Shawn Michaels' Short-Lived Partnership With His Trainer Jose Lothario In WWE, Explained
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Shawn Michaels is widely regarded as the best in-ring performer of all time. Whether he opened the show or as a part of the main event, HBK consistently delivered. His in-ring prowess was peerless and today Michaels is hailed as an icon of the wrestling business, but who exactly trained the guy?
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The answer to that is Jose Lothario, a decently successful wrestler and former luchador turned trainer. Lothario started training Michaels when he was only 13 years of age and HBK quickly got the hang of it, breaking into the top wrestling promotion in a few short years, but he did not bring his trainer along with him.
Jose Lothario Accompanied Shawn Michaels To The Ring At WrestleMania
Upon venturing into the WWE, Vince McMahon handpicked Shawn Michaels to be the next big star. WrestleMania 12 and the iron man match against Bret Hart was to be his crowning moment, but for some reason, Vince McMahon brought over his real-life trainer and made him Michael’s manager.
Back in those days, Michaels was hard to work with, but in 1996 he was the hottest act in the company, a young, charismatic entertainer with a rocket strapped to his back. He was more than capable of carrying the program with Hart, but maybe the company thought that the addition of Lothario would add a little extra something to the overall program. The recurring video package for WrestleMania had Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels training with their respective mentors, presenting it as the culmination of a long journey, taken by both student and pupil together.
The Pairing Of Shawn Michaels And Jose Lothario Didn't Have Any Chemistry
Then the match happened, Michaels won, and he ordered the match referee to get Jose Lothario out of his ring. That actually happened. Even before this WrestleMania-worthy moment, it was apparent that Michaels did not want his trainer as his on-screen manager. Lothario himself was not keen on the idea, but McMahon wanted it, and so he got it. With the boyhood dream realized, it made sense for Lothario and Michaels to go their separate ways, but the company kept them as a unit for the whole year.
For the most part, Lothario just accompanied Michaels to his matches and did not speak too much. Between the two of them, Michaels was a better talker but more than that, the pairing did not mesh well. Lothario was the antithesis of everything Michaels was advertised as, and he looked out of place in the New Generation era.
While managing Michaels, Lothario competed in a number of matches himself, most often against Jim Cornette, a fellow manager who had beef with Michaels on screen. Lothario consistently squashed Cornette during house shows but beyond that, he did not participate in anything too noteworthy. He just accompanied Michaels during his matches and sat next to him during his interviews. That was all.
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Jose Lothario Stops Appearing As Shawn Michaels' Manager
The last time Lothario was seen on-screen was at the 1997 edition of the Royal Rumble. Michaels, still WWE champion, defeated Sycho Sid to retain his championship. After the match, Michaels hugged his mentor and he was not seen on television after that. In fact, Lothario’s absence was not even acknowledged by the commentary team or Michaels himself and the show continued. A month after Lothario was removed on-screen, Michaels “lost his smile” and took a hiatus from the business. Maybe the partnership was another reason Michaels lost his smile.
For WrestleMania and a one-match deal, it was okay, but WWE kept dragging the angle, and it lasted close to a full year. Michaels did not want it. Lothario himself did not want it, but why did it happen? Here to shed some light is Bruce Prichard.
According to the long-time WWE employee, it was WWE's way to give back to Lothario for training Michaels and bringing him to the sport. He also added that Lothario was a big star and his inclusion added a bit more spark to the building WrestleMania feud with Bret Hart. That said, Prichard did not reveal the reasons to why the angle continued post-WrestleMania and lasted for such a long time, with no major takeaway at the end.
Jim Cornette has claimed that Jose Lothario was mistreated by his own pupil backstage and Michaels did not want him around at all. According to another rumor, Prichard claimed that Lothario was working behind Michaels’ back. Who knows what happened backstage but the on-screen partnership was just not good.
