[148] Jericho then confronted Michaels, in which he admitted to faking a knee injury in order to defeat Batista. [184], In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The Midnight Rockers won the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose. Theresa Lyn Wood rose to fame being the former wife of an American retired professional WWE wrestler, actor, professional wrestling personality, television presenter Shawn Michaels. The statement affected Michaels deeply; he did not want to be absent when his son left home, so he decided that year would be his last year as an active wrestler. In his first WWE match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels defeated Triple H at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with a sledgehammer after the match. [116] At Backlash on April 30, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and "God" with help from the Spirit Squad in a no disqualification tag team match. The winner between Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton would advance to the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship at the inaugural Elimination Chamber event. After several acclaimed matches at WrestleMania, Michaels has been known as Mr. [2] At In Your House: Badd Blood on October 5, Michaels defeated Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match, during which Michaels fell off the side of the 5-metre (15ft) high structure through a table. The following is a timeline of the WWE career of Shawn Michaels. [97], The next night on Raw, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. Other vital statistics like weight or shoe size measurements have been sourced from newspapers, books, resumes or social media. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. Michaels reunited DX with Triple H in 2009, and Michaels was involved in a lot of tag team competition. [174] At WrestleMania XXVI on March 28, Michaels lost to The Undertaker and, as a result, he was forced to retire due to the match stipulation, the same way Michaels ended Ric Flair's career. Shawn Michaels got his wish after he cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship at Elimination Chamber 2010. He was the co-founder and original leader of the successful stable, D-Generation X. Michaels also wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he founded The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty in 1985. [4], In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). [134], On the January 29 episode of Raw, Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. Former buddies in DX, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H were at loggerheads in a rivalry that spanned from 2002-04. [150] At One Night Stand on June 1, Michaels lost to Batista in a stretcher match. He was in the audience for a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown of San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. [1] His later ring attire often incorporated cross symbols and he made a praying gesture on his knees during ring entrances. The match barely got going with Triple H pushing the referee who fell over Michaels. [70] Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on Raw, in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. American retired professional wrestler (born 1965), American Wrestling Association (19861987), World Wrestling Federation and return to AWA (19871988), Various feuds and championship pursuits (20072009), Final matches and second retirement (20092010), WWE Hall of Famer and sporadic appearances (2010present), World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, "Shawn Michaels' WWE Hall of Fame Profile", "Shawn Michaels promoted to WWE senior vice president of talent development creative", "The 25 greatest nicknames in WWE history", "The 50 greatest matches in Raw history re-ranked", "Professional wrestler visits former base school, home", https://m.facebook.com/Davenportsportsnetwork/videos/on-october-20-1984-shawn-michaels-made-his-television-debut-in-a-match-with-mid-/3155843098075906/, Survivor Series 89 Chicago, IL Rosemont Horizon November 23, 1989, UK Rampage 92 Sheffield, England Arena April 19, 1992, WWF @ Portland, ME Civic Center July 21, 1992, "Stone Cold & Shawn Michaels first World Tag Team title reign", "Armageddon: WWF saves the worst for last", "Full WWE Backlash (Raw) PPV Results 4/18/04 from Edmonton, Alberta, CA", "Unforgiven marred by unfortunate ending", "RAW Results - 10/3/05 - Dallas, TX - (Homecoming to USA Network)", "Team SmackDown def. [178] Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he would serve in an ambassadorial role. [138], Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. After weeks of having fun with Penguins fans on Twitter, the team officially invited Michaels for their Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (whose fanbase contains a sizable number of pro wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil, due to Tampa long being a home base for many wrestlers), upon which Michaels accepted. [146] Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. However, the World's Largest Athlete cost his team as he helped out Jericho, who was his tag team championship partner, and Team SmackDown was triumphant. He had trouble differentiating between right and left, which affected his football games as a child. Within the year, Michaels twice challenged for the WWF Championship and won his first Intercontinental Championship, heralding his arrival as one of the industry's premier singles stars. Shawn Michaels is an American former professional wrestler and one of the world's best known WWE wrestlers. Sweet Chin Music. [159], In December 2008, having lost his family's savings due to the global recession, Michaels grudgingly accepted a one-year general employment contract from John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL). . [78], Believing that his wrestling career was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. Ultimately, Cena battled past Michaels and Triple H to remain as WWE Champion. Dave Meltzer gave him two 5 stars matches (the Ladder match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X and the first Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker at Bad Blood 1997). 1999 [3] Matthew James Bentley [2] (born December 10, 1979) [1] is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) by the ring name Michael Shane, later changed to "Maverick" Matt Bentley. Michaels met with Penguins' owner Mario Lemieux and sat with former Pittsburgh Steelers's defensive lineman Brett Keisel during the game. [60][61] The fans at the event were so upset at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. . Nevertheless, Michaels picked up right where he left off when he returned and he didn't lose a step in the squared circle. [60][62] With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion. [227] The Penguins lost the game in overtime 43 but went on to defeat the Lightning in the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually defeating the San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup. He returned on November 24 at Survivor Series, substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith and Owen. Even up until his last match in 2010 (with it being best to ignore his brief comeback in 2018), Michaels was a regular performer both on Raw and even on live events. In the mid to late nineties, the anarchic behaviour of Shawn Michaels behind the scenes was the stuff of legend. [58] In his autobiography, Michaels discusses his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Hart did interviews on live television claiming that he [Michaels] was faking his whole injury.[59]. [11] He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and performed a wrestling routine at his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood. [4][20] They then returned to AWA, where they won the AWA tag team titles for a second time,[10] but were re-signed by WWF a year later. [91], As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event on March 14, 2004, at WrestleMania XX for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Benoit won. "[176], In an interview with Bill Simmons of ESPN.com shortly after his retirement, Michaels stated that his decision to retire came a month before WrestleMania 25, when a backstage employee asked about his son Cameron, and, in response to Shawn telling the employee that he'd just turned nine, the employee said that he was "halfway gone"; meaning that he was halfway to his eighteenth birthday, and after that, he'd be "gone". There was a mix-up between DX, and Miz rolled up Michaels to clinch the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. [4] Around this time, Michaels became the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq. [57] After consulting with Dr. James Andrews, who concluded that he did not need surgery, Michaels underwent four weeks of physical therapy and returned to in-ring action a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. Shawn Michaels. This was Michaels' final match on Raw before his retirement. Home; . "Scott was 6'7", 275 pounds, and I'm being conservativehe'd be mad at me if I got his weight wrongyet I'd knock him down with a tackle," Michaels says. [199] The match was poorly received by fans and critics alike, winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Worst Match of the Year" award, although PWTorch's Wade Keller considered that "Michaels shows glimpses and didn't embarrass himself". Shawn Michaels is one of the greatest superstars in the history of WWE's Monday Night Raw, with him being associated with the brand ever since the show began, all the way up to his retirement. Lock on Michaels to end the segment. [203], In late 2016, Michaels became a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. This match was a complete waste of time. Micheal has spent decades with WWE and won several accolades with the company. [156][157] He was medically cleared to compete at Unforgiven, and beat Jericho so severely that the referee called the match, making Michaels the winner. [98] The following week on Raw, Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Rsistance (Robrt Conway and Sylvain Grenier). [40] The next day at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. [122], In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as DX. Hometown. In the fall, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H), Helmsley's then real-life girlfriend Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). On November 23, 1999, Michaels made a special appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling at the 10th Anniversary Show at the Yokohama Arena, serving as the guest referee for the H vs fake Hayabusa (Mr. Gannosuke) main event. [147] On April 27 at Backlash, with Chris Jericho as the guest referee, Michaels defeated Batista. . Raw fielded Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and Kofi Kingston. [180], Michaels appeared on the January 10, 2011 episode of Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. [21] Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply The Rockers. "As I look back on it now, that was the greatest thing that ever happened to me," says Shawn Michaels . [205] In November 2018, Michaels announced he was officially working as a writer and producer on WWE's NXT brand and show, under former D-Generation X cohort Paul Levesque. Shawn Michaels Recounts His Legendary WWE Career The wrestling legend takes us behind the scenes of his career and shares how he found his faith. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on Superstars. by Matt Tuthill After wowing WWE fans for more than two decades, Shawn Michaels decided to keep the train rolling with his new autobiography Wrestling for My Life. [24], At the suggestion of Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid". [1][33], In September 1993, Michaels was suspended for testing positive for steroid a charge he never admitted. At WWF One Night Only, held in Birmingham, England on September 20, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture the WWF European Championship. Michaels made his televised debut on October 20, 1984 teaming with Jim Hornet in a losing effort against the tag team of Hercules Harnendez and "Dr.Death" Steve Williams. In 2013, he appeared at the opening of the first Field & Stream store in suburban Cranberry Township.[228]. [89] Michaels defeated Jericho on March 30 at WrestleMania XIX but was low-blowed after hugging Jericho. Nationality: USA. [6]. Michaels's performance in his debut match impressed many veterans, including Terry Taylor. [181] On the March 28 episode of Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. He was subsequently fired by Bischoff but rehired by Steve Austin. is shawn michaels real life 6'1'' or kayfabe 6'1''? There was a caveat as Michaels' career was on the line as Undertaker's unbeaten streak. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. HBKs thrilling run was nearly brought to an early end when a back injury put him out for more than four years. [4][25] Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early to mid-1990s as "The Boy Toy". [63] The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. [120] On the May 22 episode of Raw, the Spirit Squad was scripted to injure Michaels's knee. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative and oversees the creative aspects of the NXT brand. 11 The Rockers Vs. Weight. [224], Michaels is the host of the outdoor television show, Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures. Team RAW (Classic Survivor Series Match)", "Mysterio claims Rumble; Cena reigns again", "Raw Results 6/12/06 Penn State University (DX returns & more)", "Raw Results 1/8/07 St. Louis, MO (Fallout from, "John Cena & Shawn Michaels first World Tag Team title reign", "No filler makes for a consistent Backlash", "Backlash PPV Results 4/27 Baltimore, MD ('New WWE Champion')", "Judgment Day spoils streak of good shows", "Truth revealed: Michaels' double injury", "SummerSlam comes close to 'blockbuster' status", "Triceps injury won't stop HBK from going to Unforgiven", "Scramble matches make for wild Unforgiven", "Raw Results 9/15/08 Memphis, TN (Jericho vs. [155] The next week, they had a contract signing for the match and were involved in a brawl, causing a legit small triceps tear for Michaels. The match was fantastic with three of the all-time greats functioning at the top of their games. The Street Profits, Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn in champion vs. champion matches, Team Raw vs. He wrote a lengthy caption on his post and stated that the former WWE Champion must have walked off immediately after taking . His billed weight was 225 lb (102 kg). WrestleMania?' 24 hours later, Jeri-Show was looking to regain the titles against DX on Raw. Bischoff refused to schedule such a match and instead told Michaels to find a partner. WrestleMania. He was raised in a military family and briefly spent some of his early years in the English town of Reading, Berkshire,[9] but grew up primarily in San Antonio, Texas. RELATED: 5 Shawn Michaels Matches Dave Meltzer Overrated (& 5 He Underrated). Shawn Michaels has spoken up about his baldness in the past The Heartbreak Kid made his WWE return in 2018 for a one-off tag team match in Saudi Arabia that pitted DX with The Brothers of. [4] They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels's autobiography). Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. The self-proclaimed Sexy Boy could be an unrepentant primadonna, but he was so fluid and brilliant in the ring that it hardly mattered. [212] In 2016, Dave Richard of CBS Sports ranked his match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV as the best main event in WrestleMania history. 33 and No. WrestleMania".[7]. RELATED: 10 Matches You Forgot Shawn Michaels Competed In. [139] Orton assaulted Michaels again prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels's interview segment. From his days wrestling for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in Dallas, Texas, during the early '80s through his retirement from the WWE in 2010, the Heartbreak Kid has become a legend in his own time. [17], In January 1985, he debuted for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), the NWA territory in Dallas, Texas. Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again", which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. Place of Birth: Chandler, Arizona, United States. HHH at 50 would probably look younger too if he let his hair grow out. Perfect (Curt Hennig) in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the, Ranked No. [11] Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. However, something was missing from Shawn Michaels and Triple H's resume and that was a Tag Team Championship victory together. [97] Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Angle accepted when he appeared on Raw to attack Michaels. At the Royal Rumble on January 19, Jericho, with the help of Christian, eliminated Michaels. [214], Michaels is cited as an inspiration for many wrestlers such as Chris Jericho,[215] Kevin Owens,[211] Seth Rollins,[216] Adam Cole and more. Shawn Michaels and Triple H finally won the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship together when they beat Jeri-Show for the gold in a TLC match at TLC 2009. "[123] On June 25 at Vengeance, DX defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5on2 handicap match. [114] On January 29, 2006, at the Royal Rumble, McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprise appearance to eliminate Michaels. [193] He appeared on the January 9, 2017 episode of Raw to promote his new film. Sign up for Peacock to watch. Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. Listed is every PPV match (excluding battle royals where he was not involved in the ending) and title change that he has been involved in. Also, his match at WrestleMania 24 against Ric Flair was named Match of the Decade by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. [75], Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television after August until May 15, 2000, when he returned on Raw Is War to declare himself the special guest referee for The Rock and Triple H's Iron Man match at Judgment Day. Tevon is a big fan of professional wrestling, who has followed wrestling since the Attitude Era. [20], The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. [123] During Triple H's gauntlet match, which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. [151] On the June 9 episode of Raw, Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, being thrown directly through a television screen. [112] He was part of Team Raw at Survivor Series on November 27, but lost the match to Team SmackDown!. As a wrestler, he typically kicked with his right leg when performing his finishing move, but used either arm for his signature elbow drop. Angered by this, Michaels attacked Ric Flair and Bischoff. [48] In October 1995, Michaels was the victim of a legit assault outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. [19] While in TASW, Michaels and Diamond feuded with Japanese Force. He returned for a final match in 2018. Six former World Champions were featured with DX going head-to-head with the reigning WWE Champion John Cena and the World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker, and the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Jeri-Show in a triple threat tag team match. Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. Nonetheless, HBK lost several matches on his way out, with some defeats more significant than others. WWE star Solo Sikoa recently broke his silence after Shawn Michaels stripped him of the NXT North American Championship on the latest episode of the show. [223] He was raised a Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian because of his wife. He strongly believes Shawn just wanted to leave WWE and join WCW but Vince McMahon wasn't going to let that happen. [86], Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho, after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. Reply . Michaels eventually returned that summer in July. Michaels and Austin were still WWF Tag Team Champions at the time during an ongoing feud with the Hart Foundation and a tournament was made to decide new tag team champions. One of the biggest main events in the history of Survivor Series featured John Cena defending the WWE Championship in a triple threat match against Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Survivor Series has been kind to Michaels as he won his final two World Championships at the event. [1], Hickenbottom became a born-again Christian on April 24, 2002. The Brothers of Destruction", "WWE CROWN JEWEL RESULTS 11/2: Keller's report on Styles vs. Joe, Strowman vs. Lesnar, World Cup tournament, Michaels & Triple H vs. Kane & Undertaker", "D-Generation X to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame", "WWE Survivor Series results: Powell's review of Undertaker's Final Farewell, Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns, Asuka vs. Sasha Banks, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. [22] The match was taped with The Rockers winning the title, but soon after Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. DX prevailed in their previous meeting at SummerSlam, but Legacy flipped the script in Montreal. Once people retire, they can kinda let themselves go, too. [136] The next night on Raw, Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the World Tag Team Championship in the second to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. During their 201516 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League named a line, consisting of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, the "HBK Line" due to the fact that the trio's first initials, of their last names, recall Michaels's "Heartbreak Kid" moniker. The chemistry between both teams was remarkable, and both teams had a lot of offense in this bout which lasted a little over 20 minutes. [153], At SummerSlam on August 17, Michaels announced his retirement from professional wrestling. [36] On WWF programs, his suspension was explained by his having neglected to defend the title often enough. Punk & 'No Mercy')", "Armageddon: Hardy finally breaks through", "WrestleMania 25: The Most Disappointing WrestleMania of All Time", "WrestleMania Classics: What Made Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker so Great", "Caldwell's WWE TLC PPV Report 12/13: Complete PPV report on Cena vs. Sheamus, DX vs. JeriShow, Taker vs. Batista", "Back in the Ring: Hart seeks closure in comeback", "Undertaker ends Shawn Michaels' career in thrilling rematch to cap off Wrestlemania XXVI", "Raw: HBK says farewell to the WWE Universe", "WWE News: Shawn Michaels explains why he retired and why he will not return for another match, comments on his relationship with Vince McMahon", "Shawn Michaels announces "long-term" deal with WWE", "Spoilers: WWE 2010 Tribute to the Troops results", "Raw results: Big Show KOs his foes; Shawn Michaels backs Triple H at SummerSlam", "Raw results: Brock Lesnar unleashes a world of pain on Shawn Michaels", "Raw results: The Rock vows victory, HBK returns, and CM Punk strikes the heart of The Undertaker", "Triple H def. His wife Rebecca observed, "There was something in him that he despised, and he was self-destructing." When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. [106] On the July 4 episode of Raw, after defeating Carlito and Kurt Angle, Michaels hit Hogan with his Sweet Chin Music, knocking Hogan to the ground and turning heel for the first time since 1998. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. [124] They also defeated the Spirit Squad on July 15 at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons on August 20 at SummerSlam. [27], At WrestleMania VIII on April 5, 1992, Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first pay-per-view singles match after both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble. [85] On December 15 at Armageddon, he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match, a series of three matches in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches.