BIOGRAPHY OF SHAWN MICHAELS
In my mind Shawn Michaels is the greatest wrestler of this decade and as a
tribute to him I have written up this very informative biography depicting
his entire career in this business we love called wrestling.
Get ready to learn about Shawn from his childhood to his last match, it was
fun watching his career develop but even more fun to write about it. Now,
grab a drink and get ready to read this long tribute to the showstopper, the
icon, the main event…
"THE HEARTBREAK KID" SHAWN MICHAELS
Background Info:
He was born on July 22, 1965 in San Antonio, Texas under the name Michael
Hickenbottom so he will turn 34 this year. He is 6'0" 234lbs and made his
pro wrestling debut on October 16, 1984. He has spent his entire wrestling
career (in the big two) using the name Shawn Michaels and has only wrestled
as a part of the WWF, one of the few legends who has never left their
company (Sting has never left WCW). He trained under former pro wrestler
Jose Lothario in San Antonio after his parents realized his dream was to
become a pro wrestler. He mentioned in a recent interview that he had about
a 2.1 GPA in high school, which basically means he was hovering around the
50% mark, and a D average when he was a teen. After hooking up with Jose his
career took off and he built himself into the one of the greatest superstars
ever. Two individuals, "Sensational" Sherri in 1992 and Jose Lothario in
1993 have managed Shawn. To see the progress
Shawn has made here's a look at his ratings in the annual PWI 500. 1991 -
#37, 1992 - #16, 1993 - #3, 1994 - #5, 1995 - #2, 1996 - #1, 1997 - #18,
1998 - Injured. Now, here's a look at the WWF titles that Shawn has held.
Titles Held:
3 time WWF Heavyweight Champ (def. Bret Hart, Sid, Hart), 3 time
Intercontinental Champion (def. Bulldog, Jannetty, Jarrett), 3 time tag
champ w/Diesel (def. Headshrinkers, Owen & Yokozuna) w/Steve Austin (def.
Owen & Bulldog), 1 time European Champion (def. Bulldog) and he also won the
Royal Rumble in 1995 and 1996. He is the only Grand Slam Champion in WWF
history meaning he's the only man to win all four titles, the WWF Hardcore &
LW title would be a fifth and sixth title but obviously he has not held
those.
SHAWN MICHAELS AS A ROCKER
There are many wrestling purists who say that Shawn Michaels was at his best
when he was a member of the Rockers in the early 90s. The Rockers were
together from the summer of 1988 until the end of 1991 (they spent some time
in the AWA prior to that). Shawn Michaels partner was his good friend Marty
Jannetty who had many similar attributes to Shawn. They were both young men
who were just getting their start in the wrestling business, starving for
success and trying their best to make a name for themselves. A lot of people
don't know this but the Rockers never did win the tag titles although they
teamed for more than three years. One of the best tag team matches of all
time featured Michaels and Jannetty in a Royal Rumble 91 battle against the
Orient Express (Pat Tanaka and Haku). The match didn't have a lot of hype
but if you can get your hands on this tape I suggest you do because this has
been considered Shawn's breakthrough match. The Rockers alliance ended when
Shawn turned heel by throwing Jannetty through a mirror in Brutus Beefcake's
barber shop segment thus launching his singles career. As for Jannetty, his
career was successful for only a brief period on his own while Shawn began
to thrive in the spotlight.
THE HEARTBREAK KID IS BORN
The Heartbreak Kid is a personality of Shawn Michaels that was launched in
1992 and is still evident to this day. When the HBK persona was born Shawn
was only 27 and had great potential in him athletically. What everyone soon
found out is that HBK was actually as good as or even better on the mic than
he was in the ring. His ability to get the crowd to hate him was evident as
soon as he turned heel; he then established a regular talk show segment on
WWF shows called the "Heartbreak Hotel." HBK turned himself into the man
that you wanted to hate but he was so good at it that it was just too hard
to not like this guy. This cocky, young, brash superstar spent his time
gaining a reputation as a guy who did a lot of talk but was still able to
back it up because of his tremendous in ring ability. His first taste of WWF
gold came in a match against the British Bulldog on October 27, 1992
becoming the IC champ and a month later wrestled Bret Hart in a match he
lost for the WWF world title. This is the first of three PPV matches these
two had but didn't really have as much hype although it was still a classic
match. Shawn had a long IC title reign, it lasted for seven months before he
lost it to his former partner Jannetty but ended up regaining it only a
month later. He never lost the belt in a match but had to give it up due to
"not meeting certain contractual obligations." In a span of a year he held
the Intercontinental Title for 11 months dominating the Intercontinental
division for parts of 92 and 93. You probably don't know this but Shawn
Michaels only lost IC title once and that was to Jannetty. He was stripped
of it in 93 as well as in 95 when he couldn't compete due to getting
attacked outside of a Syracuse nightclub in October of 1995. I'll have more
on that story a bit later on.
After competing against Razor Ramon (aka Scott Hall) in two ladder matches
that will go down as two of the best matches of all time, Shawn proved to
the world that he really was a great wrestler. The first ladder match ended
up resulting in Shawn losing the match to Razor who was the IC champ, it
took place at WrestleMania 10 in 1994. The second epic ladder match came at
Summerslam 95, this time Shawn came in as the face, walked in with the title
and also walked out with the title still around his waist. There will be
more on his matches later but I had to point these out because they are
quite possibly the best matches to take place in the history of the WWF.
THE "CLIQUE" AND THE "KLIQ"
You may be looking at this heading and thinking what the hell does this
mean? What I am referring to by the Clique is Shawn's relationships with his
best friends in the wrestling business while the Kliq is the name he had for
his legions of fans. The Clique consists of Shawn, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall,
Triple H, Justin Credible and Sean Waltman aka X-Pac (some would add Louie
Spicolli as well). These are his best friends in the wrestling business
whether they showed it on screen or not, these guys are a tight knit group.
The Kliq was formed in late '95 after Shawn started getting sympathy
babyface heat which was a result of the attack from October. It was also
pushed by the WWF after Owen Hart nailed him with an enziguri causing HBK to
suffer from post concussion syndrome but this was just an angle to get
easier babyface pops. By the time Royal Rumble 96 came around Shawn was more
over than any other superstar in the WWF so he obviously won the 30 man over
the top rope battle royal propelling him into the main event at WrestleMania
12. Prior to wrestling in the main event Shawn had to beat Owen to get
revenge for putting him out of action for a couple months and after he beat
Owen it was onto WM12 where he would face Bret Hart for the second time.
This was the Iron Man match that lasted over 61 minutes, HBK won it with his
"Sweet Chin Music" (a Super-kick) and as Vince McMahon said it best: "Shawn
Michaels has just turned his boyhood dream into a reality." Finally, Shawn
Michaels became a world champion.
1996: THE YEAR OF SHAWN MICHAELS
If you were to single out 12 months of Shawn's career it would have to be
the year of 1996 because that is when he won his first WWF title. His reign
lasted over seven months before losing the belt to Sid at Survivor Series
96. In April '96, Shawn had a memorable match against Diesel in what was
probably Kevin Nash's best match ever. It was a no-holds barred match that
signified the start of the WWF going to the extreme in their matches. It was
Nash's last match in the WWF, in this memorable match HBK showed him the
door that led to WCW. Shawn's next feud, May and June '96, was against the
British Bulldog after the Bulldog falsely accused HBK of stalking his wife
Diana. Shawn ends up winning this feud at King of the Ring '96, the same
night that Austin 3:16 was born. At Summerslam, HBK faced another big test;
it was an import from WCW who turned out to be Vader. At the time Vader was
made to look as if he was unbeatable but in this match Shawn turned the
tables and won with his Sweet Chin Music in a 20 minute match that is one of
Vader's best matches ever. After a brutal match with Mankind, HBK went into
battle against yet another monster, Psycho Sid. Sid ended up winning the
title from Shawn thanks to the fact that Sid knocked out Jose Lothario,
Shawn's mentor, and then nailed Shawn with a video camera to win the title.
Shawn ended up winning his title back at Royal Rumble 97 in front of his
hometown crowd in San Antonio to be the WWF champ for the second time.
DEGENERATION X IS BORN
The icon, the showstopper, the main event, those are a phrases used to
describe Shawn during his DX days. There are many questions as to when DX
was officially born; some people claim it is just another name for the
Clique but in my opinion DX really started in September of 97, at least
that's when it first was evident on camera. After Shawn Michaels defeated
the British Bulldog at the UK PPV "One Night Only" we saw Triple H and Chyna
with HBK as he celebrated his victory as the European Champ. Shawn was a
heel from this night forward, he beat the Bulldog in his own country and
then went on to heat up his feud with Bret Hart. The name "Degeneration X"
started after Bret called Shawn and Hunter degenerates (another word would
be wicked or immoral) and that led to the group being called DX. It was
strange at the time because Bret was a big time heel in his role where he
bashes America in every speech while HBK is attempting to be a heel by doing
cheap tactics and basically anything for the win. However, DX was growing on
people with their behavior, although they weren't a face group at first, it
was difficult not to like these guys. Prior to the famed Survivor Series 97
match, Shawn wrestled in the first ever Hell in a Cell match against the
Undertaker at the October 97 IYH PPV called Badd Blood. This match changed
Shawn's career forever, he took a huge bump when he fell from three quarters
high up the cage onto an announce table that waited about 10 feet away on
the ground. His back ended up never being the same again, he ended up
winning the match (thanks to the debut of Kane) in what was one of the most
brutal matches anybody has ever seen. Shawn took a beating in that match but
came out a winner but not only because he got the 1,2,3 but because he put
in one of the gutsiest performances in federation history.
FEUDING WITH HART AND AUSTIN
I don't think that a person can argue with the fact that the three best
wrestlers from 1995- April 1999 (the second part of this decade) would have
to be Bret Hart, Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. I'd say at least seven of
the ten best matches in the past 5 years feature at least one of these men
as well and they have been the most controversial and anticipated matches in
federation history too. First of all, Shawn was the man who ended up
defeating Bret in what was Bret's last match in the WWF and probably the
most controversial moment in the history of wrestling. The question that
comes up is: Do you think Shawn Michaels really knew how the match was going
to end or was he just as surprised as Bret and the rest of us or was Shawn
in from it from the start? You could make a strong case for it being yes or
no but another question evolves from that, does it really matter what role
Shawn played in this situation? My answer is an un-arguable no. I really
don't think Shawn played a role in the conspiracy against Bret but when you
consider that Shawn disliked Bret outside the ring it makes you wonder but
like I said, in the end it really doesn't matter.
Shawn comes out of Survivor Series '97 as the WWF champ, defeats the
Undertaker in a casket match at the Royal Rumble (thank you Kane, again) and
then moves on to face Austin at WM14. This match was hyped unbelievably for
a couple of reasons. These were the two most popular stars in the business
plus the $2 million nutcase Mike Tyson was playing the role of
enforcer/referee in the match bringing in interest from non wrestling fans
to see what Tyson would do. In what turned out to be his last match Shawn
Michaels put on one hell of an amazing match. It was obvious that he was in
considerable pain from his nagging back injury and knowing that he was
handing the torch over to Austin because he couldn't actively compete
anymore. This put an end to Shawn's in ring career, although he didn't win
his last match, I have no trouble saying that Shawn Michaels went out on
top.
CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING SHAWN MICHAELS
There have been a few moments in Shawn's career that I feel need to be
mentioned in this bio. I had my own beliefs of these stories much like you
so I enlisted the help of Matt Spence to give us the real stories as he has
learned from Dave Meltzer. I'll pose the question and then put in the
response from Matt.
Q: I know that the WWF says HBK was beat up outside of a Syracuse night club
in October of 1995 but did this really happen or was it a work?
A: Details to this are sketchy and versions of the story definitely vary.
Shawn Michaels, Davey Boy Smith and Sean Waltman (X-Pac) were at a bar in
Syracuse. They got in an argument with a bunch of guys at the bar, but then
decided it was best to leave. They went to their car and were followed by
between 9 to 14 men. Some of the men held off Davey Boy and Waltman, while
the others beat up Shawn. For the purpose of storylines, the WWF said that
it was nine men who attacked Shawn. They never mentioned that Davey Boy and
Waltman were there, and it is believed that nine men attacked Michaels,
while the other five men held off Smith and Waltman. That's if there truly
were 14 men there. This was the cause of Michaels having to forfeit the
Intercontinental title to Dean (Shane) Douglas.
Q: When Shawn "collapsed" in the ring months later against Owen Hart I am
assuming that was a work, is this true?
A: That was a complete work, used to get Michaels over as a babyface via the
sympathy factor. Michaels was fully healed at the time, but was held out of
action until his return at the Royal Rumble which he ended up winning.
Q: What is the real reason explaining why Shawn was stripped of the IC title
in September '93?
A: Once again, details are sketchy. However, the truth is believed to be
that Shawn was in the midst of a contract dispute at the time. Therefore, he
couldn't defend the title within 30 days and was stripped of the title, in
reality and in the storylines.
Matt adds: He also forfeited the World title on a Thursday Raw in February
'97 due to injury. It is widely believed that he had an injury, but it was
not very severe and he easily could've worked through it. The main reason he
forfeited the title is because he refused to job to Bret Hart at
WrestleMania XIII, which he was scheduled to do. This was when Shawn
supposedly "lost his smile."
Thanks again to my good friend Matt Spence for helping me out on these
difficult questions. The truth may still be out there but this is what we
have to believe for now. You can mail Matt at mspence@email.com and he'll be
glad to answer any questions on these issues.
PRESENT & FUTURE
He is currently retired from the WWF and has recently opened up his own
wrestling school and promotion in Texas with his mentor Jose Lothario. On
March 31, he was married to Whisper formerly of the Nitro Girls so it
appears as though Shawn is in the process of starting his life after in ring
wrestling. The happy couple is expecting a baby around the new year. Shawn's
current role in the WWF is as the Commissioner. He may go back to DX or he
may not, this still is not known but if he does go back it would be in a non
wrestling role because his surgically repaired back will not allow him to
wrestle again on a full time schedule. Regardless of what you may see or
hear, do not expect Shawn Michaels to wrestle on a full time basis again. I
hope I'm wrong about that statement but I'm afraid it's the truth. Then
again, I don't think I would enjoy it too much if Shawn wasn't at his best,
it just wouldn't be the same.
PERSONAL OPINION
Before I started to write this bio I watched a tape I made about some of
Shawn's best matches. On the tape are his two ladder matches against Razor
Ramon, his match in Britain against Davey Boy Smith, the Survivor Series
debacle of '97, and his last match ever, the WrestleMania XIV classic
against Steve Austin. After watching these matches it showed me how great
Shawn was in every aspect involved in the wrestling business. There are some
men who are great on the mic or great in the ring but can't combine those
two skills into one and create a character that will be etched in stone
forever. Shawn Michaels did that, he is quite possibly the best athlete ever
to step into a ring. He's definitely one of the most charismatic, flamboyant
personalities to grace the business and his character was so great he had
the uncanny ability to turn heel or face within weeks (To date he's had 9
heel/face turns). To me, that's what makes a wrestler great, the ability to
get the fans to cheer for you one night and boo you the next. You can ask
wrestlers themselves and they will tell you that the fans are the ones who
determine whether a wrestler makes a heel turn or turns face. Back in '95
after Shawn had "post concussion syndrome" fans everywhere didn't see HBK
for about 3 months but when he returned for the 96 Royal Rumble he was given
one of the greatest ovations in federation history. Then, in mid 1997 after
Steve Austin was considered the biggest face in the WWF Shawn decided to
turn heel and created one of the most popular, risk taking groups in
federation history, DeGeneration X.
THE PROTOTYPICAL JERK
I always felt as though Shawn was at his best as a heel. Way back in '93 and
'94 when Shawn became the "Boy Toy," and the "Heartbreak Kid" it was obvious
in my mind that he had the potential to be one of the greatest wrestlers
ever. I remember how much heat he would have for his matches. Prior to
winning the world title he never wrestled in main events but for me he was
just as good, or even better, when he held the Intercontinental title during
this period. I've always enjoyed seeing heels, it's not that hard to be a
face but to be a successful heel it takes a lot of hard work, cheap tactics
and some risqué comments to get a crowd to hate you. In my opinion, if you
actually booed Shawn then he really worked you over. I'm sure I did root for
the good guy six years ago but that's just cause he sold his character so
well but I never cheered for Kevin Nash, he's just terrible. Looking at his
matches, I see it in a different light now and I ask myself, how could
anybody NOT like this guy? Sometimes people were so into his character that
they didn't pay attention to his in ring abilities.
ALWAYS ENTERTAINING IN THE RING
In the ring Shawn was pure gold. He had the best ring psychology with his
opponents out of anybody I have ever seen outside of Flair. He manages to
piss them off with his cocky, brash attitude and flat out destroy them with
his tremendous skill. His finisher was a superkick, just a simple standing
side kick delivered to your opponents jaw. However, when Shawn began using
this move it turned into "Sweet Chin Music," also known as the fateful end
for an opponent who was just dazed in the corner. He'd start to bang his
foot on the mat, the crowd would make noise together and everybody knew what
was coming and once it happened it looked so cool. When we see the same move
done by lesser known wrestlers and jobbers we just say, "big deal, it's just
a kick" but with Shawn it's more like an event, the end to a tremendous
performance. He also was able to pull off such high risk moves like a
moonsault, hurricanrana, suicide dive, elbow off the top rope and he may
have the best drop kick I have ever seen. Is there a main event wrestler
today that has the ability to deliver a drop kick, moonsault and suicide
dive? You and I both know the answer is no and that is where Shawn is going
to be missed the most, the ability to deliver an exciting match night after
night no matter who it is against.
For five consecutive years, 1993-1997, Shawn Michaels was the best wrestler
in the world (I don't see Japan stuff so I'm saying world). If you asked
such men as Kevin Nash, Vader, Sid and Scott Hall who their best matches
were against I can almost guarantee you that they will say it is Shawn
Michaels. I'm sure there a few things Shawn wishes he could accomplish.
Shawn cannot say that he beat Steve Austin in a one on one televised match
for the title, nor can he say that he ever beat Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair but
he can say he beat Bret Hart two out of three times in Pay Per View matches.
Shawn's commitment to the WWF is not comparable to anybody else because he
is the man who has shown more loyalty than any other man or woman to the
company.
THE SUBJECT OF CRITICS
He's been a part of the WWF for 11 years now, NEVER being a part of the
NWA/WCW and always doing anything for his company. Some people criticize
Shawn for his unprofessional behavior in dealing with Bret Hart. These two
men never liked eachother when they were both fighting to be the top dog in
the sport. It was unprofessional of Shawn not to do the job to Bret at
WrestleMania XIII, I think it was after that moment when their hatred really
started. He also refused to compete in the Canadian Stampede PPV because he
was supposed to take the clean pin. It could have started the year prior to
that when Shawn beat Bret in the Ironman Match at WMXII cause I'm sure Shawn
did some trash talking to Bret about that behind the scenes. I usually read
transcripts of Shawn's interviews on the net and whenever asked a question
about Bret, HBK usually says something along the lines of: "I don't have any
problems with Bret Hart" and he basically leaves it at that. Do I believe
that? Yes and no. Shawn DID have a problem with Bret Hart when they were
both in the WWF but ever since Bret left Shawn doesn't have a problem with
the Hitman. In the battle between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels I think it's
pretty obvious that Shawn was the winner out of the ring AND in the ring. He
was definitely a difficult man to work with but I will not get into all of
that.
THERE IS ONLY ONE SHAWN MICHAELS
It seems that everywhere I look people are saying this wrestler or that
wrestler could be the next Shawn Michaels. I guess that comes with
greatness; in basketball the search for the "next Michael Jordan" will
continue, in hockey the search for the "next Wayne Gretzky" and in wrestling
we are searching for the next Shawn Michaels. Why? In my opinion there is
only one HBK, there will only be one HBK and if you really are desperate to
see the guy I suggest you go to a local video store and watch some of his
matches. He really was "The Showstopper, The Icon and The Main Event" just
like he claims to be. Shawn knew how to talk a lot of trash but there was
nobody better at backing it up in the ring the way Shawn could.
Now that I've done a bio of Shawn I'm sure people are going to ask me who I
think is the best especially considering I did a Steve Austin and Bret Hart
bio as well (I am improving both of them at the moment). I have the answer
for you now but before that let me explain something. I'm 23 years old, I
have been watching wrestling since I was 8 but I really didn't understand
the business until I was about 14 or so and that would be around 1990. The
only way I can make a decision as to who is the best wrestler I have ever
seen is by basing it from 1990 until today, 1999. Having not watched WCW
until 1993 I don't think I can make a judgement as to how good Ric Flair or
Sting are because their best days were prior to that so this will basically
be my opinion as to who is the best WWF wrestler of this decade.
BEST WWF WRESTLER OF THE 1990s
After looking at tapes of Austin, Hart and Michaels I have come to the
realization that all three brought the kind of electricity to the ring that
fans didn't think was possible. Steve is a great brawler; he's a hard-nosed
guy who is working his ass off even though he is dealing with a neck injury
that would put him on the shelf if he was in another sport. Bret is probably
the best technical wrestler ever, he may not have the flamboyant attitude or
personality of Austin or HBK but very few men can match his in ring ability.
As I said in the above tribute, Shawn really knew how to captivate the
audience in the ring and outside the ring and is undoubtedly the most
athletic and entertaining wrestler that I have ever seen. If I had to say
which one of these three men is the best wrestler during this period I would
have to say that my answer is Shawn Michaels. It's a shame that the best
wrestler of this decade had to retire at the age of 33, he had another good
five years left at least but as much as I hate to say it, Shawn Michaels
will most likely not wrestle again. Steve Austin has the ability to be the
greatest ever, at the age of 34 Steve is on top of the world and has another
3-4 years left so if he can put together some terrific matches and ignite
some feuds he has the chance to be the best. In the mind of this 23 year old
Canadian, Shawn Michaels was the best wrestler of this decade and the best
wrestler that I have ever seen.
CONCLUSION
I know this was a long tribute to Shawn Michaels but I feel that the only
way to do justice to the best wrestler I have ever seen is by paying this
much attention to him. Those of you who missed Shawn Michaels in his prime I
feel sorry for you that you are either too young or weren't a fan at the
time. My suggestion is to get your hands on some old tapes so you can really
see why I think Shawn is the best wrestler I have ever seen. If you have any
questions, corrections or comments on this bio I would love to hear it so
please don't hesitate to mail me at wwfjohnc@hotmail.com. What I'd also like
you to do is to mail me and tell me who is the best wrestler YOU have ever
seen and please tell me why. If you are like me and think it's Shawn
Michaels that's great, feel free to write me about that too. Now, if you are
one of those people who just reads emails and doesn't reply I'm going to ask
you to PLEASE reply to me on this subject. Hearing from readers informs me
on moments I may have missed, matches I might not remember and wrestlers
that I'm not familiar with. Share with me your thoughts and I'll be glad to
share mine in return. (Note: If you want to use this bio somewhere please
mail me, ask me and make sure you credit me too). If you want to read about
Shawn's greatest matches then please hit the link below.
I'd like to thank Matt Spence, Pro Wrestling Illustrated and of course Shawn
Michaels for all the help, the memories and the matches that made Shawn
Michaels the greatest wrestler I have ever seen. Thank you.
Smell ya later,
John C.
Big3 Oratory
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Big3 Oratory