By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

WWE's website published excerpts of a WWE Magazine interview with now-retired WWE wrestler Shawn Michaels covering a number of very newsworthy subjects including his moment with Bret Hart on January 4, his relationship with Vince McMahon, advice to young stars, feeling sad about Marty Jannetty getting a bad rap, why he never went to WCW, and more.

-- Michaels wouldn't disclose what he whispered in Bret Hart's ear during their surreal verbal exchange on the January 4 Raw, but he talked about the significance of the moment for both of them.

"That’s something I’ll keep between Bret and myself," Michaels said about the words whispered in his ear. "There are things better left private, and that’s one of them. If Bret feels comfortable explaining what I said, I’m okay with that. But, from my point of view, I just wanted to tell him something from the heart, and that’s what I did."

Michaels also talked about having a historically cordial relationship with the Hart family, but not even understanding himself why he acted like a jerk to Bret Hart in the 1990s.

"I’ve always had a good relationship with the Hart family, and I think that’s one thing that threw Bret off. How could I go so quickly from being a nice guy to this petty, bloodthirsty son of a gun? That’s something I struggled with for a long time," he said. "I didn’t understand it, so it’s perfectly understandable that Bret didn’t either."

-- Michaels talked about new stars on the WWE roster needing to ignore their fears of "doing the wrong thing" while out in the ring performing for fear of losing an opportunity in WWE.

"The risk of failing now is much more prominent. We have so many guys who get lost in the shuffle if they 'mess up.' That fear makes everyone much, much more careful. They start walking on eggshells. You can’t do that. You have to go out there, free and easy, knowing that whatever you do is okay," Michaels said. "I’ll never say I’m the best at anything - wrestling, talking or whatever - but I will say that I always went out to that ring with zero inhibitions. If I could sum it up in one word for them, it would be 'relax.'"

-- Michaels had interesting quotes on having not watched a full WWE PPV in over ten years because he was always focused on his match or angle for an event and not always being aware of what's happening on WWE TV. He said he was disappointed to see Marty Jannetty brought back in 2009 for the sole purpose of being the butt of the joke for The Miz and John Morrison's split playing up who was the "least of the Rockers tag team."

"I’m not always aware of what’s going on in WWE, so I had no idea that Morrison and Miz had broken up, and were bringing Marty into the situation. I saw Marty, and I was genuinely shocked. Marty was so, so good in the ring, and he’ll never get the proper credit for being the incredible Superstar he was," Michaels said. "It hurts me because I’ve no doubt that it probably hurts him. That’s one of the things I don’t like about this business. I realize we live in a big, tough world, but I don’t think it’s necessary to make people distinctly aware of their mistakes. As a person who’s had mercy and compassion extended to him, I cringe a bit when it’s not extended to other people."

-- Michaels said one of the key reasons - besides having a long-term contract with WWE - that he never went to WCW was because he didn't feel he would have as much creative freedom as he did working for Vince McMahon. Michaels also talked about having a special relationship with McMahon that allowed him to stay loyal for 20 years.

"The one thing that people kept telling me was that I wouldn’t be able to 'create' in WCW. I would’ve been handcuffed, and boxed in. In WWE, I was given an unbelievable amount of freedom - probably more than anyone else - to go against the grain, and do things that might’ve been risky," Michaels said. "If I had been in WCW, making ten times more money, but not doing what I wanted in that ring, I would’ve been miserable. To not be able to express my creativity in the ring - that is something I could never put a dollar sign on."

"I’m very proud of the fact that I stuck around. People can talk about low ratings when I was Champion and stuff like that, but from a company standpoint, my boss can say, 'I put you through a lot, but you stuck here. You stuck with me.' I’ve spent more time with Vince McMahon than I have with my own father. Right or wrong, people can make their judgments about him, but there’s a side of him I see that not many people do. And that allows me to be loyal to him," Michaels said.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE NEWS: Superstars SPOILERS - Results from Chicago Raw

WWE NETWORK: Monday, Oct. 12 Schedule - Raw pre-show, Sting DVD preview

WWE NEWS: Lana & Rusev reportedly engaged - follow the interesting 2015 timeline