Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand. Hickenbottom is one of the senior performers in WWE, having joined in 1987. He is one of only two wrestlers, the other being The Undertaker, to have appeared on the very first episode of Monday Night Raw who are still with the company today.
Hickenbottom began his wrestling career with Mid-South Wrestling, now known as Universal Wrestling Federation, and American Wrestling Association (AWA). During his time with AWA, he performed in partnership with Marty Jannetty, as The Midnight Rockers; winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice. Hickenbottom and Jannetty then signed with World Wrestling Federation (WWF), while in contract with AWA. They returned to AWA, only to go back to the WWF in 1988.
Hickenbottom later worked as a a sole performer, taking on a new persona of "The Heartbreak Kid." He was the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq, which was known for performing an unscripted act during the Madison Square Garden "Curtain Call" incident in 1996. The following year, he teamed up with Hunter Hearst Hemsley, who often was referred to as Triple H (HHH), and Chyna to form D-Generation X (DX). This group of wrestlers were known for their sophomoric crude humor. That same year, Hickenbottom took part in one of the most controversial matches in wrestling history, dubbed as the "Montreal Screwjob." After a back injury forced him to retire following his WWF Championship loss at WrestleMania XIV, Hickenbottom opened a wrestling academy, called The Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy, in which he trained upcoming wrestlers. He made his in-ring return at SummerSlam in 2002. In 2006, Hickenbottom and Triple H briefly reformed DX, but after an injury that Triple H sustained, Hickenbottom returned to singles wrestling.
Overall, Hickenbottom has been a world champion four times, including three reigns as WWE Champion, and one reign as World Heavyweight Champion. He was also the winner of the 1995 and 1996 Royal Rumble and was the company's first Grand Slam Champion. Aside from professional wrestling, Hickenbottom is a born-again Christian, husband, and father of two children.
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Videos
| Shawn Michaels ring entrance at Wrestlemania XII | Old Shawn Michaels Theme |
| Sting interview Shawn Michaels |
Trivia
- Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair at Wrestlemania 24, which is why Ric Flair was forced to retire.
- Shawn has two brothers, Scott & Randy, and a sister, Shari.
- Shawn is the only wrestler in WWE history to simultaneously hold the WWE European Championship and WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
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Image Gallery
Career
Early career (1984–1988)
Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario. During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, Shawn Michaels, a stage name used by a professional wrestler to hide their true identity from the wrestling fanbase. After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels, with Mid-South Wrestling and Texas All-Star Wrestling (TAW) promotions in 1984. During his time with TAW, Michaels and Paul Diamond (Tom Boric) were awarded the TAW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero, Sr. (Salvador Guerrero Llanes). He also worked for Central States Wrestling. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty (Frederick 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.
Michaels made his national-level debut at the age of twenty in American Wrestling Association (AWA), once again teaming with Marty Jannetty. The pair were billed as "The Midnight Rockers", and held the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose (Paul Perschmann). In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels' autobiography). They then returned to AWA, but were re-signed by WWF a year later.
World Wrestling Federation
The Rockers (1988–1991)
The Rockers redebuted at a WWF house show on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, they were renamed, as simply "The Rockers." The team proved popular with both children and women.The team was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for the next two years.
In October 1990, The Rockers were scheduled to win the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), as Neidhart, half of the championship team, was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the belts, but soon after, Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The belts were returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television. When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broken, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers plodded along, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991 during an incident on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake's (Edward Leslie) televised Barber Shop talk show promotional segment. Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty disappeared from the company, and Michaels became a villain as "The Boy Toy."
Heartbreak Kid (1992–1995)
At the suggestion of "Mr Perfect" Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid." Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain. He was put together with mirror-carrying manager, Sensational Sherri (Sherri Schrull), who, according to the storyline, had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music, "Sexy Boy." During that period, Michaels normally wrestled during the first half of house shows, and his departure was announced with the words, "Shawn Michaels has left the building" (alluding to the phrase "Elvis has left the building").
Michaels at a live event in 1994
Michaels failed to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in July 1992, even losing the WWF's first-ever ladder match against him at a house show, a match where the objective was to climb a ladder and reach an object hanging above the ring. He, however, won the title from The British Bulldog (David Smith) on the October 27, 1992 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, which aired on November 8. Shortly thereafter, he was in a pay-per-view main event for the first time, in which he lost to Hart, for the WWF Championship at the 1992 Survivor Series. Michaels and Hart were moved to the main event after The Ultimate Warrior (Brian Hellwig) was unable to compete in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage (Randall Poffo) against the team of Ric Flair (Richard Fliehr) and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall). During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on Monday Night Raw on May 17, 1993. He then regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting "bodyguard" (and off-air friend) Diesel (Kevin Nash).
In September 1993, Michaels had quit the company, after it was announced that he had failed to defend his title enough times during a set period; in reality, he had been suspended for testing positive for steroids – a charge that Michaels denies to this day. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to WWF television for November's Survivor Series pay-per-view, substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith, and Owen.
He soon entered a staged rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the vacated Intercontinental Championship, during Michaels' absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even 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 was voted by fans as "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on WWF Superstars.
On August 28, 1994, Michaels and Diesel captured the WWF World Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu [Samula Anoa'i] and Fatu [Solofa Fatu]). The next day, at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered a split between Michaels and Diesel, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series that November. Michaels went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1995, which set up a championship grudge match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backland). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sycho Sid (Sid Eudy) as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match, and was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off, because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a crowd favorite.
Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
- Sweet Chin Music (Superkick)
- Slingshot Suplex
- Diving Elbow Drop
- Modified Figure Four Leg Lock
- Nicknames
- "Heartbreak Kid"
- "Showstopper"
- Tag teams and stables
- American Force - with Paul Diamond
- Corporation
- D-Generation X
- Dudes With Attitudes- with Diesel
- nWo
- The Rockers - with Marty Jannetty
- Managers
- Wrestlers trained
- Theme music
- “Sexy Boy” by Jim Johnston, J.J. Maguire & Jimmy Hart (WWE)
Championships and accomplishments
- AWA Southern Tag Team Champion (2 time) - with Marty Jannetty
- AWA World Tag Team Champion (2 time) - with Marty Jannetty
- Texas Wrestling Alliance
- TWA Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
- WWF World Heavyweight Champion (3 time)
- World Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
- WWF Intercontinental Champion (3 time)
- WWF European Champion (1 time)
- WWF/World Tag Team Champion (4 time) - with Diesel (2), Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1)
See also
- Shawn Michaels's event history
- Shawn Michaels's gimmicks
- Significant Storylines
