Shawn Michaels is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in history, perhaps nowhere more so than in San Antonio.

Courtesy photo What: Wrestlemania 23 When: 6 p.m. Sunday, April 1 Where: Pay-per-view How much: $49.95 Info: wwe.com

210: John Cena isn't regarded by many as a great technical wrestler. Is there pressure to carry him to a great match at Wrestlemania 23?
SM: I certainly hate to use the word carry, but I certainly look at it as my place and my responsibility in the main event of Wrestlemania to deliver a performance that makes people OK with the fact that they spent what they did to watch it. I try to do that all the time. But in the main event, I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think people, when it comes to performance, expect me to give them one to remember, and I'm going to try and do that.

210: Are you surprised that at this point in your respective careers, that both you and the Undertaker (both in their 40s) are co-headlining a Wrestlemania?
SM: It's pretty neat in some respect: two guys that were sort of the foundation of the (late-1990s) “Attitude” era, two guys that brought the WWE back up to the mainstream level after so many guys had left. Undertaker and I are a part of that, and we're wrestling two guys who are supposed to take this company into the future — with Undertaker vs. Batista and me vs. Cena. For both of us, it's an awesome form of redemption, and for Batista and Cena, it's a standard that they have to live up to.

210: What was it like performing in front of your hometown fans at the Royal Rumble in January?
SM: When I come to San Antonio, I don't see it as pressure. I'm so joyous about being in my hometown, because San Antonio is an awesome town to perform in and the Rumble is such an awesome event. I don't know how to describe it, not pressure so much as overwhelming excitement in front of the hometown crowd. Even if you're not from there, (San Antonians) so enjoy the product, right up there with Madison Square Garden and Philadelphia.

210: What is the best match you've ever had?
SM: I always go back to two of them. Wrestlemania 12 with Bret Hart, because I think he and I brought out the best and worst in each other, and the Wrestlemania 10 ladder match (against Razor Ramon). As an individual, it brought a lot out of me, being there at Wrestlemania in a position to show people that you had earned it, and that you deserved to be here.

210: To this point, what has been the crowning achievement of your career? Was it the return match (after four years away from the ring) against HHH at SummerSlam 2002?
SM: Ultimately it is, because of the totality of it all. I think that returning and being able to continue doing this is something that I don't think anyone, including myself, expected. And it's culminating right here at Wrestlemania, in front of 70,000 people, against John Cena for the WWE championship. That's symbolic of redemption, that you are back and you can do it, and can do it at the level you did when you were 30.

210: Is it becoming harder for WWE to create stars, like it once did with people like yourself, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock?
SM: I sort of see it, but I don't know how much of that is on the individual. You have to get out there and perform, and a lot of it is from the fan standpoint. We all work our way into a comfort level, and there's a time issue with a lot of it. You have to become something that is consistent with (the fans). The hard part is that some of the time, (younger wrestlers) fall off the face of the earth, and what you have to do is show people that you will be here through thick and thin. You have to show that ultimately, you're there because you love to be out there. These young guys have to show fans that it doesn't matter if you're making a dollar or a hundred thousand dollars a match. You see guys like Undertaker, myself and Austin, and we were at one point doing it for no money at all. That didn't drive us.

Clint Hale | 210SA