Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom; July 22, 1965) is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, who is currently contracted to WWE's Raw brand.
Michaels began his wrestling career with Mid-South Wrestling and the American Wrestling Association (AWA). During his time with AWA, he formed a tag team with Marty Jannetty known as The Midnight Rockers, winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice. Hickenbottom and Jannetty briefly signed with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1987, while under contract with AWA. They returned to AWA, only to return to the WWF in 1988. After the dissolution of the Rockers in late 1991, Michaels began working as a singles performer under the new gimmick of "The Heartbreak Kid", first as a villain and later as a fan favorite. He exerted considerable influence on booking decisions as part of a locker room faction known informally as The Kliq.
In 1997, Michaels teamed up with Triple H, Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). That same year, Michaels took part in one of the most controversial matches in wrestling history, dubbed the "Montreal Screwjob." After a back injury sustained at the 1998 Royal Rumble forced him to retire following his WWF Championship loss at WrestleMania XIV, Michaels opened a wrestling training academy, called The Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy. He made his in-ring return at SummerSlam in 2002. In 2006, Michaels and Triple H briefly reformed DX, but after an injury that Triple H sustained, Michaels returned to singles wrestling.
Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2012. Following his induction, WWE said of Michaels, "Ask any Superstar on the WWE roster who the most gifted sports-entertainer of all time is and nearly everyone will have the same answer—Shawn Michaels." Michaels is a four-time world champion: a two-time WWE Champion and a two-time World Heavyweight Champion. He is also the longest reigning WWE Champion in WWE history, holding the title for 371 days, with a combined 399 days over two reigns. He has also won the PWI Match of the Year Award a record eleven times. Michaels currently resides in San Antonio, Texas with his wife, Mar, and their two children.
Early life[]
Hickenbottom was born on July 22, 1965, in Chandler, Arizona. The last of four children–Randy, Scott, and Shari are his older siblings–he was raised in a military family and spent a brief part of his early years in Reading, Berkshire, England, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, Hickenbottom disliked the name Michael, so his family and friends just called him Shawn. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military.
He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of twelve. Hickenbottom was already an athlete; his career began at the age of six when he started playing football. He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School and eventually became captain of the football team. After graduating, Hickenbottom attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but soon realized that college life was not for him. He then began pursuing a career in professional wrestling.
Professional wrestling career[]
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2005–present)[]
World Heavyweight Champion and various feuds (2005–2008)[]
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D-Generation X and feud with CM Punk (2009–2010)[]
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Record breaking WWE Champion and retirement (2011–2013)[]
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Project Mayhem; feud with Tyler Chandler (2013–present)[]
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Personal life[]
Hickenbottom's marriage to his first wife, Theresa Wood, was brief and ended in divorce, but was amicably settled. Hickenbottom married his second wife, former WCW Nitro Girl Rebecca Hickenbottom (née Curci), who went by the stage name of Whisper. They were married on March 31, 1999 at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada in a small ceremony. The only people present were the couple and an Elvis impersonator. The couple have a son, Cameron Kade (born on January 15, 2000) and a daughter, Cheyenne Michelle (born on August 19, 2004). The couple have since divorced and Hickenbottom is currently married to former WWE Diva and actress, Maryann Gargano. The couple have twins together, both a son and a daughter born in February 2013. In 2010 Hickenbottom legally changed his name to Shawn Michaels.
His cousin Matt Bentley is also a professional wrestler having wrestled in TNA and WWE. Hickenbottom has several tattoos. He has a tattoo of a heart with a sword through it, that has a snake around it in the shape of an "S." Another in his left wrist, is a bracelet design that says "Cameron" for his son and "Cheyenne" for his daughter. On his right leg he has a picture of the state of Texas. Finally, he has a small broken heart with the letters "HBK" above it, tattooed on his right hip.
In 1996, Hickenbottom posed in a non-nude layout for Playgirl magazine. It was not until after he posed that he discovered that Playgirl has a mostly homosexual readership, which was seen as humorous by his fellow wrestlers. He is ambidextrous, which caused him problems as a boy playing football, as he had trouble differentiating between his right and left directions. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. He typically uses his right leg when performing Sweet Chin Music, but has been known to use either arm when performing his signature elbow drop. Hickenbottom is a fan of the San Antonio Spurs. He has been seen wearing Spurs merchandise and attending Spurs games. John "Bradshaw" Layfield made a reference to Hickenbottom being a season ticket holder during the 2007 Royal Rumble.
Michaels is a born again Christian. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian because of his ex-wife Rebecca. His ring attire often incorporated cross symbols, and while on the way to the ring, he would normally get down on his knees and say a prayer while his pyrotechnics went off. He has been seen in the congregation during a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown of San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. He also appeared on a Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) program along with fellow professional wrestler Sting.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Sweet Chin Music (Superkick)
- Signature moves
- Arm trap crossface – 2007–2010
- Backhand chop
- Belly to back suplex
- Dragon screw leg whip
- Diving body splash
- Diving bulldog
- Diving crossbody
- Diving double axe handle
- Diving elbow drop, with theatrics
- Diving fist drop
- Diving hurricanrana
- Dropkick
- Enzuigiri
- Figure-four leglock
- Fisherman suplex
- Flying headscissors
- Flying forearm smash, followed by a kip-up
- Hurricanrana
- Inverted atomic drop
- Knee lift
- Low dropkick
- Lou Thesz press, with multiple punches
- Monkey flip
- Moonsault, sometimes while springboarding to the outside
- Over-the-top rope suicide dive
- Rope-hung cross armbreaker
- Single arm DDT
- Skin the cat
- Slingshot crossbody
- Spike piledriver
- Springboard back elbow
- Scoop slam
- Shoulderbreaker
- Scoop powerslam
- Teardrop Suplex (Leg-hook saito suplex)
- Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker
- Twisting springboard crossbody
- Nicknames
- "The Heartbreak Kid (HBK)"
- "Sexy Boy"
- "The Showstopper"
- "The Most Honored Champion In WWE History"
- "The Headliner"
- "The Main Event"
- "The Icon"
- "Mr. WrestleMania"
- "Mr. Hall of Famer"
- "The Best Of The Best"
- Entrance themes
- "Sexy Boy" by Shawn Michaels, Jim Johnston, Jimmy Hart and J.J. Maguire (2005–present)
- "Break It Down" by The DX Band (2009–2011; used while a member of D-Generation X)
Championships and accomplishments[]
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- WWE Championship (2 times)
- World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
- WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Triple H (2) and Michael Noventa (1)
- WWE Hall of Fame (2012)
- Slammy Award for Finisher of the Year (2010, 2011)
- Slammy Award for Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a Career vs. Career match at Survivor Series
- Slammy Award for Feud of the Year (2011) vs. Matt Hardy
- Slammy Award for Match of the Year (2011) vs. Triple H and Steve Austin in a Triple Threat match at WM XXVII
- Slammy Award for Faction of the Year (2011) The Kliq (HBK, HHH, Mar and others)
- Slammy Award for Bromance of the Year (2011) – with Triple H
- Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year (2011) – with Triple H
- Slammy Award for Couple of the Year (2011) – with Mar
- Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year (2011)
External links[]
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