Profiles_Shawn

Mike Hickenbottom new from an early age that he wanted to be a wrestler. He trained under
the legendary "Super Sock" Jose Lothario, and in his early 20s he was already a top wrestler
in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). Michaels teamed with Marty Jannetty and as
the Midnight Rockers the two were AWA tag team champions.

In 1987 the team made their way to the WWF. Now known as the Rockers they rose to the
top of the WWF ranks, winning matches against much bigger teams and in October they
won the WWF tag team championship by defeating the Hart Foundation but the victory was
never acknowledged on television and the titles were given back to the Harts. As time went
on the Rockers began to have their share of arguments. Finally Jannetty confronted Michaels
on "The Barber Shop" talk segment and asked him if he wanted to go on as a team. Shawn
answered him with a superkick, following it up by throwing Jannetty through the Barber Shop
glass window. Michaels went on to singles action and became one of the greatest heels in WWF
history.

Michaels won his first singles title, the Intercontinental Championship in October '92 from the
British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event but lost it again the following June to Janetty in
an impromptu match on Raw and less than a month later introduced his new bodyguard Diesel
(Kevin Nash), and used him to regain the gold. The following September in 1993 Michaels was
stripped of the belt for failing to defend it within the 30-day limit. He then teamed with Diesel
who had won the Intercontinental Championship to win the tag team championships from the
Headshrinkers in the summer of 1994. The two forfeited the belts after breaking up following
that years Survivor Series.

After a year of feuding with Diesel that included a title match a Wrestlemania XI which Shawn
lost, Michaels was attacked by his new bodyguard Sid and turned face and his success from
this point would escalate. In July '95 he won the Intercontinental Championship from Jeff
Jarrett (he subsequently forfeited it due to injuries suffered outside a nightclub in Syracuse,
NY), and in September of that year he teamed again with Diesel to win the tag titles (they were
stripped of them again due to controversy in the win)

In March 1996 Shawn fulfilled his childhood dream and defeated Bret Hart to win the WWF
World Championship at Wrestlemania XII. He became one of the most mainstream champions
ever, appearing on talk shows on primetime television and on the front cover of Playgirl
amongst other things. Despite his tremendous popularity with the fans Shawn's style didn't go
down well with some of the locker room, most notably Bret Hart and the two developed a real
rivalry. After losing the WWF title to Sid at the 1996 Survivor Series, Shawn headlined the '97
Royal Rumble in front of over 60,000 people in his native San Antonio, Texas and beat Sid for
his second championship. But one month later Michaels again forfeited the title on a special,
"Thursday Raw Thursday" telecast. The WWF stated that a knee injury was the reson behind
him forfeiting the title, however rumours were rampant that an addiction to pain killers and
subsequent rehab was the real reason.

In May of 1997, after months of complaining about his contract and work environment (ie.
Bret Hart), Michaels teamed with Steve Austin and once again won the tag titles, this time
from Owen Hart and The British Bulldog. Yet again he forfeited his half of the title after taking
a leave of absence from the WWF following a backstage altercation with Bret. Michaels stated
that he would never wrestle in the WWF again and requested his contract release so that he
could sign with WCW. The WWF eventually agreed to Shawn's financial demands and he
returned to the WWF. At the 1997 Summerslam he appeared as a guest referee for the WWF
title match between Bret Hart and the Undertaker and allowed Bret to get the victory and the
title after an accidental chair shot to the Undertaker.

On September 20, 1997 as part of a "One Night Only" in the UK, Shawn defeated the British
Bulldog for the European Championship and he also began a feud with the Undertaker coming
off the Summerslam incident. The two met at IYH : Ground Zero in September in a chaotic
match that saw no clear cut winner. They met again at IYH : Badd Blood in the first ever Hell
In A Cell match that saw a bloodied and battered Shawn come out victorious thanks to the
Undertakers brother Kane.

Then in November of 1997 one of the most eagerly anticipated matches in WWF history took
place when Bret Hart defended the WWF title against Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series in
Montreal, Quebec. Questions loomed over the event. Could these two work together? Would
the match go as planned or would it get out of hand? Bret had become irate at Michael's
tactics which included sticking the Canadian flag up his nose. It wasn't publicly known at the
time but Bret Hart was on his way out of the WWF following an agreement between himself
and the WWF boss Vince McMahon. Hart's one demand was that he refused to lose the title
to Shawn Michaels. However, Shawn defeated Hart for his third WWF title in the famous
real-life double cross incident. As Shawn held Bret in Hart's own Sharpshooter move, the
referee (and Vince McMahon at ringside) called for the bell but Bret never gave up. Insiders
believe that Shawn was in on the plan with WWF owner Vince McMahon and announcer Jim
Ross to take the title from Bret before the hitman departed from the WWF. Nontheless Michaels
left the event with the belt.

By this time it had become known that Shawn and Hunter Hearst Helmsley were long time
friends. The two along with HHH's bodyguard Chyna became known as D-Generation X, a
group that respected nobody and obeyed no rules. Although DX were supposed to be a heel
group they had their share of fans and they even had a PPV named after them as Shawn
defended the WWF title against Ken Shamrock at IYH: D-Generation X, a match that ended
via disqualification. Shawn also lost the European title to HHH after commisioner Sgt.
Slaughter forced the two to do battle against each other on Raw in an effort to put a stop to
DX's controversial antics. The two of them had the last laugh though as Shawn laid down and
allowed HHH to pin him, thus giving HHH the European belt and allowing HBK to keep the
WWF title.

At the 1998 Royal Rumble, Michaels defended the WWF title against the Undertaker in a
casket match in which, largely due to interference from Kane, Shawn came out with the title.
However, he would also suffer a serious back injury after being back-dropped over the top
rope by the Undertaker and ramming his lower back into the casket at ringside. The injury kept
Shawn out of the ring for several months and saw him appear only in interviews and run-ins
with DX.

In the spring of 1998 Shawn was obligated to defend the WWF title against Stone Cold Steve
Austin at Wrestlemania XIV. Despite his injured back, Shawn appeared on Raw and attacked
Austin on a couple of occasions. Michaels also shocked the world by announcing that Mike
Tyson was joining DX and would be the special enforcing referee for the title match.

At Wrestlemania, Michaels put up a valiant effort against Austin and despite visible discomfort
with his injury he almost came out of the event successfully only to fall victim to the Stone
Cold Stunner and be defeated by Austin. Michaels then announced his retirement from active
competiton due to his back injury and took a long break from the WWF and severed ties with
DX in the process. Shawn has appeared on WWF television on occasion as a commentator
and also took the role of WWF commisioner.

Along with his commisioner duties Shawn also started his own wrestling promotion and training
school based in his native San Antonio, Texas called the Texas Wrestling Alliance (TWA). Shawn
has spent the majority of his time away from the WWF working with this promotion and spending
time with his wife Rebecca and his son Cameron.