Shawn Michaels is one of the most iconic and influential characters in the history of professional wrestling, and the story of his creation is as unique as the man himself. In a new interview, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed the origins of his famous “Sexy Boy” theme song, which he initially thought was “ludicrous,” and how it, along with inspirations from Freddie Mercury and Elvis Presley, helped him craft the legendary HBK persona.
When Shawn Michaels started on his singles career in the early 1990s, he was searching for an identity that would set him apart. That identity began to take shape with his infamous theme song, a song that he admits he was not entirely comfortable with at first.
Speaking on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Michaels gave credit to Jimmy Hart for creating the song that would become his anthem. He explained that the “boy toy” lyrics and the over-the-top nature of the song were so far from his real-life personality that it gave him a unique character to step into.
“I give Jimmy Hart so much credit for that. When it first came out, I can remember hearing it and thinking like, oh geez… My character, obviously was not really close to any of that. But then, as I began to, you know, I got with Sherry, and then began to embrace it, and then just be able to find out who this was, and the boy toy stuff that was in the song was so helpful in that and helping me find out, you know, who it would be and who HBK would eventually become. And so Jimmy Hart and that song deserves so much credit for everything that I accomplished, because it was, it was the tool that I used to find that character.”
He also revealed that once he heard the song, he began to draw inspiration from two of the greatest showmen in history, Freddie Mercury and Elvis Presley, to help him fully embody the “Heartbreak Kid” persona.
“Once I heard that song, that’s when I began to think about, Okay, I’m going to do this. Who are two people that I can think of that I can connect with on that level, that are this type of showman? And it was, it was Freddie, Mercury, and Elvis, and those were the two people that I began to focus on… It just gave me a I don’t know, this, this place to be able to jump into, to be this person that was I don’t know, so unbelievably obnoxious and cool and into himself that I don’t know and comfortable in his own skin, because I wasn’t at that time.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
