Jim Ross On Infamous Shawn Michaels ‘Sunny Days’ Promo on Bret Hart, Bret & Shawn Getting Into Backstage Shoot Fight

In a recent edition of Grilling JR, Jim Ross discussed the Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart rivalry, Shawn’s “Sunny Days” promo, the two getting into a shoot fight, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Jim Ross on Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart as the right choice to lead WWE into a new era: “Did Shawn have more sizzle than Bret? Absolutely. But nobody is gonna tell me on any fantasy roster I’d ever book or envision in my lifetime that I would not want Bret Hart on that roster. Maturity, leadership, and he made everybody he worked with better. He knew how to embellish one’s assets and to hide their liabilities. To me, Bret Hart is a once in a lifetime type performer. But so is Shawn Michaels, And with that cache, Shawn brings more sizzle. So, if you’re looking for the Hulk Hogan sizzle and the music videos and the entrance music and all that stuff, then yeah, you’re on the right track. Shawn has all of that, and he has that over Bret. But in the ring and in the locker room and a lot of areas other fans don’t see or don’t give a shit about – it’s all about the hype, it’s all about the sizzle. Shawn’s issue was gonna be maturity, and can you be professional enough? Whether you like it or not, Shawn, you’re the leader of the team now…..I just didn’t know how long Shawn could sit in the saddle based on his previous behavior.”

On Bret’s role in building up Shawn and Steve Austin as top stars: “Steve Austin called me Sunday, and we caught up a lot of things. He brought up Bret and said, ‘There would be no Stone Cold Steve Austin without Bret Hart. Nobody impacted my career like Bret Hart did.’ That’s why I say for fans that love the sizzle, I don’t dislike it, and I may not like it as much as you do. The sizzle is one thing, but the stability and match quality and the leadership and all those things outrank that to me. That’s why Bret is always gonna be in my discussion as one of the best ever. Bret helped Shawn’s career big time. They didn’t have easy feelings, but they both had good chemistry. They didn’t have a bad match that I could see. I think Bret did a service to the two top guys WWE was building. He was unselfish. Would Shawn have done the same thing? I don’t know that. Maybe not.”

On Shawn’s “Sunny Days” promo on RAW: “I caught it. Here’s the deal – No. 1, in my opinion, that should not have been included in the promo. Secondly, the topic was too personal, too close to home, and then, the main overriding issue is, the talent are gonna say, ‘I was just trying to make it real. I just want it to be reality-based.’ Well, OK, your point can be made and say yes, you’re right about that. It’s still not the right thing to do. ‘But I want to make it real.’ Yeah, but your reasoning is stupid. I get you want to make it real, but look – Bret had children that were religious viewers of Monday Night RAW. Young, influential kids. See, I give a shit about that. I really do. Being in the talent relations role, you have to deal with all those issues. How do I tell Bret how to make his wife calm down? I don’t know. So, you put him in a position that I can’t address very well. I can’t solve your problem. I wish I could, but I can’t this time. All because somebody wanted to be reality-based and be able to pop the boys. I’m sure nobody laughed louder about that ‘sunny days’ remark than Kevin [Nash] and Scott [Hall] down in Atlanta.”

On Shawn and Bret getting into a shoot fight backstage: “I got there about 30 seconds after it ended. [Pat] Patterson was deeply involved in it. Patterson loved those two guys like sons. Bret with his great heritage and Canadian legacy – Pat was especially drawn to it. Of course, Shawn was one of Pat’s favorites. He just loved his in-ring work and loved the things he could do. Pat would say, ‘Shawn Michaels is as close to Ray Stevens as anybody I’ve ever seen.’ I remember Shawn lost a lot of hair. Bret was ripping and tearing anything you could get a hold of. [Jerry] Lawler was in there, Patterson was in there. I think they took Patterson down. Patterson was trying to separate them and they all went tumbling down. But nobody really got hurt. It wasn’t a fight that saw teeth knocked out and broken noses and eyes swelled shut and things of that nature. It didn’t get that to extreme, but it was intense. And then the aftermath – I think Shawn wanted to go home, and Bret still hung around.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Grilling JR with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.