The Miami Herald has published Part 2 of its recent interview with WWE Hall of Famer, Shawn Michaels. In this installment, Michaels talks about the first half of his legendary WWE singles career during the 1990’s – including how he earned his reputation of being such a pain in the ass behind the scenes, how he was able to keep his job, Jim Ross’ role as the head of talent relations and much more. Here are some highlights of what Michaels said about:

Why He Was So Difficult To Work With Behind The Scenes:

“If I’m putting on my psychiatrist’s hat and you dig all the way down to the root of it has nothing to do with wrestling or anything else,” Michaels said. “It just has to do with a young man’s insecurities with himself.

“Having said that, that can manifest itself in any form and how that’s interpreted obviously depends on the time and depends on the spin. Let’s face it. The ability it takes to be difficult really is to disagree with somebody. Nine times out of 10 mine were usually more creative issues than anything else. The company felt one thing. I felt another. We both feel opposite things, so therefore it’s going to be difficult.”

He later said, “I was a young guy full of piss and vinegar — excuse my language — and I felt I had a very good idea of where the business needed to go and things that needed to be done

“I never went back and told anybody what I did was justified. I’m not saying that at all, but let’s face it. That is where the business went — to more attitude and things of that nature and to perhaps being a little more truthful and a little more reality based, which I was doing many years ago as well as other guys.

How He Was Able To Keep His Job:

“I fear people will misinterpret me trying to say, ‘Therefore, I should be absolved of all the stuff I did wrong,’ Michaels said. “I’m not saying that at all, but the reason I survived it, and the reason I’m still part of the WWE now is because the one guy who loves absolutely every stitch of it, which is Vince McMahon, the guy I argued with more than anybody, understood it.

“He understood that it wasn’t unprofessionalism or ego that was driving all that. It was a desire and a passion to be the guy and to be the absolute very best that I could be. His only challenge was channeling all that in the right direction, and he did that pretty darn well. He tells people all the time the reason he didn’t fire me is because he could see through all that. Ultimately, when it came down to his way or my way, he always knew when he said, ‘This is what I want done, period.’ He knew I’d do it, and I always did.”

It’s a great read – check out the full interview at MiamiHerald.com.

It’s official – the cryptic “The Revolution is Coming” videos that have been airing on the WWE website are for the next installment WWE’s video game franchise – WWE ’13.

As previously reported, there are a lot of mixed feelings in WWE about Monday Night RAW expanding to 3 hours on a permanent basis starting July 23rd. Many are comparing the move to WCW Nitro expanding to 3-hours years ago, a decision Eric Bischoff has publicly stated was the #1 factor behind WCW’s downfall.

EDITORIAL: Will Three Hours of Raw Be The Downfall of WWE?

The format of the show is still a work in progress, but the general idea is that WWE plans to treat every Monday night like a pay-per-view event with fan interaction.

Virtually all of the feedback from people in the company has been negative. WWE has had a difficult time booking two compelling hours of television every Monday night. If the additional hour is “more of the same” – there is a great risk of burnout for everyone involved – writers, wrestlers and viewers.

The USA Network has been pushing WWE to expand RAW to 3 hours for years, but WWE has always rejected the idea. USA currently pays WWE about $700,000 a week for RAW. Even an increase of $100,000 of weekly TV rights fees would mean $5.2 million in new revenue for WWE.

At this point, it’s difficult not to view the situation as a money grab by WWE, which will come at the expense of their eroding PPV business and the company’s overall longterm health.

(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– The WWE website has an article up with current Superstars giving their pick for the most underrated Superstars of all-time.

Dolph Ziggler chose Billy Gunn, Daniel Bryan chose Billy Robinson, Eve Torres chose John Laurinaitis, Alex Riley chose X-Pac, Ezekiel Jackson chose Tito Santana, Kofi Kingston chose Billy Kidman, Matt Striker chose Johnny Rodz, Howard Finkel chose Bam Bam Bigelow and ‘WCW Classics’ chose Dean Malenko.

– Jim Ross has a new in-depth article up on WWE.com, wondering if former WCW announcer Tony Schiavone was the most underrated play-by-play man of all-time. Here’s an excerpt of what JR wrote about his time working with him:

“In the early years of our relationship, I’d rank Tony right there with the best play-by-play talents in the business. However, as the years went on and the political scene in WCW became more tumultuous and stressful, the lifelong baseball fan seemingly hit the wall and the genre of pro wrestling did not appear to be as much fun for him as it was back in the day. Until one has been in those shoes, one can’t imagine the stress of doing live TV in that type of environment.

Tony will likely always be remembered as steering the unpredictable ship of Monday Nitro as it earned massive TV ratings during the “Monday Night Wars.” I will best remember him as my ‘roomy’ and fellow sports enthusiast who I truly enjoyed working with.

Tony is living his dream these days doing baseball play-by-play on radio and also working on the Georgia Bulldog Radio network. I’m sincerely happy for the devoted husband and father. Working alongside Tony Schiavone was pivotal in my growth as a broadcaster.”