Shawn Spears Says Shawn Michaels Gave Him The Name ‘Stan’ For WWE Cyber Sunday 2006 Segment

There can only be one Shawn.

Long before he was ever getting crowds to chant “TEN!” or hitting Cody Rhodes in the head with a steel chair, Shawn Spears was given a moment that lives on in pro wrestling hilarity when he was “Stan,” a random backstage employee that was hit with a dose of Sweet Chin Music courtesy of Shawn Michaels at WWE Cyber Sunday 2006.

Reflecting on the segment during an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Spears says that Shawn Michaels gifted him the name of “Stan” because there couldn’t be two Shawns.

“When they pulled me aside from that, I had just gotten down to OVW. They grabbed me, pulled me over, and this is where I meet Shawn and Hunter for the first time. Shawn turns to me and goes, ‘what’s your name?’ We’re going to roll live at any minute. My name is Shawn Spears at the time. I went, ‘Shawn.’ He went, ‘Stan.’ He just said, ‘Your name is not Shawn. My name is Shawn. Your name is Stan.’ He gave me the name, no one else did. ‘I’ll kick Stan.’ I was like, ‘This is the best. He’s going to kick me.’ Like a kid in a candy store. He gave me the name. It wasn’t creative or someone on the writing team or anybody else. Shawn Michaels, you are at fault for ‘Stan.’

Spears went on to say that even though Shawn didn’t tune up the band for the Sweet Chin Music on “Stan,” it’s still the best superkick because it’s the one that beats people.

Now, Spears works with Shawn Michaels in NXT and even has backstage responsibilities. Learn more about that here.

Spears recently revealed that he tried to pitch himself for the 2024 Royal Rumble. Learn more about that here.

Thanks to Chris Van Vliet and his team for sending the above quote.