Playgirl Interview

The Heartbreak Kid

Shawn Michaels

I am talking with Shawn Michaels-a.k.a. The Heartbreak Kid, reigning champion of the World Wrestling Federation- and I've lost my train of thought. The conversation has turned to matters of sex, and he's describing something he truly enjoys: "I've always been told that I was a really good kisser; that I have really soft lips- and that's great because I could spend a whole night just kissing," he's saying in a voice that strokes the libido like a sweet "Good morning, darlin'," after a long, hard night of love.
Suddenly my mind is filled with an image from the day before: Shawn and I are talking, his blue-green eyes locked with mine. We're seated mere inches apart on a weight bench in the WWF's state-of-the-art gym located in their Connecticut headquarters. His blond lion's mane, slick with perspiration, coils down his back while beads of sweat navigate through the maze of golden bronzed curls that adorn his near perfect chest and abs. The effect is breathtaking-and he doesn't even seem to know it. He's the fantasy object of a million women, and I could just reach out and touch him. Believe me, the thought did cross my mind...
When he's doing his thing in the ring, Shawn may be all macho swagger, but one-on-one, he's a whole different-and wonderful-animal. This 31 year old, 6'1", 227-pound native of San Antonio, Texas is part of a new era of wrestling superstars who are trying to reinvent themselves-and their sport-with a sexier, smarter, more upscale image. And it's working!

PLAYGIRL: Are you comfortable showing off your body?
(Laughs) Strangely enough I am.

Are you happy with it?
I am, but I'm always trying to do better. Maybe it's vanity, or ego.

Tell us about The Heartbreak Kid.
Well, I think he's an arrogant,cocky, self-assured young man, but at the same time everyone knows that he's just a guy living out something that's really a blast to him- his dream from the time he was very, very young. Getting to go out and show off in front of lots and lots of people, doing something that he was lucky enough to be blessed with being pretty good at. Very good at.

Women love him. How do you react to all that adulation?
I don't know...If so many women loved me, I wouldn't be single and searching all the time.

Single and searching...our favorite words! What are you searching for?
Mrs. Right I think.

You said you're the first unmarried WWF Champion?
Yes, I believe I am. I enjoy being single right now because there are a lot of demands on my time. I spend a great deal of my life on the road- and I enjoy every minute of it. Being the World Wrestling Federation Champion, traveling around the world and performing for lots and lots of people is everything I ever wanted. But someday I would like to be married, have kids and have somewhat of a normal life. I don't know how normal I can be, but maybe I can get pretty close.

How far down the road is this normal life?
Realistically, four or five years. I've always said that as far as wrestling was concerned, I was going to get out of the ring full-time by the age of 35.

Were you the proverbial "98-pound weakling" in high school? How did you end up doing this?
No,I wasn't. I certainly wasn't the biggest guy, but I was the biggest on our football team. I saw wrestling for the first time when I was 12 years old-the first time I was able to stay up late-and it hit me just like that. I knew right away. From that point on, wrestling never drifted from my thoughts. I continued to play football until I graduated, but it was always in the back of my mind that I was going to be WWF Champion-champion of the entire world.

Does the idea of somebody biting at your heels, the next WWF Champion wanna-be ever worry you?
You know what? I don't think so. I'm just confident in my ability. I don't sweat anybody. Nobody can wrestle longer than I can, nobody can make people yell louder than me for more. And if they can, I just work harder.

Does that translate into the bedroom as well?
Yeah! (laughs) I'm an athlete, for God's sake.

Many of your fans are female. What's the most outrageous thing one has ever done to catch your eye?
That would be lifting up her shirt and exposing herself to myself-and the rest of the people in the building. It was a long time ago.

Where were you?
I can't remember the location. I just remember those two very "subtle" things.

How subtle were they?
(laughs) Not very.

Were they gifts from Mother Nature, or did they have some gravitational help?
No, these were from Mother Nature, actually. But either/or-Mother Nature or with help-is fine with me. I'm pretty liberal.

Do women approach you more these days?
Yes, and I like that. I like someone else breaking the ice. If I mess up from there, it's my fault. (laughs)

Tell me the last pick-up line that worked on you.
I won't repeat it, but it was very direct. She just out and out asked me.

Did she ask you out or ask you for something else?
She asked for the whole kit and caboodle.

A basic, "I want you".
More direct.

"I want to 'bleep' you?"
That's the one.

Was it a kind of fill-in-the-blank?"
That's what made it even funnier. It was multiple choice. Which was nice, but...

It sort of took the mystery out of it?
Yeah, not a whole lot of adventure or wondering there. I prefer as much mystery as possible. Slow is fine with me. I'm in no hurry. My life's too much of a hurry as it is. I'm way past the romping-in-the-sack-just-for-the-fun-of-it stage. Though I was fairly wild from the time I was 19 to maybe 25, 26.

Did you sow a lot of wild oats?
Not a lot.

One acre, two acres?
Let's just say I put enough of a dent in it. I was never under the impression that it was a contest; that one guy was supposed to score more than the next. I've just never been into that. It's not me, not my family, not the way I was raised.

So what's the first thing that attracts you to a woman?
There's a bunch of things. Hair, eyes, brains. And for some reason, I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I always go for the smart girls. Which of course gets me in more trouble.

If you're so attracted to it, maybe you like being in trouble.
No, I don't think so....I think women are just smarter than men in general-especially up here in the East Coast. But women seem to be different all around the world. It's hard to figure it out. You get to the point where you say to yourself, I think I've got a handle on this, and then you go somewhere else and you realize,I don't have a handle at all. I had one back there, anyway.

Back to the physical. What kind of hair and eyes?
Brunettes first and foremost. That seems to be the pattern. Eyes...not really a color- it's just something about them, that there's something behind them. It's just one of those things that has to hit me immediately. That's how everything important has been in my life. If I don't get swept off my feet right away, I figure it isn't all that real.

Being the WWF champion makes you the best-known and most popular wrestler in the world, doesn't it?
(Modestly) Well, I'd like to think so.

How do you keep that from messing with your ego?
I've been doing this for over 11 years now, so my ego was effected more than enough in the past. (laughs) I think that I'm old enough now that I can handle it without it consuming too much of my life...I hope.

But the persona of The Heartbreak Kid, from the costumes to the sexy stage moves, seems to be an attempt to turn women on. Is this conscious on your part?
It really isn't, and it certainly didn't start out that way. I'm more conscious of it now because more people have made me aware of it. It began as just Shawn going out in front of the crowd and playing around, having fun, showing off-and having the nerve to do something on-camera, in front of lots of people, that he certainly couldn't do in a more private setting.

You don't often see some regular guy walking down the street wearing Spandex pants with a heart on the crotch and one on the butt. We might think that was a bit strange.
(laughs) Probably, yes. The World Wrestling Federation provides a wonderful vehicle for me to do something like that, but it's amazing that it's the only place I can really do it. I don't go out and dance in nightclubs. I can't be that way unless I'm in front of 20,000 people.

OK, so now we know about your public performances, we'll get to your private ones in a minute....Do you truly understand the effect you're having on the women in your audience?
I thought I did, but it seems to be getting bigger and bigger....more overwhelming. Not just with the women, but with our fans in general. It's getting bigger and better every day-which is wonderful. You just don't realize how many people who you appeal to, or who notice you.

It's a given that women everywhere love you, but since you're so much "larger than life," how do they react when they meet you in person?
A couple of years ago I didn't seem to be as intimidating to people as I am now...that is, without trying. But I think that's just because of where my career has gone. It just sort of comes along with the territory. I was easier to approach before when I was just Shawn out there having fun. I'd hope that would still be the case, but it seems to happen less and less.

Are they afraid of the title?
I don't know if it's that. I mean, I welcome everything that's going along with this, but it does seem like it's one or the other. Either they don't care-which is fine- or they're a little nervous or apprehensive about coming up to me because they're worried that I might be too busy to speak with them.

Or maybe that you'll put them in a headlock....
I'd just like to make it clear that it's not fear of me physically. It's where I've been placed in the media, this business and everything else. It's wonderful, but there is the other side to it.

Are you ever afraid that people will start liking you for what you are rather than who you are?
I figure a certain amount of that happens in this or any other line of work. You have to just be careful.

Do you have good radar?
I like to think that I'm pretty intelligent,or at least when it's happening I know that it's happening, and if I let it, it's because I choose to do so.

Let's talk some more about your infamous costumes. Whose idea were those strategically placed hearts?
There's a young lady in Chicago, whose name is Julie Youngberg. She and her sisters make all my costumes, but I do have to admit that the heart on the front was my idea...as was the heart on the back. I just thought it would be funny.

There's that double entendre....
You mean I have a heart-on the front?

A heart-on front and back.
I won't lie to you, that was exactly my thinking....but it was just for fun!

We've found that's what heart-ons are usually for...OK, what's up with all that gyrating on stage?
That came from the music. The song came first, and it's just kind of [evolved.] The more you do it, the more comfortable you become with it, and hopefully, it gets better. I've never planned a whole lot. I don't really "get in character". I go out there, walk through the curtain and all of a sudden it just turns on.

There's an internal switch somewhere?
Yes. I think it's the electricity from the people. As soon as I come out, it's there.

Is the give and take from the crowd almost like a sexual energy? Do you derive physical pleasure from it?
There's definitely some form of erotic feeling. Again, just out of instinct-no reason-I've nearly disrobed on national TV.

How far did you go?
At the last pay-per-view event, I pulled everything down and just draped the belt across me...My mom didn't appreciate that too much. I think everyone at WWF sweats a little when I do stuff like that, but they know that it's hard to control me when I'm in that environment and everything is going so well.

I'm sure there is nothing you could show us that you wouldn't be proud of.
I hope not.

Your nickname is "The Boy Toy". Care to comment?
That was given to me by an older woman I was hanging out with when I first started wrestling on my own. I guess I had what everybody thought was a bad attitude- and it probably was.

Why do you think she called you that?
I guess I was some form of object to her at the time.

Does it bother you to be objectified? It is part of being famous.
Well, it is part of it. Looking back, it was more bothersome from a one-on-one standpoint, if someone is using you from a greedy or selfish motive, but on the flip side, you say to yourself, if this is as bad as it gets, this doesn't suck. I mean, c'mon... When you're younger, you wait your whole life for people to ask for your autograph. I don't think that it's too fair to get uptight when it happens. You can't put your face on TV every week and not expect people to recognize you or want to be next to you, or talk to you.

Are you ever worried that the recognition factor's going to become too invasive?
Again, that is starting to happen. I try to keep everything in perspective. I have bad moods, just like everybody else, but I do my best to behave appropriately. I don't like to claim perfection because I 've made way too many mistakes-and will probably make many, many more. So to say that I don't have bad days would be a huge lie. I just do what I can to make sure that I dot my "i"s and cross my "t"s, but I can be a little grouchy, a little edgy.....depending on how hard I've been working.

You do have a killer schedule.
I think that probably effects me and my mood more than anything else.

I'm not sure that the people even have a concept of how much time and hard work you have to put in to get where you are. They only see what's on TV, the end result.
Aside from the couple of hours a week that people might see on TV, they think that when we're in their town, that's the only show we have. They don't realize that I've been in two weeks worth of towns prior to that and might possibly be in 12 cities afterward. I've always told everyone that I would put my schedule up against any athlete in the world, or any entertainer....whatever anyone wants to label what I do for the WWF. I think I'm an athletic performer.

All that flying and leaping that you do...Did you watch a lot of Errol Flynn movies when you were a kid?
(laughs) No, that's all a mixture of different professional wrestling techniques. It's a whole lot of everything.

Your work is very physically demanding. Does that spill over into your personal life?
It does for a lot of people, but not for me. I get the rush and the testosterone high from the ring. Outside of the ring, I can be aggressive, but you gear up so much more for a performance-or I do, anyway-that you don't want to be aggressive any other time. The last thing I want to do is be physical with another man. Once a day is enough! (laughs)

You said when it comes to women, you prefer to be the "pursuee" rather than the pursuer.
I don't mind pursuing. It's just when I actually do pursue someone it always helps if she says hello first. I'm just not nearly as chic and as cool, calm and collected as I am on TV. In the real atmosphere of dealing with the opposite sex, Shawn Michaels The Heartbreak Kid is much cooler than Shawn.

What's the most bizarre thing you've ever done to get a woman's attention?
I think what I do on TV's pretty bizarre-stripping...taking my clothes off. It goes into a lot of homes-and video stores on top of that. So I'd have to say disrobing for a worldwide viewership is pretty high up there.

But say you are in a bar and you see a woman who you like, and perhaps she isn't aware of "Shawn The Heartbreak Kid." What do you do then?
That's when the pursuit thing really slows down. It takes just about everything I have and most of the night just to get over there.

And once you're there?
Then I'm just sort of me, and either it works or it doesn't. I run into a lot of , "You're not what I expected."

Say things are going well. What's a big turn on for you?
I like women who are in shape, women who are smart. I knock myself about my intelligence sometimes. I'm a fairly smart boy, but I'd like the person I'm with to be smarter, because it makes me think even more.

How do you make the judgement that someone's smarter than you?
I say smarter, but I really mean educated. I'm plenty street smart. I've been out on my own since I was 19 pursuing this life and I've learned a lot. And that's what I try to bring to a relationship, and I would hope that they bring the book smarts.

On top of everything else, you've got a remarkably sexy voice. Have you been told that often?
I have been told that, yes....But I've had this voice for awhile, and people have made fun of me because of it. They ask me if it's my "wrestler's voice." Maybe I've been punched in the throat too many times. (laughs) Back home , they notice that I didn't have the traditional Texas twang, but they never mentioned anything else. It wasn't really until I came up here to the East Coast that someone told me my voice was sexy.

Does a woman's voice make a difference in her overall sexiness quotient?
Oh, yes. That's why it's hard for me to answer specific questions about women because I -and I know it sounds cliche'-but I like all of them for a number of different reasons. Not just from an objectifying point of view, but to me, girls are just the neatest thing in the world. I think it's because of having been around guys and athletes for so long. Plus, being a momma's boy, you have a real appreciation and respect for women that I've had from the get-go. I didn't have to form that over the years. I had it right away. All shapes, all sizes, everybody brings something different to the table.

Does this attitude make you a more giving person on a sexual level?
Oh, yeah. I've been told that for a man, I'm overly affectionate. I'm kissy-kissy, touchy-touchy, feely-feely. So it's especially great if someone else can break the ice, 'cause I can take it from there. It's just that first part that I'm still a little nervous, a little apprehensive about.

From the outside looking in, most people would think, why would he be nervous about approaching any woman he was interested in?
Again, that's one of those misconceptions about some of us guys. A lot of people have told me that the guys who shouldn't be confident are, and the ones who should be sometimes aren't. So maybe I fall into that category. Maybe I should be a little more confident, but if this is a bad as it gets, I'm OK.

What's the one thing about you that most people would find surprising?
That I'm shy in the beginning, which seems strange for a guy who's taken off most of his clothes on TV. But once I'm comfortable, I can be comfortable in any given situation, anyplace, anywhere, there's not a whole lot that scares me.....

Have you ever been anywhere unusual when you found yourself feeling "comfortable?"
(Laughs) Trying to ride a motorcycle down the road with somebody wrapped around you is difficult....but fun at the same time; broad daylight on a dock with water-skiers going by...It was just one of those things.

If a woman you were seeing had a role-playing wrestling fantasy, would you let her "pin you" between the sheets?
Ummmm, yeah, But I do worry about hurting girls. I might resist for a little bit (pauses thoughtfully), but I wouldn't do anything offensive.

Do you ever wear the belt to bed?
(Laughs) I haven't had the opportunity, but I am willing to learn!