You said that HBK dead. Then you came back to Raw as HBK. People said you contradicted yourself and criticized you for that. Care to set the record straight?

Well I think that what I meant... I suppose I have to be careful cause I’m sure a lot of people who read Teddy’s sight are wrestling fans and wrestling friends are pretty literal folks when you answer something... I mostly meant that in that business I had turned into that character, almost. Not almost, I mean as much as you can without going completely crazy. But I had turned into my character and I had lost touch of who I was as a person. So when I made that remark, I meant that, for me coming back into the business - because I had been born again and I did feel reborn, the person that I was born to be - the person in Jesus Christ I was meant to be when God knew me before I was born - I just meant that the person who built this reputation in the wrestling industry, the person who was known for being difficult behind the scene was no longer alive. And that I was going to portray Shawn Hickenbottom in the ring, out of the ring, and all other times and not really rely on that character so to speak.

You were brutally attacked on Raw when someone put your head into a car window. Some people thought it was a shoot and you were really hurt...

Well no, of course not, I’m really fine. It was just a wrestling angle.

There have been rumors that you will return to the ring, not return to the ring, head for the announcers table, etc. Now it appears you are heading for a feud with Triple H. What is the future for Shawn Michaels?

So, basically are you thinking just the one match or is that up to the Lord....?

Oh, absolutely - no farther than that, that’s the one thing - as I said the only reason I’m thinking about that is because He gave it to me. And there’s absolutely no indication that He wants anymore than that and I’m not doing anything in my life if I don’t feel it’s what God wants me doing.

Personally, we don’t watch the WWE here...

Neither do I.

Last week, you were seen in the ring with Hunter where you did the DX symbol, or the "crotch chop" you looked very uncomfortable...

Yeah. I didn’t actually do the "crotch chop". I went to my waist and I was very uncomfortable because I told them I wasn’t going to do that. But I did make the "X" sign, I did do that but I didn’t do what we used to do. I made it a point not to do that because I am uncomfortable doing that.

You seemed even out of place in a sense...

As I said, I made sure to make an "X" across my waist but I knew that people could still look at it and go "Oh look he’s doing it, he’s doing it!" So that in and of itself makes me a little uncomfortable - know how people perceive things. I know that though no fault of anyone that people are looking for an excuse, or something to call me a hypocrite about and that’s fine, but... It was, it was uncomfortable and that’s why I didn’t do it.

What is your opinion of the current state of wrestling - today’s product?

I think, with the exception of the last two weeks - the last two weeks they are writing the show differently, I have expressed my feelings on what they did in the last four years: I don’t care for it. But the last two weeks have been more wrestling based and I think that it’s going to go back to that. I think it’s going to go back to a show that people say "yeah, me and my kids watch that", gonna back to more wrestling. Now obviously it’s still going to be violent because that’s what wrestling is: simulated violence. But that was a lot easier to explain to your children, as opposed to the women barely dressed and the language and everything else. Will those things change? I don’t know. I don’t take part in them: I don’t use vulgarity in the show, now: I surely don’t curse and I don’t do anything with the women. I’m certainly doing what I can, and I think the last two weeks the show has been more wrestling based, so hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. We also, we don’t watch it in my home. My wife does her best to flip through and see if I’m on, just to show her son his daddy on TV; but he’s seen it now, seen daddy on TV. So we don’t need to, he don’t need to see the show because there is just too many things that he can see that we don’t want him to see. So we don’t watch it either, by the same token, we don’t watch a lot of stuff on TV.

One of the reasons many people, Christians in particular, quit watching the WWF/WWE is because Vince, or the writers of the show, seemed to mock Christ and the Christian beliefs quite a bit - such as crucifying Austin. How does Vince feel about your conversion?

I think that they do that not knowing that they are doing it. As I think back I realize the immense lack of knowledge in the Word of God. And so, to them it’s like "Oooo, let’s put Austin on, we’ll call it a symbol so that way it won’t be too blasphemous" but at the same time they see it as more like as you would see it in a movie like "ahhhh" - more just to be effective, an effect of it being a cross as opposed to understanding that no that’s actually really serious. But that’s because no one there has a real knowledge of the Word of God, and I have to be honest - until I was saved, I had no idea either. And there are times when Vince explains things - the first time I was back he was explaining something to me and he was using the Lord’s name in vain and I told him to stop. And he immediately apologized for it he said he was sorry, but you just get so used to doing it - well we need to stop doing it. Vince has changed a great deal over the years and I don’t know how he deals with everybody else, I can only speak to how he deals with me. And he’s very respectful to me and my faith. And I think that there are a lot of guys, like Teddy for instance, who are worried, I think, about me, because of how Vince handled Jake Roberts. Well, I’m not, and I told them, I’m not Jake Roberts. There’s some things that guys will put up with because they’re intimidated by Vince McMahon. And, Vince and I got over that a long time ago before I was saved I wasn’t intimidated by Vince McMahon because I done, shared and said too much to the man to be intimidated by him. And I don’t mean that to sound cocky, it’s just that I’ve been there for a long time and he and I have been through a lot of experiences. We’re just two guys that talk. He’s not really "Vince McMahon" when we’re talking, he’s just a guy talking to me. 95% of what we talk about is personal, it has very little to do with business, and most guys never formed that relationship with him. It was always just business and talking about their there job. So when you do that with him he always had to take on the role as "the boss". So, with me he doesn’t feel the need to be "the boss" all the time. So anyway, I guess what I’m getting at is he’s very respectful of it but as I said, since I’ve been back, they don’t really understand a lot of what they’re doing. I mean as far as mocking the Christians, I don’t think they understand the severity of it because to them, every once in a while, them Christians look like a wacky bunch. And, I don’t mean that... again, I’m thrilled to be a part of that wacky bunch.

At least we know where we are going....

Exactly! And I guess that’s what I’m saying: we understand the severity now, at least I do, of "Hey, you don’t get it, you’re going to hell!".... To them it’s just, it’s a place that doesn’t exist, so that reality just doesn’t - they’re in a constant state of unreality because they are working all the time in that business. So they never get a chance to step out and understand that "Hey, what about when all these is over...?" .

Moving away from the WWE for a minute: your relationship with your former Midnight Rockers partner Marty Jannetty has been report as rocky in the past - do you have any hopes of a true friendship with him in the future?

Yea, I don’t know that it was, I don’t know how "rocky" it was - I mean Marty and I were young and just naive and stupid, really. Marty and I talked a couple of years ago and everything seemed to be fine. And so yeah, I would love to see Marty and talk with him... I mean we have obviously drifted apart; we live very different lives now. But if I saw him I would definitely, or even knew how to get in touch with him I would love to speak Marty and see how he’s doing. I certainly have nothing negative in my life or in my heart about Marty at all.

Five names - what is the first thing that pops into your head:

Ok.

Kevin Nash: friend
Scott Hall: friend
Brett Hart: angry
Hulk Hogan: legend
Vince McMahon: big heart - that nobody ever gets to see...
Ted DiBiase: Christian brother

You are close to Kevin Nash - have you had a chance to share Jesus with him, or anybody backstage for that matter?

And that’s the one thing that could benefit a lot if guys: Hogan came up to me and told me that he was saved when he was 14; and some other guys - Big Show and I rode together the other day and he said seeing me, the way that I am with my family, and the way I am with my faith values made him question his relationship with God. It has been an affect in the dressing room and as I say, I haven’t done anything. It says in the bible the strongest witness is a silent witness that just lives his life by the Word of God and set an example.

God is doing all of it. I stay in the word everyday and I pray a lot before I go to work and so I feel very good when I go to work and strong, and there’s some other guys who were Christians before, but sort of like closet Christians... Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho, But now with me there, I’ve been sort of a staple in that company for a long time and I’m somebody who’s a little more outgoing that we openly talk about it now. So that it’s something that can be openly talked about in the dressing room around the guys, and the guys can take part of it or not. A lot of guys don’t talk about it for whatever reason, I think a lot of it has to do with, the business can be very intimidating. Not that we all are subject to anything that’s not cool, but to a certain extent that’s true: if it’s something you don’t think that everyone is going to accept then you sort of don’t talk about it. And me, I’m thrilled about it, and the thing is now there’s other guys, there’s guys in there who believe but just don’t want to talk about it but now it’s a subject that can be talked about..

How did Jesus find you?

Well, the power of a praying wife.

We heard you had quite an experience in Phoenix at the A.I.M. conference. Like to share?

It was awesome! It was very relaxed and what really helped me was to be in an environment where there are - it is something that I just feel that, gosh, every wrestler, every athlete - where you have a hundred guys, a hundred men: a hundred "he-men", the kind of men you play sports with, you hang around with, you train with - all in there not caring about anything except worshipping God. Not feeling self conscious about it, not worried about as they say - looking cool or whatever, they’re just in there praising there God. And it moved me beyond words.

I went through an encounter a couple weeks after I got saved and I wasn’t sure - I guess I didn’t have the evidence of the Holy Spirit. And boy at that conference, being in that unbelievably comfortable atmosphere and really just submitting yourself, totally humbling yourself before God... It was totally awesome.!

Were do you see Shawn Hickenbottom in the next five years?

I hope and pray that he’s enjoying a wonderful marriage and enjoying that seven and a half year old son, going to school and raising him in a good Christian home... And being right in the center of the Lord’s will for his life and whatever that entails. Right now I’m doing a thing with fatherless children a mentoring type thing with Cornerstone Ministry. That was something I thought about actually before I got saved... It was just one of the things the Lord lead me to in the beginning of my walk. Just seeing, gosh, one of the things that seems to be wrong - not knowing that it wasn’t me - but saying that geez, our country is going down the tubes with men leaving so many women with children to raise. And then coming to the realization after being saved and reading that it is our job as men to be the spiritual leaders of our families... You take the man out and it’s very tough and just how - I don’t know, I was raised in a family that my mom did everything so you don’t really realize your role as a man. I read a lot of books that put it in perspective for me, and I just see that is really missing - men really copping out. So I hopefully will be doing something with that. After my birthday, my wife enrolled she and I in a two year bible school at Liberty University - hopefully, I’ll be done with that. But as I say, it’s to be loving my family the way God wants me to and be in the center of His will, that’s what I hope for.

Any chance in the future of helping Ted in the PWA?

Yes, he actually asked me about doing a show, and yeah - I certainly want to reach people any way possible. He’s asked me to ask Vince but as I said earlier, Vince has been very supportive of anything I want to do. So yes, I would love to help Teddy - it’s merely a scheduling process at this point.

How about you getting together with Ted, Nikita and Sting to work for Christ?

Yes, we have all sort of talked about that also and if it’s the Lord’s will, He will make that happen.

Any parting message for Ted?

Yes, thanks. He’s somebody I can talk to and I very much appreciate him talking to me and getting me through... just helping me to understand and not be freaked out so to speak about everything that was going on.