He is one of the most well known celebrities in sports entertainment. Suave, sexy, and energetic, Shawn Michaels has dazzled wrestling fans with his high profile entrance and fast paced wreslting style since the late eighties. Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1965, Michael Shawn James Hickenbottom, he began his career in Texas training under Jose Lathario. Shawn wrestled in Kansas when he met his longtime tag team partner, Marty Jannetty. The two teamed up and sent in tapes to major wrestling promotions, finally hitting a deal with AWA.
The two debuted in AWA as the Midnight Rockers where they began a legendary fued with "Playboy" Buddy Rose and "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers. In the end, they ended up winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship. It didn't take long before the (then) WWF noticed their talents and brought them aboard. After being fired for a bar incident, the duo returned to AWA briefly to win the AWA Tag Titles for a second time before contacting WWF and returning to the promotion in late 1988. They dropped the Midnight in the their name and became simply known as The Rockers.
Throughout their time as a tag team, they had major fueds with the Brain Busters, the Fabulous Rougaues, Orient Express, Power & Glory, and the Hart Foundation who they defeated for the WWF Tag Team Titles, even though it was not scripted. They were stripped of the titles with the excuse that the ring ropes were loose which caused the match to go bad for both the Rockers and the Hart Foundation. Soon after, Michaels turned on Jannetty and went on to wrestle singles. Michaels defeated Tito Santana at his first Wrestlemania as a singles wrestler.
Soon Shawn Michaels went on to defeat the British Bulldog for the Intercontinental Title which he ended up successfully defending against his former friend and tag team partner, Marty Jannetty, Royal Rumble 1993. The match became Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match of the Year. He ended up losing the title to Jannetty anyway, only to win it back three months later. The Heart Break Kid's reign for PWI's Match of the Year recipient didn't stop in 1993. In 1994, he squared off against Razor Ramone, a very close friend of Shawn's, in one of the most inspiring ladder matches of all time. Again, he was awarded PWI's Match of the Year award in 1995 for his match at Wrestlemania 11 against another close friend, Diesel, who he had won the WWF Tag Team Titles with in 1994 and 1995.
The 1995 Royal Rumble was the night HBK could call his. Starting in the first slot in the battle royal, Shawn Michaels outlasted 29 other participants to become the first ever wrestler to start the Royal Rumble and win it. In May of that year, he achieved his third reign as Intercontinental Champion after defeating Jeff Jarrett, which he had to relinquish because of injuries. In 1996, he again won the Royal Rumble and went on to wrestle Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 12 in a grueling one hour Iron Man Match to win his first WWF World Heavyweight Title, which once again boosted the Heart Break Kid into PWI's Match of the Year for the fourth year in a row. Shawn Michaels ended up losing the title to Sid Viscious at Survivor Series of that same year, only to win it back in Janurary of 1997. His second reign came to an abrupt end when he was forced to vacate the title the next month due to injuries. It wasn't long though before the "Boy Toy" came back. After forming a tag team with Stone Cold Steve Austin, they successfully defeated Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith for the WWE World Tag Team Titles. Once again though, Michaels vacated his half of the championship due to injuries.
Michaels went on to form the faction known as Degeneration-X with good friends, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna. The Show Stopper ended up defeating the British Bulldog for another title, this time the newly formed European championship, which he ended up basicaly giving to Triple H. Michaels helped pioneer one of the most devestating and hell bent speciality matches ever: Hell in the Cell. He ended up competing against Undertaker for a number one contender's spot in the Hell in the Cell match. After several minutes of bloodshed and carnage, Undertaker's brother, Kane, made his WWE debut and annihilated an already exhausted Undertaker. This paved the way for Shawn Michaels to make the cover and go on to face the champion at Survivor Series, Bret Hart.
This match will always be remembered not for the amazing technique of Bret Hart or the quick and cunning moves of Shawn Michaels, but for Bret Hart losing in one of the most controversial ways ever. Michaels had applied Hart's own submission move, The Sharpshooter, on the champion. Without ever tapping out, the referee called for the bell and the decision to go to Shawn Michaels by submission. Known as the Montreal ScrewJob, the match was fixed by WWE's owner, Vince McMahon, so that Bret Hart would lose the title without either of the wrestlers knowing. McMahon was worried that Hart would refuse to lose and take the WWF Title Belt with him over to rival promotion, WCW, which Bret Hart was planning on moving over to. Michaels originally denied any knowledge of this, but later admitted he knew but wouldn't refuse to do it because Vince McMahon was what made him a star.
At the 1998 Royal Rumble, the champion ended up defending his title against Undertaker in one of the Dead Man's personal speciality matches, the Casket Match. During the match, HBK landed awkwardly on the casket and injured his back severely, but once again Kane interfered and helped Michaels retain the title. Despite his back Michaels began a fued with former tag team partner Steve Austin. During Wrestlemania 14, the two faced off with Mike Tyson as special enforcer. Tyson had been playing friend to DX during the weeks leading up to WM14 but ended up giving a quick three count in Steve Austin's favor. Focusing on recovery, Michaels left wrestling for 4 years, although maintaining an on-air role. During his time off, Shawn became a father and a reborn Christian. But wrestling kept calling for him.
At Summerslam 2002, the Heart Break Kid returned to the ring to face Triple H. Shawn joined long time friends Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in the reformed nWo on Raw. Triple H and The Heart Break Kid began an intense rivalry after The Game lured Shawn Michaels into possibly reforming the Degeneration X faction with him, only to pedigree the unknowing friend. The two faced off at SummerSlam in a Street Fight match where Michaels showed he could still fly high and dazzle the crowd. Although winning, Triple H used a sledgehammer on his former friend after the match. The fued escalated into a new speciality match, The Elimination Chamber. Six men faced off for the championship and Michaels once again came out on top, winning his fourth WWE World Title. The title reign lasted two months before losing it to Triple H. During Wrestlemania 19, Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels faced each other in one of the most classic matches ever. After Jericho, Michaels went back to fighting Triple H and his faction, Evolution, scoring victories over Randy Orton and Dave Batista. The two went on for several more fights, eventually leading up to a Last Standing Match at the 2004 Royal Rumble, a Triple Threat Match against Chris Benoit and Triple H at Wrestlemania 20, and a bloody Hell in the Cell Match at Bad Blood. The Raw after Bad Blood saw Kane crushing the larynx of Shawn Michaels with a folding chair, again putting him out of wrestling. It wasn't long before the Show Stopper returned and defeated the Big Red Machine at Unforgiven in a No-Disqualification Match.
After another knee injury which cost him the title match against Triple H at Bad Blood, Michaels began a fued with Edge and Kurt Angle. During a Smackdown! show, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty reunited for one night to face off in a nontitle match against the World Tag Team Champions, La Resistance, defeating them in the process. A few nights later, Angle defeated Jannetty and set the tone for Michaels vs. Angle at Wrestlemania 21 where although HBK lost, it is considered one of the greatest matches ever. Currently Shawn Michaels is out with a concussion from a steel briefcase headshot by rival, Edge, during a tournament.
What lies in store for this enygmatic superstore? Despite several injuries over the years, Shawn Michaels has continued to come back and amaze crowds and defeat adversaries. He's proven himself in tag teams, singles, speciality matches, and even winning the Royal Rumble two times in a row. There has been nothing that The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels can't do.
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