Shawn Michaels
| Michael Shawn Hickenbottom | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 22, 1965 Chandler, Arizona |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Shawn Michaels |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Trained by | Jose Lothario |
| Debut | October 16, 1984 |
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, (born on July 22, 1965 at Williams Air Force Base, now part of Chandler, Arizona) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Shawn Michaels. He is one of the longest-tenured employees of World Wrestling Entertainment (19 years) and currently wrestles on the show's RAW brand. He is a former 4-time World Champion, which includes: 3-time WWF Champion and a 1-time World Heavyweight Champion. Michaels also was the first ever Grand Slam Champion in WWE history.
Career
Although born in Chandler, Arizona, Hickenbottom grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Trained by Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario, he debuted in 1984 in Mid-South Wrestling against Art Crews, and later the Texas Allstar Wrestling promotion, where he and Paul Diamond were awarded the TAW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero, Sr. He also wrestled for Central States Championship Wrestling, a regional independent promotion associated with the National Wrestling Alliance. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. Michaels also made several appearances in the Dallas, Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling throughout 1985. He won the IC title there at a non televised show, but did not count due to injury.
Michaels made his national-level debut in 1986 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), once again teaming with Jannetty. The pair were billed as "The Midnight Rockers", so named to emulate the NWA's highly popular Rock 'N Roll Express and Midnight Express tag teams). They won the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice, feuding with "Playboy" Buddy Rose and Doug Somers. Verne Gagne briefly loaned the duo to Jerry "The King" Lawler's independent Memphis promotion, Southern Championship Wrestling (later re-named the CWA, and, later, the USWA), as heels, where they faced the Rock 'N Roll Express.
In a raid of AWA talent, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation. However, they were fired two weeks later for "partying too hard" (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels' autobiography). They returned to the AWA, but were re-signed by the WWF a year later. Because of WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive monikers (to enable the WWF to trademark these ring names and thus avoid having to share merchandising revenues with [most] performers or their past promoters), they were simply known as "The Rockers."
On a Saturday Night's Main Event broadcast (on the NBC network), The Rockers won the WWF Tag Team Titles, defeating "The Hart Foundation" (Bret "the Hitman" Hart and Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart). Neidhart had been fired and was still performing solely to meet his contractual obligation to lose the Tag Team Title in the ring (to preserve storyline continuity). During the match, the top rope (red rope) broke and caused confusion, in the end with the Rockers winning. The Rockers defended the title a week after that; meanwhile, Neidhart was re-signed. WWF boss Vince McMahon decided that the title change never happened. He went on local TV and sent a story to Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine saying that the ring was not an official WWF ring because of the top rope's breaking and a title can only change hands in an official ring. The title reign was annulled and forgotten; the match was edited out of the SNME broadcast.
Citing frustration with their lack of championship success and a wish to break out on his own, Michaels and Jannetty split on an episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge, shown on January 12, 1992 (but taped on December 2, 1991) during an incident on Brutus Beefcake's "Barber Shop" segment, when Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a plate-glass window. However, behind the scenes of the incident, Shawn had been having personal issues with Marty. Vince agreed to break them up and continue them on as singles wrestlers.
Shawn turned heel and became a singles wrestler taking the nickname "The Boy Toy" (he would later change his nickname to "The Heartbreak Kid", suggested by the late Curt Hennig, as he hated the old nickname). In his new gimmick as a vain, cocky heel, he took on a manager Sherri Martel, who was infatuated with him and even sang the first version of his theme music "Sexy Boy." Sherri was the catalyst for a then-rare "heel vs. heel" feud between Michaels and "The Model" Rick Martel (unrelated to Sherri), which led to a match between the two at the 1992 SummerSlam PPV.
Michaels enjoyed considerable success as a singles wrestler, winning the WWF Intercontinental Championship from The British Bulldog during Saturday Night's Main Event on October 27, 1992. Shortly thereafter, he faced Bret Hart for the WWF Championship in the main event of the 1992 Survivor Series.
He also feuded with his former tag team partner Jannetty, who reappeared in the WWF in late 1992, leading to several memorable matches. Michaels lost his Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on an episode of Monday Night RAW on May 17, 1993 but regained it on June 6 with the help of his new bodyguard Diesel.
In September 1993, Michaels briefly left the WWF. On WWF TV, it was explained that WWF president Jack Tunney had suspended him and stripped him of the title; in reality, he had been suspended for testing positive for steroids, a charge that Michaels denies. While off TV, he made appearances in the United States Wrestling Association during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to the WWF for the 1993 Survivor Series, substituting for Jerry Lawler in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "knights" against Bret, Bruce, Keith, and Owen Hart.
He soon entered a feud with Razor Ramon, who had won the Intercontinental Title during Michaels' absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in a ladder match between the two at WrestleMania X. Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match won "Match of the Year" awards from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and got the rare five star match rating. It also earned Michaels a reputation of being the "Innovator of the Ladder Match."
On an episode of Monday Night RAW after that WrestleMania taped on March 21, 1994, Michaels debuted a segment called "The Heartbreak Hotel," which was mainly shown on WWF Superstars throughout the year. The segment, which featured Michaels obnoxiously interviewing other wrestlers and managers, allowed him to showcase his microphone skills and appear on television, even when he was injured and unable to wrestle. The "Heartbreak Hotel" set was comprised of a heart-shaped bed and a flashing neon sign.
He was still accompanied by Diesel, who, though he remained a heel, had become popular among fans in his own right. On August 28, 1994, Michaels and Diesel captured the WWF World Tag Team Championship from the Headshrinkers. During their brief tenure as a tag team, they used a variation of the Headshrinkers' finishing move, where Michaels would finish off their opponent by climbing on Diesel's shoulders and splashing their opponent. The next day, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Title to Ramon (who had lost the title to Diesel earlier in the year) at SummerSlam when Michaels accidentally superkicked his bodyguard. In October 1994, Michaels suffered a hand injury, when Diesel accidentally stepped on his hand after getting out of the ring. This would put him on the shelf as an active wrestler until January.
Michaels and Diesel broke up their team on November 23, 1994 at the Survivor Series during their five-on-five elimination match. Diesel had done most of the work in eliminating four members of the opposing team when Michaels insisted upon entering the match to superkick Razor Ramon. Michaels accidentally kicked Diesel for the third time in three months, leading Diesel to begin attacking his whole team. Their tag team was dissolved, and they forfeited the titles, as they no longer wished to associate with one another, along with the fact that Diesel had defeated newly crowned WWF champion Bob Backlund in a squash match at a house show days later.
At the Royal Rumble in January 1995, Michaels entered first, and the British Bulldog entered second. The two would outlast the other twenty-eight opponents and remain as the final two competitors in the match. Bulldog had apparently won the match when he knocked Michaels over the top rope and began to celebrate his victory. However, Michaels held onto the top rope with only one foot touching the floor (the first time the rule that "both feet must touch the floor" came into play). Michaels re-entered the ring and knocked Bulldog off the turnbuckle and over the top rope to win the Rumble. Michaels thus became the first man ever to win the Royal Rumble after entering first. This would lead to a grudge match at Wrestlemania XI vs. former friend and WWF Champion Diesel. Diesel beat Michaels, and the following night on Monday Night Raw, Michaels' new bodyguard Sid attacked Michaels, executing two Jacknife Powerbombs. Diesel made the save, beginning Michaels' face turn.
The Boyhood Dream comes true
A freshly turned face, Michaels returned to the Intercontinental Title picture by defeating Jeff Jarrett in July 1995. This would lead to a title defense against Razor Ramon at SummerSlam 1995, in a ladder match (a rematch of their epic at WrestleMania X), which Michaels won. Around this time, Michaels became the perceived leader of a backstage group known as The Clique, which obtained sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon to become the dominant wrestling figures in the promotion for several years in the mid-1990s. On the other hand, In his book Michaels confirms that they didn't have much clout at all with Vince being no fool. He also said that Vince would only put over people who deserved it not because he liked them. Shawn's fanbase was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Clique." In October 1995, he was attacked by several men outside a Syracuse bar and would be unable to defend the Intercontinental Title against Dean Douglas at the In Your House PPV. Michaels thus forfeited the title to Douglas that night, who then himself lost the title to Clique member Scott Hall. Then, in the next month, Michaels had a match with Owen Hart on Monday Night Raw. During the match, Owen nailed Michaels with an Enzuigiri kick to the back of Michaels' head. They continued to wrestle, but Michaels then collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion in the Syracuse incident. (The concussion was a work, unbeknownst to fans at the time.) After teasing a retirement, Michaels announced that he would be returning to the WWF at the Royal Rumble match, which he won for the second year in a row. Michaels gained revenge on Owen at the February In Your House, defeating him despite having put his title shot on the line in the match. During this time, Jose Lothario, Michaels' original trainer, became his manager.
Michaels won his first WWF Championship at WrestleMania XII, defeating Bret Hart in a the first ever sixty minute Iron Man Match. His first feud after winning the title was against Diesel, at the In Your House titled "Good Friends, Better Enemies." Michaels gained revenge on his "former friend," winning the match with his "sweet chin music" superkick in what would be Nash's last televised match with the WWF before heading to WCW. Michaels then had a feud with Bret Hart's brother-in-law the British Bulldog after the Bulldog accused him of trying to have an affair with his wife. Afterwards, he faced off against Vader, who had recently jumped from WCW to the WWF, throughout the summer of 1996. Michaels' title reign ended at the 1996 Survivor Series in November, where he was beaten by Sycho Sid, his former bodyguard, at Madison Square Garden, in a face vs. face match. This match was notable, as the New York fans audibly cheered for Sid when he hit both Michaels and Lothario with a television camera and cheered again when he won the match and championship. The next night, Michaels appeared with Lothario from his home in San Antonio and said that because of Sid's attack on his mentor, he had lost his smile.
Despite that Survivor Series loss, his incredible popularity earned Michaels the 1996 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Most Popular Wrestler of the year.
Michaels recaptured the WWF Title from Sid at the 1997 Royal Rumble in front of his hometown fans in San Antonio, in what would be Lothario's last match as his manager.
Michaels and WWF Attitude
Michaels gave up the title on a special episode of RAW dubbed Thursday RAW Thursday [1]. Despite popular belief, Michaels did not say that he was doing it because he had lost his smile. He did say this, but he was referring to the earlier intervew that he had given after losing the title to Sid. Michaels was rumored to be unwilling to lose to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 in a rematch of the previous year's match. In fact, he had been told by doctors that a knee injury was bad enough to have to retire. After desperate knee surgery by Dr. James Andrews, he miraculously returned a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team titles. At SummerSlam 1997, Michaels officiated the WWF title match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended in controversial fashion, with Michaels nailing Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he was aiming for Hart after Bret spit in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the title to his nemesis Hart.
This would begin a feud between Michaels and the Undertaker that would last until the end of 1997. Later on that summer, he formed an alliance with real-life friend Triple H and Triple H's then-girlfriend Chyna to form D-Generation X, one of the most popular wrestling stables of all time. The group would engage in rebellious behavior, such as pointing to their crotches and telling fans to "suck it." Moving away from the family-oriented product, this marked the beginning the WWF Attitude Era. Michaels also began re-feuding with Bret's new Hart Foundation, which was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels would taunt the Hart Foundation and Canada by engaging in acts, such as picking his nose with the Canadian Flag and pretending to hump the flag which in his book, he claims, was Hart's idea.
In September at One Night Only, a British-only PPV event, Michaels defeated the British Bulldog to win the European Title, becoming the WWF's first ever Grand Slam Champion. In October, at In Your House: Badd Blood, Michaels and Undertaker participated in the very first Hell in a Cell match, which saw Michaels falling off the side of the fifteen foot tall cage through a table. He won the match with the help of the debut of the Undertaker's brother Kane, which led to a title shot at Survivor Series against Bret Hart.
In November 1997, Michaels played a huge role in the infamous double-cross of Bret Hart in a controversial match in Montreal. Hart, who then held the WWF Championship, had been assured that he would win the match via a disqualification. Despite pleas from McMahon to put over someone before he left (as people do in wrestling to thank their old company for giving them a push) Hart refused to put over anyone in Canada, as he believed the Canadian fans would be upset. However, McMahon, concerned that Hart would take the WWF title belt with him on his upcoming transition to WCW, went behind Hart's back and arranged for the bell to be rung when Michaels applied the Sharpshooter to Hart, making it look like his opponent had tapped out (given up). Michaels was given the victory in the match and therefore was given the championship as well. This incident has since become known as the Montreal Screwjob and is one of the most controversial moments in wrestling history.
Immediately after the match, Michaels told Hart that he knew nothing about the true plans of the outcome and that he would drop the title the following night on Monday Night Raw. Instead, he retained the belt and mocked Hart's defeat. Later, Michaels claimed that he not only knew about McMahon's plan beforehand but had been one of those suggesting the screwjob. He also claimed to have apologized to Bret Hart, but Hart claims that this is inaccurate.
Back injury and semi-retirement
In 1998, a back injury that Michaels received in the Casket Match against the Undertaker at the 1998 Royal Rumble (where Michaels took a back body drop to the outside, smashing his lower back on the casket causing him to herniate two disks and crushing one completely) forced Michaels into retirement after losing the WWF Championship to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV. Michaels would return to the WWF, but not as a wrestler; instead, he replaced Sgt. Slaughter as the WWF Commissioner. Throughout 1998 and 1999, Michaels would switch between heel and babyface, briefly joining Vince McMahon's Corporation faction. In early 2000, Michaels handed over the role of commissioner to Mick Foley. Michaels continued to do work for the WWF, often appearing at fan conventions such as "WWF Fan Axess," and even officiating the Iron Man match between the Rock and Triple H at Judgement Day in May 2000. Also during this time, Michaels opened the Texas Wrestling Academy.
Returning to RAW
In 2002, Michaels returned to wrestling, brought in by Kevin Nash as the new member of the nWo. The storyline did not last very long. After the nWo was disbanded, Triple H apparently wanted to mend ties with Michaels. This was solidified when Michaels beseeched Triple H to return to RAW during the Brand Split. Later on, they came down to the ring with their D-Generation X music and attire, preparing to reignite the union of D-X to the cheers of the crowd. When they were about to do their trademark "suck it" taunt, Triple H nailed Michaels with his finishing move the Pedigree, knocking Michaels out cold. He attacked Michaels backstage, sending Michaels to the hospital. Michaels returned to the ring to wrestle a match against Triple H at SummerSlam 2002, laying the foundation for a feud that would last for years. Michaels won the SummerSlam match but was attacked with a sledgehammer by Triple H after the match.
The two went on to face each other in brutal singles matches, street fights, a ladder match, a Steel Cage Match, a Last Man Standing match, twice in an Elimination Chamber (in which Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H at Survivor Series 2002), and in a Hell in a Cell match. Michaels lost the World Championship a month later at Armageddon in December 2002, and proceeded to feud with Chris Jericho, whom he defeated at WrestleMania XIX.
Shawn Michaels was once again posed to procure the World Heavyweight Championship in late 2003. He was given a Last Man Standing Match against the champion, Triple H, at the 2004 edition of the Royal Rumble. The match was a draw, as neither man answered the 10-count. Michaels went on to be in the main event of WrestleMania XX where he came up short in a match against Triple H and Chris Benoit, after Benoit forced Triple H to tap out to the crippler crossface, winning him the world heavyweight title. Later on in 2004 Michaels faced Triple H in Hell in a Cell, but eventually lost after several Pedigrees. He also lost a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H at Taboo Tuesday 2004 when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Edge was visibly angry and jealous that the fans votes Michaels not him and cost HBK the match by spearing him when Michaels was tuning up the band for Sweet Chin Music and an obvious victory. Michaels wrestled the match with a torn meniscus in his left leg and put forth a valiant effort.
Following this, HBK was out of action for a few months, returning in January 2005, when he was special referee in the Elimination Chamber match at the 2005 New Year's Revolution PPV.
At the 2005 Royal Rumble later that month Michaels started a rivalry with Kurt Angle. Marty Jannetty & Sherri Martel where brought in to build up to the match at WrestleMania 21. Michaels and Jannetty had patched up their real life differences by this time, thanks to their common religious beliefs, and teamed up on RAW in a one time reunion against La Resistance. With a big build up much was expected of the two and they delivered, in a match that Bobby Heenan described as the best he had ever seen. Michaels lost tapping out to Angle's ankle lock. Michaels evened the score at the Vengeance PPV that year, however, beating Angle in an almost equally show-stealing performance as their Wrestlemania match which ended in a significant fashion. Towards the end of the match, Angle was visibly getting frustrated not being able to put Michaels away so he uncharacteristically went to the top turnbuckle and jumped chin-first on Michaels' boot in the Sweet Chin Music.
On the July 4, 2005 edition of RAW, Michaels and Hulk Hogan fought Kurt Angle and WWE Intercontinental Champion Carlito in a tag team match. During the post-match pose, Michaels hit Hogan with his patented Sweet Chin Music, knocking Hogan down to the ground. Michaels just looked down at Hogan and walked away, turning heel for the first time since 2002.
The following week on RAW, HBK appeared on the Piper's Pit where he superkicked the host Roddy Piper and then challenged Hulk Hogan to a match at SummerSlam 2005. Hulk Hogan accepted his challenge next week on RAW, setting up the match billed as "The Legend vs. The Icon".
Prior to the 2005 SummerSlam, neither Hogan nor Michaels had lost in a one-on-one match at SummerSlam. Their main event match went back and forth, with two referees getting knocked during the match and Michaels using a steel chair in an attempt to gain an advantage. Even after hitting his Sweet Chin Music, Hogan still kicked out and took it to Michaels, finally hitting him with his legdrop and scoring the victory. Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd and Michaels turned face once more.
Michaels began a feud with "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters as a face on RAW the night following SummerSlam. Michaels would later take part in the Masterlock Challenge. While unsuccessful in breaking the Master Lock, Michaels did set a new record as he became the longest-lasting competitor to take the Master Lock Challenge so far. The pair faced each other in a match at Unforgiven 2005 where Michaels would win via pinfall.
At WWE Homecoming, HBK wrestled Kurt Angle to a 2-2 draw in a 30-minute Iron Man match. This lead to vast dispute over the rightful #1 contender for the WWE title. After a victory over Carlito on the October 17th edition of RAW, Michaels' became a possible choice for a place in the main event of Taboo Tuesday 2005. Michaels would win the fans choice for the second year running and become a part of the Triple Threat Match with John Cena and Kurt Angle. Cena would win and retain his belt.
On the RAW following Taboo Tuesday, Eric Bischoff announced that Michaels would be team captain for the 5-on-5 RAW vs SmackDown! elimination match at Survivor Series 2005. In the match, Shawn found himself as the sole remaining member of Team RAW, facing three wrestlers from Team SmackDown. After eliminating JBL and Rey Mysterio, Michaels was finally pinned by Randy Orton, giving Team SmackDown! the win. This was thanks to a distraction by JBL. This was almost a replay of Survivor Series 2003, where HBK had to single-handedly face Christian, Chris Jericho and Orton and after eliminating the first two, he got pinned by Orton; though Michael's got pinned in 2003 thanks to interference by Batista and by an eliminated JBL in 2005.
On the December 5, 2005 edition of RAW, Shawn Michaels had an altercation with an impetuous Shelton Benjamin. The angle was continued the following week as the two were part of separate qualifying matches for the Elimination Chamber main event at New Year's Revolution 2006. Benjamin tried to display his new attitude in his match with Carlito by attempting to spit an apple in his face (Carlito's trademark) but it backfired when Carlito rolled up Benjamin for a three-count. Later on, HBK competed against The Big Show for his shot in the chamber. HBK won the match on account of interference by Triple H, and thereby disabling a possible Benjamin-HBK match at New Year's Revolution. Shawn Michaels appeared at the Tribute to the Troops where defeated Triple H with Sweet Chin Music in a Boot Camp Match.
On the following RAW, Michaels took part in a Beat the Clock match against Gene Snitsky to determine who was last to enter in the Elimination Chamber at New Year's Revolution. He won with a time of 5:56 minutes, but his time would eventually be bested by Carlito (and ultimately, Kane). However, Michaels ultimately began the match as the first man to enter, along with than WWE Champion John Cena. This is also known as the first of Mr. McMahon's "screwings" that took place during Michaels and McMahon's feud. Michaels went on to eliminate archrival Kurt Angle with Sweet Chin Music, making Angle the first man eliminated, but Michaels would go on to be eliminated third.
Feud with Vince McMahon
In the final segment of the night on RAW – a plug for Bret Hart's new career-retrospective DVD – Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in the Montreal Screwjob. Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, but said he'd moved on and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon told Michaels he can "screw" him like he screwed Bret Hart, and he began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels' matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels' opponents.
After several weeks of attacks and stipulations, Michaels confronted McMahon in the ring and challenged him to a match. McMahon refused and attempted (unsuccessfully) to force Michaels to sign retirement papers before later, after Vince and Shane McMahon knocked HBK out with a steel chair, Mr. McMahon booked a match between himself and HBK at WrestleMania 22.
Michaels and Shane McMahon met in a Street Fight on Saturday Night's Main Event, in which HBK suplexed Shane off the top of a ladder onto two tables on the arena floor. Throughout the match, Vince interfered, allowing Shane to get the upper hand and hit Michaels repeatedly with a ladder. But Michaels kept kicking out and refused to submit and again got the upper hand superkicking Shane, but Vince knocked the ref down before the three count. Michaels went after Vince McMahon, which gave Shane enough time to hit Michaels with a low blow from behind. Shane applied the Sharpshooter, and Vince McMahon immediately ordered for the bell to be rung even though Michaels didn't tap out; an allusion to the Montreal Screwjob.
Return of D-X
Michaels defeated Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania 22 in a bloody No Holds Barred match. At one point, the Spirit Squad – who have aided the McMahons at various times in battling Michaels – attempted to interefere, but Michaels fought them off. Shane also used a kendo stick on Michaels during the match. He tried to handcuff Michaels to force him to kiss McMahon's ass. Instead, Michaels forced Shane's head into Vince's ass and Shane ended up kissing his fathers ass. He then handcuffed Shane to the ropes and hit him with the kendo stick. Perhaps the most memorable segment of that match was the image of Shawn Michaels on top of a ladder, and performing the Crouch Chop before jumping off. This of course lead to the fans chanting wildly and screaming "DX". While many fans would think that Shawn only did the crotch chop in disrespect to Mr McMahon, the rumour of a D-X return was kept alive by Triple H, who also performed a crotch chop.
Shawn Michaels even stated that "it felt good" when doing the crouch chop and claimed was something he wouldn't mind doing constantly. Both Triple H and Shawn Michaels, despite not being partnered up together at the time, made serveral D-X references, such as the famous "I've got two words for ya!" as well as performing traditional crouch chops.
At Backlash 2006, Michaels (with "God" as his tag team partner) lost to Vince and Shane McMahon with help from the Spirit Squad in a no DQ match that saw Michaels suffer a partially broken nose. Michaels' would go on to get some revenge on the Spirit Squad in various ways but by May 22, 2006 the Squad member would, in kayfabe, injure Michaels' knee; an angle that was done so Michaels could get surgery on his knee, which has been legitimately injured for quite some time. During Michaels' absence, the D-X rumor was kept alive by Triple H, whom during this time was developing problems with Mr. McMahon himself.
Michaels would return to RAW on June 12, 2006 during a 5-on-1 Gauntlet Match between Triple H and The Spirit Squad. Vince had called for Mitch to come out and join the fray, but to the fans delight Mitch was mysteriously thrown out from the back and Shawn Michaels suddenly appeared. Mitch was knocked out from Michaels' Sweet Chin Music, and Shawn ran to Triple H's aid with both men fighting the Spirit Squad. When all members of the Spirit Squad were taken out, Triple H and Shawn Michaels stared at each other furiously, teasing a fight between the two men only to embrace each other with a D-X Hug, and performing several D-X crotch chops to Mr. McMahon, much to the crowd's delight. The ended the segment with both men performing their traditional individual poses. From that moment on, the rumours were indeed true: D-Generation X had finally returned.
Mr McMahon then made a match at WWE Vengeance on June 25, 2006: A 5-on-2 Handicap match pitting The Spirit Squad against the newly reformed D-X.
Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
- Sweet Chin Music (Superkick)
- Shawn began using his "Sweet Chin Music" superkick as his finishing maneuver in the early-1990s. In 2006, he publicly acknowledged that he indeed learned the maneuver from "Gentleman" Chris Adams.
- Diving elbow drop
- Teardrop Suplex (Leg hook Saito suplex) - early to mid 1990s
- Rocker Dropper (Wrist lock leg drop bulldog - early to mid 1990s
- Piledriver - early to mid 1990s
- DDT
- Figure four leglock
- Inverted atomic drop
- Lou Thesz press
- Moonsault
- Scoop Slam
- Pescado
- Managers
- Nicknames
- The Headliner
- The Heartbreak Kid ("HBK")
- The Icon
- The Main Event
- Mr. WrestleMania
- The Sexy Boy
- The Showstopper
- The Boy Toy
- Entrance music
The song "Sexy Boy" was originally written for Michaels by Jimmy Hart, a manager who wrote many entrance themes. Hart thanked Michaels personally for continuing to use the song as his entrance music when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. Michaels' entrance music was originally performed by Sherri Martel until she went face, and then the second version that is used today is performed by Shawn Michaels himself with traces of Sherri in the chorus portion of the song.
Books
- Michaels' autobiography Heartbreak and Triumph touches on his addiction to painkillers in the 1990s. It covers stories from his personal life. The book also includes his side of the story between himself and Bret Hart. He goes on to state that Hart was never a great performer: "good, very good, but not great"
Shawn's statement of Bret would be contradicted at WrestleMania 22 during the Post-Game show when asked about his opinion on Bret Hart's Hall of Fame induction, in which he stated Bret was one of the greatest performers in WWE History. He also stated to be excited for the Hart Family and even claimed that it has been a long time coming for The Hitman.
Tattoos
- Upper left arm ~ heart with sword through it and a snake in an "S" shape.
- Left wrist ~ bracelet design with "Cameron" on it.
- Left ring finger ~ wedding band -like design with cursive "R" (for Rebecca, the name of his wife).
- Side of left leg ~ picture of Rebecca
- Side of right leg ~ outline of the state of Texas, filled in with design of the Texas flag. There is a star over the location of San Antonio. It says 'Lone' over top and 'Star' beneath
- Right Hip ~ Heart with "HBK" above it
Personal information
Michaels is ambidextrous and uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. However, he primarily uses his right foot when using Sweet Chin Music
Michaels is a born again Christian. His ring attire often incorporates cross symbols. His beliefs have been touched upon a number of times within the WWE, most notably when Vince McMahon declared to have booked a match between himself and son Shane, against Michaels and God, and introduced a "personal religion" named McMahonism.
Michaels has been nicknamed Mr. Wrestlemania not because of his Wrestlemania track record (which is not very stellar at 5 wins and 8 losses), but for the show-stealing performances/matches (win or lose) he is able to put forth with his opponent/opponents during the big event. Noticeable WrestleMania events that many fans remember of Shawn Michaels include his famous Ladder Match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X in 1994, the first ever Iron Man match against Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XII in 1996, and his match against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 in 2005 only to name a few.
Michaels appeared on an Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling show in 1999, refereeing a match between Hayabusa and Mr. Gannosuke.
Both Shawn Michaels and his rival Bret Hart are former members of the nWo, though not at the same time.
Wrestlers trained
Matt Bentley (previously known as Michael Shane until legal issues surrounding the real Mike Shane), who works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is Michaels' cousin and one of his former students.
Other former students of the Heartbreak Kid include:
- Paul London and Brian Kendrick, SmackDown!'s WWE Tag Team Champions.
- Lance Cade, who is also currently on the RAW roster.
- "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson.
See the page for the Texas Wrestling Academy for more info.
Championships and accomplishments
- 2-time AWA World Tag Team Champion (with Marty Jannetty)
- 1-time NWA Central States Tag Team Champion (with Marty Jannetty)
- 1-time NWA Central States Television Champion
- PWI ranked him # 1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 1996.
- PWI ranked him # 10 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- PWI ranked him # 33 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years, with Marty Jannetty, in 2003.
- PWI ranked him # 55 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years, with Diesel, in 2003.
- PWI ranked him # 2 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2004.
- PWI Most Popular Wrestler (1995; 1996)
- PWI Match of the Year Award (1993, vs. Marty Jannetty; 1994, vs. Razor Ramon; 1995 vs. Diesel; 1996, vs. Bret Hart; 1997, vs. The Undertaker; 2004, vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H; 2005, vs. Kurt Angle)
- Texas All-Stars
- 1-time TAS Six Man Tag Team Champion
- 2-time TAS Texas Tag Team Champion (with Paul Diamond)
- Texas Wrestling Alliance
- 1-time TWA Heavyweight Champion
- 3-time WWF Champion
- 1-time World Heavyweight Champion
- 3-time WWF Intercontinental Champion
- 1-time WWF European Champion
- 3-time WWF World Tag Team Champion (2-time with Diesel, 1-time with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin)
- 1995 and 1996 Royal Rumble winner
- Fourth Triple Crown Champion
- First Grand Slam Champion
- Member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (inducted in 2003)
- 1989 Tag Team of the Year (with Marty Jannetty)
- 1993 Match of the Year (versus Marty Jannetty)
- 5 Star Match: vs. Razor Ramon (WWF WrestleMania X, March 20, 1994: Ladder match)
- 1994 Match of the Year (versus Razor Ramon)
- 1995 Match of the Year (versus Diesel)
- 1995 Most Charismatic Wrestler
- 1996 Match of the Year (versus Bret Hart)
- 1996 Best Babyface
- 1996 Most Charismatic Wrestler
- 5 Star Match: vs. The Undertaker (WWF In Your House: "Badd Blood", October 5, 1997: Hell in a Cell)
- 1997 Match of the Year (versus The Undertaker)
- 2004 Feud of the Year (versus Chris Benoit and Triple H)
- 2005 Match of the Year (versus Kurt Angle)
Championship succession
- Michaels is the only wrestler in WWF history to simultaneously hold the WWF European Championship and WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
- Shawn Michaels is the first Grand Slam champion in Professional Wrestling History. He had won every major WWF (Now WWE) title at that point:
*The Intercontinental Title *The Europen Title *The Tag Team Titles *The WWF Championship
- Of Michaels's eleven WWF title reigns, only four ended in competitive matches. He has forfeited one WWF Championship and one Intercontinental Championship, was stripped of one Intercontinental Championship, forfeited or was stripped of all of his Tag Team Championships, and lost his European Championship by laying down for Triple H as a "Christmas present".
- Michaels was in the first (televised) WWE Ladder Match, Hell in a Cell, and Elimination Chamber Match, as well as WWE's first televised Iron Man Match. He won all except the Ladder Match.
- Michaels has been involved in every Elimination Chamber match, serving as referee for one and a participant in the others. His title win in the first Elimination Chamber match marked the first time in WWE history that a wrestler won the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship in a type of [[steel cage match.
DVD and Video Releases
- Hits From The Heart Break Kid VHS
- Heart Break Kid Express Tour VHS
- From The Vault: Shawn Michaels DVD
- Shawn Michaels - Boyhood Dream DVD
References
External links
