Shawn Michaels says “I don’t want to be a bitter, crotchety old-timer” after being asked about Bret Hart
In an interview from November of 2025, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart made a remark about how he thought Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon “were sleeping with each other.” While appearing on The Masked Man Show ahead of WrestleMania 42, Shawn Michaels was asked when the last time he spoke to Bret was and whether he has kept up with any of Bret’s interview comments. Here was HBK’s response…
“The last time we had a conversation, I believe, was the Hall of Fame last year. Actually, yeah, because we were in the same dressing room and I helped him put on his suspenders. I mean that in a good way—it was just one of those things. It was his first time ever wearing suspenders, and I’ve worn them before.
So we chatted then, and it wasn’t long after that I heard him say I was doing things with Vince. Never happened. It’s the wrestling business—I don’t know what’s real anymore. I’m never sure what’s out there to get a rise out of people or to make things bigger than they are. I just don’t put a lot of stock in that.
All I know is we had a nice conversation in the room about how to put his suspenders on. He went out there, and there might be things that he doesn’t like—I understand that. There are lots of things people don’t like. Everybody has a right to their opinion on everything these days, and I don’t begrudge anyone for that.
I just try to focus on me and my life. I know we’re a happy family, I know we have a good time in NXT, and I’m doing everything I can to give back to the business that’s been so good to me. It sounds silly, I guess, because good news isn’t clickworthy or binge-worthy, but I live a positive, joyful life. It’s boring as hell to some people, I guess, but I’d rather do that than the alternative.
I always say I don’t want to be a bitter, crotchety old-timer. I feel like we’ve got enough of those. Not to imply that anyone is—I’m just saying I prefer to look at life as a ‘glass half full’ kind of thing and go from there.”