Shawn Spears Reveals the Story Behind His Iconic Role as ‘Stan’ in WWE’s ‘I Just Kicked Stan’ Segment

Shawn Spears has revealed an interesting piece of WWE trivia involving none other than Shawn Michaels. During his time working as an extra while in WWE’s developmental system, Spears played a production worker in the now-famous “I just kicked Stan” segment at WWE Cyber Sunday 2006.

In a fun turn of events, Spears wasn’t originally meant to be “Stan” until moments before filming. Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Spears recalled how the Hall of Famer himself chose the name ‘Stan’ for him, and how the conversation unfolded:

“Cyber Sunday 2006. I’d just gotten down to OVW, and they needed a few extras. So they grabbed me, pulled me over, and this is where I meet Shawn and Hunter for the very first time. They’re doing DX, and they’re saying, ‘Okay, well, Shawn is talking with Hunter. He’s like, maybe I’ll talk to him really quick. Shawn turns to me. He goes ‘What’s your name?’ This is off camera, we haven’t begun rolling yet, but we’re gonna roll live here at any minute.”

Spears, who was going by his real name Shawn at the time, told Michaels his name. Michaels wasn’t having it.

“My name was Shawn Spears at the time, and I went, ‘Shawn.’ He just said ‘Your name is not Shawn, my name’s Shawn. Your name is Stan.’ So he actually gave me the name. No one else did.”

“I was like, this is the best! He’s gonna kick me, just a kid in a candy store. But, yeah, he gave me the name. So I don’t know if anybody knew that, but it wasn’t creative, it wasn’t someone on the writing team or anybody else. Shawn Michaels, you’re at fault for Stan.”

What started as a quick backstage segment has since become an iconic and humorous moment in WWE history, and now fans know the true story behind “Stan.” Spears, then just an eager extra, got the opportunity of a lifetime to take a Sweet Chin Music from one of wrestling’s biggest legends.

Do you remember the famous “I just kicked Stan” moment? Share your thoughts on how Shawn Spears became “Stan” and let us know if it’s one of your favorite segments!