Shawn Michaels

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Michael Shawn Hickenbottom United StatesUnited States
Shawn Michaels at the WrestleMania XXIV event in 2008.

Shawn Michaels at the WrestleMania XXIV event in 2008.
Data
Ring name Shawn Michaels
Additions to names The Heartbreak Kid (HBK)
The Showstopper
The Headliner
The Main Event
The Icon
Mr. WrestleMania
height 185 cm
Fighting weight 103 kg
birth July 22, 1965
Chandler , Arizona
Announced from San Antonio, Texas
Trained by Jose Lothario
debut October 16, 1984

Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965 at Williams Air Force Base in Chandler , Arizona ) is a retired American wrestler . Hickenbottom is better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels .

He held the highest titles in the WWE on several occasions.

Private life

Michael Hickenbottom is married to Rebecca Curci Hickenbottom for the second time. They have a son and a daughter. He sees himself as a born again Christian , which he also makes clear in his appearances after his injury-related break between 1998 and 2002. Together with the also very Christian wrestler Sting , he appeared on a broadcast on the religious TV station Trinity Broadcasting Network . Until a few years ago, Hickenbottom owned a wrestling school in San Antonio , Texas, but it no longer exists. Wrestlers Brian Kendrick , Paul London , Bryan Danielson and Lance Cade were trained in his Texas Wrestling Academy . Michaels' nephew Matthew Bentley also trained there.

Wrestling career

Beginnings

Hickenbottom began his career as Shawn Michaels in 1984 in the NWA Mid-South Territory and in the Texas Promotion Texas All-Star Wrestling . A short time later he met Marty Jannetty and from then on formed a tag team with him .

American Wrestling Association (1986–1987)

In the American Wrestling Association they received the World Tag Team title there under the name The Midnight Rockers . In 1987 they were able to sign a contract with the World Wrestling Federation . After only two weeks they were released because of misconduct and returned to the AWA.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (since 1988)

The Rockers (1988-1991)

In 1988 they got another chance in the World Wrestling Federation, this time under the name The Rockers . In 1990 you were allowed to win the WWF Tag Team title against the Hart Foundation . The title win, however, was never broadcast on television and was not officially mentioned.

In 1992 the team was split up, and Hickenbottom began a career as a single wrestler. Over time, as a result of numerous turns , he was able to develop into one of the most popular, but sometimes also the most hated wrestlers of the 1990s and 2000s.

Two Dudes with Attitudes (1992-1995)

Shawn Michael at a WWE event in 1995.

With his friends in wrestling Kevin Nash (who initially acted as Hickenbottom's bodyguard under the ring name Diesel ), Scott Hall , Sean Waltman and Paul Levesque , he formed the so-called Kliq within the WWF in the mid-1990s . This grouping had at times a great influence on the booking of individual matches. In 1995, Hickenbottom was the first wrestler to win a Royal Rumble match with starting number 1. He was also in May 1996 the so-called curtain call involved: After a show at Madison Square Garden , the embrace Faces Hickenbottom and Hall and heels Levesque and Nash and thus broke kayfabe , as Nash and Hall at the time a contract with WCW signed and wanted to say goodbye to their friends after their last WWF matches in the ring.

WWF Champion, D-Generation X and resignation (1996–1998)

Hickenbottom is the first and so far only wrestler to appear almost naked in Playgirl magazine .

In 1997, Hickenbottom was actively involved in the so-called Montreal Screwjob . In this incident, contrary to the previous agreement with Bret Hart , he was allowed to win the champion title of the WWF.

Between 1998 and 2002, Hickenbottom was on hiatus due to a serious back injury.

Return to the ring, World Heavyweight Champion and feud against Triple H (2002-2005)

In 2002 he became active again and initially became a member of the newly founded nWo . After a feud against Triple H , he was allowed to win the World Heavyweight Championship in the first Elimination Chamber match in November . Just a month later, he had to hand over the title to his former colleague Triple H. Then Hickenbottom denied a feud program with Chris Jericho . After an injury break of two months, which was justified in front of the cameras by an attack by Kane , the feud against Triple H continued. From October onwards, Hickenbottom had to take another break because of an injured meniscus.

In January 2005, he returned as a guest referee of the Elimination Chamber Match at New Years Revolution, which developed into a feud against Edge . Up to Wrestlemania 21 he played a series of matches against Kurt Angle , in which Marty Jannetty and Sherri Martel were also involved for a short time . A feud with Hulk Hogan ensued . In late 2005, Hickenbottom began a feud against Shane and Vincent K. McMahon , which lasted until April 2006. Shortly thereafter, his knee was injured, which in turn forced him to take another break.

Reformation of the D-Generation X, feud against The Undertaker and end of the in-ring career (2006-2010)

Shawn Michael at the Wrestlemania XXV event in 2009.

In June 2006 there was the official return of the D-Generation X , which initially competed a few times against the McMahons and Big Show . In a feud program with Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton ) Triple H injured his thigh, which is why Hickenbottom was next active in the tag team with John Cena . He and Cena won the World Tag Team Championship together in January 2007 after beating Rated-RKO . There was now a feud between him and Cena for the WWE Championship , which HBK was not allowed to win. Shortly thereafter, they lost their tag team title to the Hardys .

A longer injury break followed. On October 8, 2007, Hickenbottom made his comeback and started a feud with then-WWE Champion Randy Orton. He later feuded with Mr. Kennedy .

At WrestleMania 24 there was a match between Hickenbottom and his role model and good friend Ric Flair . Flair, now 59 years old, had to lose and his career in the WWE this match finish .

Shawn Michael played his last match at the Wrestlemania XXVI event in 2010.

This was followed by a feud with Chris Jericho , which became feud of the year , and then with JBL . At WrestleMania 25, he ended a feud against Undertaker .

On August 10, 2009, the D-Generation X stable was reactivated during a RAW output. On December 13, 2009, Hickenbottom and Triple H were allowed to defeat their opponents Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and Big Show) at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs and became new Unified WWE Tag Team Champions .

On February 8, 2010, D-Generation X had to hand over the titles to ShoMiz (Big Show and The Miz ). At WrestleMania 26, Hickenbottom faced Undertaker again in a streak vs. Career Match . Hickenbottom also had to lose this match against Undertaker and ended his career.

Admission to the Hall of Fame and a few appearances (2011-2018)

On January 10, 2011, RAW announced that he would be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony Show on April 2, 2011, the day before WrestleMania 27.

On April 1, 2012, Shawn Michaels started as a guest referee at Wrestlemania 28. He led the Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and the Undertaker .

On October 27, 2013, he again held the function of guest referee, this time at Hell in a Cell, where he led the match of the same name between Randy Orton and his student Daniel Bryan and stood against Bryan.

Second return to the ring for a match and second induction into the Hall of Fame (since 2018)

On the September 3, 2018 Raw episode, Michaels promoted the match between Triple H and The Undertaker on Super Show-Down, during which he was confronted by Undertaker himself. At the Super Show-Down Event, Triple H defeated Undertaker with the help of Michaels. After the match, Michaels and Triple H were attacked by Undertaker and Kane. In the October 8th issue of Raw, Michaels announced that he was retiring from the WWE Crown Jewel Event to play with Triple H against the Brothers of Destruction. Michaels and Triple H won this match as D-Generation X on November 2, 2018.

Backstage controversy

Hickenbottom has long been notorious for his large ego . Of the ten titles he held in the WWF in the 1990s, he only lost three to "defeats" in "regular" matches. All his Tag Team Championships, two of his Intercontinental Championship, and one of his WWF World Championships were stripped him, he also gave his European Championship voluntarily Triple H off. This prevented Hickenbottom from harming his own status with a defeat and thus a clear loss of the title. As a member of the influential and close friends backstage group "The Kliq", which mainly included Kevin Nash , Scott Hall , Triple H and Sean Waltman , Hickenbottom in particular had the necessary power to enforce his demands in this regard.

With Bret Hart Hickenbottom shared a personal dislike. This mutual antipathy culminated in November 1997 at the Montreal Screwjob . At the ceremony for Bret Hart's admission to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, Hart announced in advance that he would leave the hall as soon as he saw Hickenbottom in the audience or backstage. So Hickenbottom left the audience before Hart's appearance and expressed his respect for his former rival in interviews. Due to Bret Hart's contract negotiations with the WWE Board of Directors , Hart and Hickenbottom also spoke out there. So the two officially reconciled on January 4, 2010 with a handshake and a hug when Bret Hart made his first appearance since leaving the WWE.

Wrestling successes

Shawn Michael as WWF World Tag Team Champion .
World Wrestling Entertainment
American Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
  • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 × with Marty Jannetty)
Central States Wrestling
Texas Wrestling Alliance
  • TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 ×)
Texas All-Star Wrestling
  • TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 × with Paul Diamond)
  • TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 × with Paul Diamond and DJ Peterson)

Filmography

  • 1996: Baywatch - The Lifeguards of Malibu ( Baywatch , TV series, episode 7x07)
  • 1999: Pacific Blue - The Beach Police ( Pacific Blue , TV series, episodes 5x03–5x04)
  • 2006: South Beach (TV series, episode 1x02)
  • 2016: The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
  • 2017: Pure Country: Pure Heart
  • 2018: Avengers of Justice: Farce Wars
  • 2018: The Marine 6: The Death Wing (The Marine 6: Close Quarters)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story
  2. ↑ WWE Crown Jewel Results. Retrieved July 25, 2019 .

Web links

Commons : Shawn Michaels  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Michaels, Shawn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hickenbottom, Michael Shawn; Hickenbottom, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH July 22, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Chandler (Arizona)