Shawn Micheals Jokes About So Many Wrestlers Using the Superkick

Back when Shawn Michaels was at the top of the wrestling world, the superkick effectively belonged to only him. But in the years since “The Heartbreak Kid” hung up his boots, the kick has become as commonplace as a DDT or lariat. While on Culture State this week, the hosts joked with Michaels about how much money he’d be raking in if he got so much as a nickel every time somebody hit a superkick in a match nowadays. 

“I’d be doing really okay,” he said. “I take it as a compliment. I can remember when I first broke into the wrestling business, a lot of old timers said ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.’ That’s certainly the way I take it. There were people that inspired me. I’ve always been into the romance of this line of work. I’m fortunate and I appreciate the fact that something that I did has had a positive effect on this business. Would I mind getting a nickel for every time one of those things happened? Of course I wouldn’t, but I don’t think that’s realistic. I’ll just be flattered from a distance.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, HBK appeared to close the door on any more comebacks — “Yeah, I’ve had that final match. No, father time waits on no man. I’m good, I’m unbelievably happy with my career, and it is now time to watch the next generation flourish.”

Michaels spoke with ComicBook back in 2019 about one of his most iconic superkicks, in which he hit Shelton Benjamin square in the face as Benjamin was jumping across the ring on a May 2005 episode of Monday Night Raw. 

“It’s one of those ones that it’s lightning in a bottle, that’s the timing and everything else is just so perfect,” Michaels said. “Because again, you can do that same thing but if the timing isn’t perfect, it doesn’t quite stand the test of time like that one does. That’s one of those moments where everything comes together, and it certainly does not hurt that you have got unbelievably stellar athletes like Shelton doing all of the heavy lifting in that type of stuff.

“I’m the guy that got to win, but I will always argue that he is the guy that did the majority of the work in that particular instance,” he continued. “I have to thank him for that.”

h/t Fightful