Shawn Michaels has gone down as one of the greatest "sellers" in the history of professional wrestling.
In matches with wrestlers like Bret Hart, Triple H, The Undertaker, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Kurt Angle, and countless others, Michaels would "sell" offensive moves like he was being shot. Sometimes he was more animated than other times, like in his infamous matchup with Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam 2005 but, more often than not, Michaels' selling is what made the match.
Michaels recently spoke on the art of selling (and over-selling) on The Bobby Bones Show, where he admitted that the business of professional wrestling has changed and he's unsure about how his selling would be perceived today.
"The business has changed so much. I think it’s interesting you used the word overselling. Back in the 90s, somebody like Mr. Perfect, who I used his style from a selling standpoint, this day and age he would be considered an overseller, but it was very visual and very appealing. The same way I sold in the 90s. Dolph Ziggler, Billy Gunn, they were very visual sellers. I don’t know how that would be received this day and age. A lot has changed over the years. With MMA being around, our business had to evolve and replicate what I think people perceived as as legitimately painful or not. As this continues to grow, evolve, and change, our business is going to continue to do that. Old timers like me often talk about, ‘These kids don’t sell anything like we did,’ but at the same time, I remember people saying that to me. That is generational. I think you have to change with the times. Football, basketball, baseball, they all need to be faster than they once were to keep an audience entertained and locked in. Our business is no different," Michaels said.
Michaels also recently spoke on the power of Sweet Chin Music. You can read his comments here.
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