The Miami Herald is featuring an interview with WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels discussing why he could still be active in the ring today, but instead chose retirement.
“I walked away from an extremely well paying job, which is probably not the smartest thing to do. [Michaels chuckled], but I did it solely to come home and to help my wife raise our children, to be a part of their lives. WWE would have allowed me to work any kind of way that I wanted. I could have very easily have said, ‘Hey, I’d like to slow down over the next couple of years, do a few things here and there,’ and I think everybody would have been fine with that, but for me, I think that would have probably been harder on me. Personally, I think the job would be harder for me to do, personally, on a semi, here and there, in and out type basis.
It’s easier, and I think I’m better at it when I’m doing it or I’m not. So for me I felt it was better to walk away completely. You have to be careful because if you leave it as an open option, you’re going to be getting calls on a regular basis. Every time somebody gets injured or every time somebody comes up with an idea, the phone is going to be ringing, and you’re going to have to deal with ‘should I or shouldn’t I?’ I didn’t want to run into that. I didn’t want to put myself through that, and I didn’t want to put the company through that. I’m certainly not going to wrestle, but if you need me for something, if you’re in a bind, you can give me a buzz, and I’ll be more than happy to be there and help out any way I can.”