Shawn was a much different Shawn. The entire company was riding him heavy. He was happy to be the cornerstone of the franchise and he was just doing everything that the boss asked him to do, much like Roman Reigns. I can remember writing those promos at the time; his main two adversaries were Vader and Sid. The only thing that I could do that was about half-way Shawn, was get in the line, “I’m going to dance all over your face”, which I stole from the KISS song of the same title. It was painful for Shawn – it was brutal. The look on his face said it all, as he had to do everything within his power just to get through the session. Vince was killing him, simply because: it was not who Shawn Michaels was. Vince was trying to sell a certain image to the WWF fans that was in HIS head, and just like with Reigns, they were going to buy into it whether they liked it or not.
Luckily, due to the marriage with Triple H and Chyna, Shawn Michaels was later allowed to come into his own because there was simply no stopping him. His character and his charisma were going to come through one way or another, much like it would for Steve Austin less than a year after Vince McMahon labeled him the silent “Ringmaster”. I can only assume that, in time, the same will happen for Roman Reigns.
It’s puzzling that a man like Vince McMahon, with the knowledge he has, can make the same exact mistake 20 years later, with another talent who is just busting at the seams with promise. But that’s Vince, still believing, in 2015, that the fans are going to buy whatever it is he’s trying to sell them.
Free Roman Reigns, Vince. It will be the best thing for business.
