By James Caldwell, PWTorch.com assistant editor

Shawn Michaels says the younger wrestlers in WWE tend to shy away from physical contact in the ring. Michaels doesn't want to imply they lack passion, but says they were introduced to wrestling much different than he was over 20 years ago.

"That (physical contact) was engrained in guys years ago that I'm not so sure - I don't want to imply it's not in the guys - but I don't feel that when it comes to them," Michaels told David Barron in the Houston Chronicle to promote WrestleMania 25

Many of Michaels's peers, especially in Texas, played college football and thrived on contact. Michaels says the younger generation is getting into wrestling for money and not necessarily to be physical in the ring.

"Now, I think a lot of guys see our business and get into it because it's so big now and years ago it wasn't," Michaels said. "To get into the wrestling business years ago, it wasn't because of money or fame. It felt like you were a little bit different than the average guy."

Michaels says he asks himself from time to time whether he's a little different than a non-wrestler because he enjoys physical contact in the ring. Even though pro wrestling is a work and he can control the amount of punishment he endures, Michaels says there's an old-school mentality about wanting to be physical that makes him different from the average person.

"In my line of work, you have to love contact," Michaels said. "You go through life and it may even become a struggle where you wonder if you're a little off because you just thrive on that physical contact. You get a charge from that."

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