At SummerSlam 1996, Shawn Michaels defended the WWE Championship against Vader, in the main event. The match is often recalled for Michaels breaking character mid-match after Vader wasn't positioned correctly for a spot, and claims that the 'Heartbreak Kid' further complained about Vader backstage to the point where the returning veteran was taken off screen.Despite the online consensus, John 'Bradshaw' Layfield claims that the accusations levied against Michaels for all these years have largely been incorrect."The part about Shawn not liking to work with Vader because he was stiff? That's a hundred percent not true," he claimed during an episode of "Something To Wrestle."JBL admitted that Michaels was a bit of a perfectionist about in-ring work at this time, but asserts that HBK actually didn't care about how Vader worked, because he was a tough guy."Shawn didn't mind contact, so that wasn't an issue," he said. What JBL does think affected Vader's run in WWE was the timing of him coming into the promotion, because by 1996, Vader's body had largely begun to fail him and he had begun to lose confidence in his own ability. "[Vader] gets down there [WWE], and has to be off the gas [steroids], and when that comes, you know he's not as big, he's not as strong, he's not the physically imposing guy, and physically he can't quite do what he did."The veteran further emphasized that the Vader fans saw in WWE wasn't the one fans got used to who competed in Japan or WCW, and Michaels was actually upset because he expected that Vader. "Shawn had all the pressure in the world," JBL added, pointing out that the New Generation Era brought added pressure to big stars. "There was so much pressure on him, on Bret [Hart], and the champions of those days."If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Something To Wrestle," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
