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SHAWN MICHAELS
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom
was born on 7/22/65 at Williams Air Force Base
in Chandler, Arizona. As a member of a military
family, he moved many times as a youngster
before finally settling in San Antonio, Texas.
He was trained by Jose Lothario and made his pro
debut in 1984. He is married to former Nitro
Girl Whisper and has two children, Cameron and
Cheyenne.
The Midnight Rockers:
In 1986, Shawn started to team with Marty
Jannetty in the Cental States area. They quickly
moved to the AWA where they immediately feuded
with Buddy Rose and Doug Sommers. On 1/27/87
they won the tag team titles. In 1987, they were
very briefly in the WWF but were fired. They
returned to the AWA and regained the tag team
titles. While there, he met Scott Hall.
The Rockers:
In 1988, they returned to the WWF and were
renamed The Rockers. Most of their matches
featured them in the role of David against their
Goliath sized opponents. Despite being one of
the top WWF tag teams for several years they
never won the tag team titles. It appeared they
once beat The Hart Foundation for the titles but
the match was never shown due to the top rope
breaking.
The Heart Break Kid:
In late 1991, The Rockers broke up when
Shawn threw Marty through a plate glass window.
Several months later, Shawn became I-C Champ. He
would lose the title to Marty Janetty but regain
it with the help of his new bodyguard Diesel
(Kevin Nash). He was stripped of the I-C title
in late 1993 for failing a steroids test. During
this part of his career, the Kliq was formed.
The Kliq:
In the mid-90’s, the WWF was controlled back
stage by a group known as the Kliq. The group
was made up of Shawn, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall,
Sean Waltman, and Triple H. They were blamed for
derailing several careers and appeared to have
their best matches against each other. Members
of the Kliq deny having this power. Several
wrestlers held such a grudge that when Hall went
entered ECW in 2000, he was thrown out of the
locker room.
The Boyhood Dream and
Lost Smiles:
Shawn became WWF Champ by beating Bret Hart
at WrestleMania 12. It has been debated that
when it came time to return the favor to Bret
the next year, he quit rather than do it. He
claims that a doctor told him he needed to
retire due to a knee injury. In a televised
speech, he said he lost his smile and vacated
the title. He returned a few months later and
formed DX with Triple H and Chyna.
Montreal and a Bad
Back:
Behind the scenes, the tension between Shawn
& Bret was at a breaking point. In the most
talked about match ever, Shawn beat Bret in what
is known as The Montreal Screwjob at Survivor
Series 97. After winning the power struggle,
Shawn injured his back at The Royal Rumble 98
when he landed on the Undertaker’s coffin the
wrong way. His next and final match occurred at
WrestleMania when he lost the title Steve
Austin.
The Return:
In his time away from the ring, he was
briefly an on air commissioner and trained
several wrestlers, including Matt Bentley and
Spanky. He also became a born again Christian.
Shawn returned to the ring at SummerSlam 2002
and feuded with Triple H. This feud has gone on
for several years and has resulted in some of
the best matches of his career. In addition to
feuding with Triple H, he has also feuded with
Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan.
WWF/E Title History:
WWF Title
3/31/96 WrestleMania 12 – Bret Hart
1/19/97 Royal Rumble – Sid
11/9/97 Survivor Series – Bret Hart
World Heavyweight Championship
11/17/02 Survivor Series – Won Elimination
Chamber Match against Champion Triple H, Booker
T, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho & Kane
Sources Include: PWI
Almanac and Shawn Michaels Autobiography
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