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WWE Hall of Fame member and current Senior VP of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels came under fire this week after a former wrestler alleged he and ex-partner Marty Jannetty would drug and sexually assault women.
Former wrestler Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake alleged that Michaels and Jannetty used “h-bombs,” a date rape drug, on women. He also alleged they would throw women out in the hallway after they were “done with them.”
Michaels commented on the allegation on Thursday after a press conference question from Nick Hausman of Haus of Wrestling.
Shawn Michaels Denies Sexual Assault Allegations
“I’ll say this, I’ve never shied away from the stupid stuff I did in the past,” Michaels said, according Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com. “If you go back and ask Brutus Beefcake, he’ll tell you, one, never seen any of that actually happen. Again, wrestling stories. He’s also retracted that after saying it. I can say this. I’ve had a lot of struggles in my life and I don’t know how to say this without sounding shameful, but being with a lady was not something Shawn Michaels had a difficult time doing.
“I’ve never been in a situation where it was not consensual in any way, shape, or form (and) I’ve never taken advantage of someone in that respect. Those things are done for two reasons, and I’ve had a lot of counseling in my lifetime. The reason you do that stuff is because you dislike women or you have power issues. Shawn Michaels did not have those. He had insecurity issues and he had problems feeling like he wasn’t enough.
“That’s why you go to drugs and downers. The other stuff is build on power and disrespecting women, which is something I’ve never had. Any accusations against me as far as non consensual time with a woman simply is not true. That’s why they’ve never come up in anything other than, and I don’t mean to be mean to you guys, but it’s never come up in anything other than wrestling stories. Back in the day, it was dirt sheets and those things start from guys spinning a lot of stories that weren’t true.”
Michaels’ comments come at difficult time for the WWE. Longtime CEO Vince McMahon recently resigned his position after similarly disturbing allegations. McMahon, however, did not issue a statement on the decision.