I found a great deal of this bio at another website, Unofficial Shawn Michaels page I have done some slight alterations here and there and am adding to it as Shawn makes more memories for us all.
Real Name: Michael Shawn James Hickenbottom
Birthday: July 22, 1965
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 225 to 235
Titles Held: WWF Intercontinental Championship belt 3 times.
WWF Tag team Championship belt 4 times...
Once with Marty Jannetty, although they were stripped of it almost immediately afterwards.
Twice with Big Daddy Cool Diesel (Kevin Nash)
Once with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
WWF Championship belt 3 times
WWF European Champion
Having held all 4 of these titles makes Shawn the first and only Grand Slam Champion. Others may eventually hold all four titles but the HBK will always be the first one to have earned that title.
Shawn enjoyed football and played from the time he was 6 until he was 17. He was a student Randolph High School from the 7th to the 12th grade. He was the new kid at Randolph and he says football is what helped him to fit in. Shawn was the captain of the football team and played outside linebacker.
After High School Shawn attended Southwest Texas State University for one semester. Shawn did more partying than studying and one night at a party Shawn grabbed his electric razor, intentionally cutting his forehead, and once he started bleeding, he started running around that nite yelling he was a wrestler. And that was pretty much the end of college for Shawn but the beginning of his wrestling career.
Shawn's first wrestling match was in Lake Charles, Louisiana which he lost to a wrestler named Art Crews. But in Kansas City Shawn met Marty Jannetty. Shawn would hang out with Marty and Shawn says that is how he became a troublemaker. Shawn and Marty lived in the same area and traveled together. Shawn and Marty were in the AWA as the Midnight Rockers. They finally got a call from the WWF, but they had a little to much fun the night before at a night club and they were fired the next day. So they then went to Continental Wrestling Alliance where they lived in Birmingham, Alabama. They lived in a underground, dark, dreary apartment. It would be a year before the WWF would give Shawn and Marty a second chance.
Shawn Michaels and Marty Janetty debuted in the summer of 1988 as the Rockers. Their first feud was with Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. The Rockers first pay per view appearance was at the Survivor Series. At the Survivor Series the Rockers teamed with the Powers of Pain, the British Bulldogs, The Hart Foundation and the Young Stallions. They faced off against Demolition, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, the Bolsheviks, The Rougeau Brothers and the Conquistadors. The Powers of Pain were the winners of this match. When the Rockers debuted at WrestleMania 5 they lost to the Twin Towers. Shawn later said on AOL the only thing he remembered about this match up was getting smashed the night before. And he also said every WM he gets that same feeling except now he doesn't get smashed the night before. The Rockers ran into some major trouble at SummerSlam of 1990. The Rockers were about to face Power & Glory but Hercules attacked Shawn with his chain injuring Shawn's knee. This injury put Shawn out of action for several weeks. Marty then went out by himself to try to beat Power and Glory but he was defeated when Power and Glory powerplexed him. Shawn returned to action but the Rockers just couldn't beat Power and Glory. At the Royal Rumble in 1991 the Rockers defeated the Orient Express. At WrestleMania 7 the Rockers defeated the Barbarian and Haku. At the 1991 Survivor Series, Marty Jannetty caused Shawn Michaels to be eliminated. This was one of the first signs that there was trouble brewing among the two. They would argue over who would get to pin their opponents. Shawn was wrestling Ric Flair and Shawn was tossed out of the ring and Jannetty threw Shawn back in the ring so he wouldn't get counted out but Shawn got pinned anyway. This is what many say was the last straw. Shawn and Marty appeared on the Barber Shop and for a short while, it almost looked as if Shawn and Marty were going to settle there differences but Shawn superkicked Marty and threw him through the Barber Shop window. That has now become a well known part of WWF history and it was the official break-up of the Rockers. Shawn went on to singles career.
Shawn was involved in the 1991 Royal Rumble. Shawn did not win the Rumble but he did do better then he had in the past. Then Shawn decided the time had arrived to get a manager, "Sensational" Sherri who had been with Ted DiBiase before Shawn lured her away. Sherri recorded Shawn's entrance music "SexyBoy". Shawn had his first singles pay per view match up at WrestleMania 8 . Shawn faced Tito Santana (El Matador) and won the match up. Shawn then received some intercontinental title shots against Bret Hart. Shawn wasn't successful at winning the IC belt but he did get some count out victories over Hart. Shawn went on to have a feud with Rick Martel. This feud began because Shawn interfered in the matchup between Martel and Hart, because Shawn wanted the belt for himself and wanted to prevent Martel from getting it. Rick Martel came down to ring side during Shawn's match up and made a pass at Sherri. Sherri seemed very interested in Rick and her loyalty was being tested because she wasn't sure who to side with. At Wembley Stadium Summer Slam 1992 the two rivals would meet. Sherri had made both men promise not to hit each other in the face but the two men couldn't resist. During this match up it appeared that Sherri had fainted. Both men jumped out of the ring and began to fight over Sherri while they fought they also dropped her several times. The result of the match was a double count out. Sherri stayed with Shawn. During a match up Shawn had on TV, Marty came out of nowhere and confronted Shawn. Marty took the mirror that Sherri brought to the ring for Shawn and attempted to hit Shawn over the head with the mirror but instead of hitting Shawn, Marty hit Sherri over the head. This put Sherri out of the ring for a while.
While Sherri was gone Shawn went on to become the WWF Intercontinental Champion by beating Davey Boy Smith. At the 1992 Survivor Series Shawn faced Bret Hart for the WWF Championship belt. Bret's title was up for grabs not Shawn's IC belt. Shawn fought hard during the match up but he came up short after Bret put him in the sharpshooter. After the match up with Hart, Shawn concentrated on defending his Intercontinental belt.
Shawn faced Marty Jannetty at the 1993 Royal Rumble where Sherri returned. Sherri never said who's corner she would be in but she showed her true colors when she slapped Shawn across the face. Later the ref got knocked out and Marty held Shawn so Sherri could hit Shawn over the head with her high heeled shoe. Sherri missed Shawn and hit Marty on the head knocking Marty out. Shawn pinned Marty and therefore took the victory.
Sherri would be in the corner of Tatanka when Shawn faced him at WrestleMania 9. Tatanka had beaten Shawn before in a non-title match up. He also beat Shawn in a 6 man tag where Shawn suffered from a separated shoulder. Shawn also had someone in his corner it was Luna Vachon. The match ended in a count-out for Tatanka even though Shawn pulled the ref out of the ring. Luna attacked Sherri causing her to forget about Shawn and go after her.
Shawn Michaels also began a feud with Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania 9 by beating him after his match with the Narcissist Lex Luger. Jannetty re-appeared and tricked Shawn into giving him another title shot. The title shot took place on May 17 on Monday Night Raw. Mr. Perfect showed up and Shawn got distracted then Perfect threw a towel and Shawn's face knocking him off the rope. This allowed Jannetty to get the pin over Shawn. Three weeks later Shawn would regain the title with the help of his new body guard Diesel. (Kevin Nash) SummerSlam 1993 it would be Shawn VS. Mr. Perfect. Shawn won the match via a count out because Diesel tossed Perfect into the steps outside the ring. Shawn loses the belt and a feud between Shawn and Razor begins.
Then Shawn's world came crashing down when he was stripped of his Intercontinental Belt in late September after being unable to meet unconfirmed contractual obligations. Before any of this happened Shawn was preparing to have several matches with the 1-2-3 Kid. Besides being stripped of the title he was also suspended indefinitely. While Shawn was gone Razor Ramon became the WWF Intercontinental Champion because he beat Rick Martel. Just before the 1993 Survivor Series Shawn was reinstated. Shawn took the place of Jerry Lawler at the Survivor Series. Shawn and his Royal Knights faced the Hart brothers Owen, Bret, Keith, and Bruce. The Knights were all eliminated leaving Shawn to fight all the Hart brothers. Shawn pinned Owen Hart only then Shawn left the ring which allowed the Harts to win via count out. Shawn took a break from his feud with Ramon so he could participate in the 1994 Royal Rumble. Shawn didn't win the 1994 Royal Rumble but he lasted much longer then he had done in past years he finished 3rd behind Lex and Bret. That same night Shawn interfered in Razor's match up against I.R.S. he nearly cost Ramon the title. At WrestleMania 10 Shawn faced Razor in a ladder match. Shawn got his leg tied up in the ropes which allowed Razor to climb to victory. Shawn then started up the Heartbreak Hotel an interview segment. Shawn also helped his body guard Diesel gain the Intercontinental belt from Razor Ramon. The night before SummerSlam 1994 Shawn and Diesel gained the Tag team belts from the Headshrinkers. Shawn's feud with Diesel wins Shawn the 1995 Royal Rumble That night Shawn superkicked Diesel by mistake and cost Big Daddy Cool the Intercontinental belt. Then at the 1994 Survivor Series Diesel was on the receiving end of yet another superkick. This angered Diesel and Diesel went after Shawn. Shawn gave up the belt and that was the split up of Shawn and Diesel. Diesel became the WWF champion after he bet Bob Backland in 8 seconds.
Shawn then entered the 1995 Royal Rumble to get the chance to face Diesel at WrestleMania 11. Shawn drew number one and he out lasted every single superstar in the Royal Rumble. Shawn was the first man in WWF history to win the Royal Rumble with the number one pick. It would be Shawn vs. Diesel at WrestleMania 11. A few days before WrestleMania Shawn introduced his new bodyguard "the big, the bad, the vicious, Sid". Sid was the reason Shawn didn't become champion that night. It was his bodyguard that made the ref turn his ankle and fall outside the ring. In the ring Shawn had delivered some sweet chin music which Diesel knew very well. The ref finally got back in the ring but Diesel recovered and then jackknifed Shawn. Diesel knew that if Sid wasn't at ring side he would have lost his title so he said he would give Shawn a rematch.
Before that rematch could take place Sid snapped and powerbombed Shawn 3 times. He would have continued if Diesel hadn't came out to save Shawn. It turned out that Sid was working for The Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase all along. Shawn was out of action for a long time but he made his return to Monday Night Raw to something he hadn't heard in a long time fan support. Shawn faced King Kong Bundy and qualified for the King of the Ring. Diesel and Bam Bam came out to say congrats to Shawn because of his victory and this is when Shawn and Diesel became the best of friends once again.
Shawn would face Kama in the opening round. Shawn fought all the way but time ran out and the match was a draw which eliminated both men. The following night on Raw Shawn goaded Jeff Jarrett into a title match which would take place at In Your House. Shawn won the title by superkicking Jeff Jarrett after the roadie grabbed Jeff's ankle by mistake. Shawn was the new WWF Intercontinental Champion. That same night Shawn was one of Diesel's lumberjacks and jumped on Sid from the top rope.
Shawn was scheduled to face Sid at SummerSlam but Gorilla Monsoon changed the match to Shawn vs. Razor in a ladder match. The winner of that match would face Sid on September 11 on Monday Night Raw. Shawn went into the match with confidence. Shawn would climb the ladder and would remain the Intercontinental Champion. The match ended on a good note the two friends hugged. It would be Shawn facing Sid September 11 on Raw.
Shawn went into the match to end his "deep dark past" and that is what Shawn did. He gave Sid sweet chin music not once not twice but three times. Then Shawn started to dance and strip in the ring. After Shawn got his revenge it would be the Two Dudes With Attitudes Shawn and Diesel facing the tag team champions Owen hart and Yokozuna at In Your House.
When it was time for In Your House Owen was no where to be seen so Davey Smith filled Owens shoes. Then near the end of the match Owen comes out of no where jumps off the top rope but Big Daddy Cool catches him and jackknifes him. The ref counted to three and it appeared Shawn and Diesel won but later Gorilla changed the ruling and gave the belts back to Owen and Yokozuna because for that night Davey was the champion not Owen.
But once again bad luck was Shawn's middle name.The old saying goes if not for bad luck I'd have no luck at all. This is true for HBK. While Shawn was at a club in Syracuse, New York he was attacked and beaten severely by 9 thugs. Shawn received a concussion. Shawn was forced to publically forfeit his Intercontinental belt to Dean Douglas. Shawn was out of action for a while but then made his return to the Survivor Series in the wildcard match. During this match Shawn took many shots to his head but nothing seemed to be able to stop Shawn from winning. Nothing did keep Shawn from winning that match. But the next night on Raw it was Shawn vs. Owen Hart. It seemed as if Shawn was going to win this match as well but Shawn collapsed in the middle of the ring. He was carried out on a stretcher to medical attention. Later his doctor said he had post concussion syndrome. Shawn was out of action for a while, later being forced to relinquish the IC title to Dean Douglas. The look on Shawn's face was heartbreaking.
Shawn held a press conference to tell the world that he was back. He came back with vengeance. Shawn was living out the dream of the 12 year old boy that still lived inside his heart. But there was one man who ran his mouth saying he put Shawn out of action for such a long time. That man was Owen Hart and Shawn couldn't take it. He put up the one thing that was so important to him his title shot at WrestleMania 12. This match took place at In Your House.
Shawn was dancing on the roof literally then he took a rope and swung down and entered the ring. Then he took off his outer gear and began to wrestle. Owen delivered a swift hard kick to the back of Shawn's head. But this didn't have the same effect as it did on Raw the last time they met. As Owen went to kick Shawn in the head again Shawn caught Owens leg the got the chance to deliver some sweet chin music and he pinned Owen 1-2-3. He was going to face Bret Hart at WrestleMania 12 in a 60 minute Ironman match up.
Shawn won 5 Slammy Awards on the USA network. The First award Shawn won was for Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance. The Second Award was for Best Threads. The Third Award was for Master of Mat Mechanics. The Forth Award was for USWEST Match Of The Year. The Fifth Award was for Leader Of The New Generation. Shawn won more Slammies then anyone else that night and every award he got he earned.
Shawn VS Bret Hart in a 60 min. Ironman match up. Shawn showed everyone why he won best slammin' jammin' entrance. He came sliding down from the ceiling and landing in a pool of Kliq members. Shawn really showed Bret Hart that he was capable of being more then a "tennis ball". Shawn went hold for hold against Bret Hart. In the closing minutes of the 60 min. Ironman match Bret got Shawn in the sharpshooter. The clock ticked down and the ref signalled for the bell Bret Hart started to leave the arena with the WWF Championship belt when the ring announcer said the match must continue. Bret was not happy. So the match continued until Shawn super kicked Bret not just once but twice. The first one didn't do it but the second superkick allowed Shawn to get the 1-2-3. When the ref handed Shawn the belt he was on his knees and started to shed tears of joy. The boyhood dream had become reality. Shawn finally fulfilled his life long goal and became the WWF Champion. Bret didn't even have the guts to shake Shawn's hand he just left the ring and pouted back to the dressing room while Shawn and Jose celebrated their victory.
Shawn was going into this no holds barred match the underdog. Shawn was smaller and many believed that he couldn't fight like Diesel. Shawn proved to Diesel and everyone else that he can fight better then Big Daddy Cool. Shawn didn't have a high flying entrance this time. He had a look of anger on his face. Shawn took off his jacket and belt then ran into the ring and kept punching Diesel. Diesel did get the upper hand eventually. Diesel took the refs belt after choking the ref with the tape from around his wrist then he whipped Shawn a few times then he put the belt around Shawn's neck and tied him to the rope. Then Diesel got a chair and hit Shawn with it. Diesel said before the match he had something for Vince we found out what it was. Diesel jackknifed Shawn on the broadcasting table and Vince was telling Shawn to stay down and let it be over. But not Shawn. He didn't want to disappoint the "kliq" Shawn got up and got a fire extinguisher and used it on Big Daddy Cool. And then Shawn delivered some sweet chin music. Diesel was down for the count 1-2-3 Shawn proved he can hold his own.
At In Your House Shawn found himself in yet another feud. This time it would be with the British Bulldog. The following night on RAW Jim, the Bulldog and his wife Diana would have a face to face interview with Shawn. Shawn started off talking about the match against Diesel. Then Jim jumped in and started calling Shawn a pervert and a lot of other names. Jim accused Shawn off trying to get Diana to sleep with him. Then Diana talked and said, "Shawn I know you want me." Shawn replied with, "Mrs. Smith with all due respect please do not flatter yourself." Diana then slapped Shawn across the face. Shawn then said, "I guess we know who wears the pants in the Smith family." The Bulldog then attacked Shawn but Shawn held his own just fine.
The lights came back just in time for us to see the WWF championship be defended by Shawn against the Bulldog. Beware of Dog was the theme but before Shawn made his way to the ring he said that The Bulldog should "Beware of the Kliq". Then as Shawn went the ring, Mr. Perfect was there and they bumped in to each other. Jim said that he had some surprises for the Heartbreak Kid one of which was Owen Hart being Davey's manager for that night only. We saw the second surprise when Shawn got in the ring. Shawn was served with a subpeona for "attempted alienation of affection." Shawn ripped it up and tossed it outside the ring. The match then got underway. It was back and forth when the Bulldog knocked out the ref and Owen got into the ring and tried to jump Shawn he saw it coming and superkicked Owen. Gorilla sent out another ref and Shawn suplexed Davey and both refs counted. One said Davey won the other said Shawn won. Meanwhile Diana took the belt and the Gorilla came down to the ring and said both refs were right and gave the belt to Shawn because a championship cannot change hands on a draw. Both wrestlers had been pinned and a rematch will take place at King Of The Ring.
Camp Cornette dropped the lawsuit they had against Shawn but they had another surprise for the Heartbreak Kid. Jim Cornette would get to pick a special guest ref and Gorilla agreed to allow Jim to do so because he didn't want the lawsuit against the WWF or himself. We found out who the special guest ref would be on Monday Night Raw. It was none other then Mr. Perfect. When it was announced Mr. Perfect was friends with Jim and many people were worried that he wouldn't call the match down the middle. Before the match Shawn spoke with Mr. Perfect and told him he has the chance to be the perfect ref if he calls it down the middle and raises the hand of the better man. The music started and the Kliq went crazy like as always when Shawn is around. Then before the match could get under way Gorilla came down to ringside and said Mr. Perfect is the special guest ref but he will be outside the ring and another ref would be in the ring. Then the Bulldog and Shawn went at it. The match went back and forth but Shawn tuned up the band for some sweet chin music and nailed the Bulldog. The ref counted and Shawn won the match. Camp Cornette couldn't accept that the bulldog had lost. So Owen, who was doing commentary during the match jumped in the ring and Vader came down also so it was 3 on 1. Ahmed and the Warrior came out and helped Shawn and they all cleared the ring of Camp Cornette. So Gorilla decided it would a six man tag and IYH. The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson and the Ultimate Warrior VS. Camp Cornette (Owen Hart, Vader and the British Bulldog).
This match was going to be Shawn, Ahmed and the Warrior but since the Warrior was suspended, Shawn and Ahmed had to choose another partner and it was Sid. This was the first time in a long time we were going to see Sid. Many thought Sid could not be trusted and that Shawn and Ahmed had made a bad choice. But as the night went on everyone who said Sid couldn't be trusted were proven wrong. Shawn's team was in control until Sid and Ahmed went outside the ring to fight Owen and the Bulldog. Shawn was getting ready to deliver the superkick when Jim grabbed Shawn's leg allowing Vader to ram into Shawn. Shawn fell down and that allowed Vader to powerbomb Shawn. Shawn was pinned but only because of Jim Cornette.
Many were saying that Shawn would lose his belt at Summerslam because Shawn was too small and Vader was too huge for Shawn to beat. Shawn was the underdog once again. Although Vader outweighed Shawn by 200 pounds Shawn had one thing that Vader didn't........ the "kliq". Shawn said this is the time he needed the "kliq" the most and they were there for him. Vader won by a countout...but wait Jim wants Shawn back in the ring calling him a chicken ect..... So Shawn got back in the ring. Then Jimmy tossed the tennis racquet in the ring to Vader while the refs back was turned But Shawn got it first. Shawn started hitting Vader with it then he started smacking Jim with it and Shawn got disqualified. Once again Vader won but Jim still wasn't happy with that, so once more Shawn got back in the ring to fight. Shawn delivered sweet chin music but Vader kicked out then Shawn went to the top with a moonsault and got the 1-2-3. Shawn now would face Mankind at IYH Mind Games.
Shawn was going in as the underdog as usual. Mankind had tried to make Shawn nervous earlier in the day on WWF Superstars by running a casket into him but during the match it didn't seem to bother him at all. Mankind came out to the ring in the same casket he had run into Shawn that day. Shawn got a good sized ovation from the crowd and Shawn and Mankind went at it. At one point in the match Mankind did get Shawn in the casket but Shawn fought his way out. The two things that stand out the most is Shawn superkicking Mankind off the top rope and on to the arena floor and when Mankind and Shawn were both on the ropes and they ending up both falling on to the Spanish announce table and breaking it. Shawn won the match because after Shawn worked on Mankind's hand for a while he tried to pin him but before the ref to count to 3 Vader came out and attacked Shawn then Sid came out and took care of Vader so Mankind told Paul to open the casket so he could put Shawn in there. Paul had trouble opening the casket and when he finally got it open who popped up? The Undertaker! Paul went running and Undertaker beat up Mankind until he left and with the Undertaker following him. Shawn won by DQ.
Shawn wasn't on the card to wrestle at this PPV event. But something did take place that involved him. He had to met the winner of the Sid VS Vader match at the Survior Series in Madison Square Garden. Shawn did comentary during the match. The winner of the match was Sid. Shawn went into the ring and congratulated Sid on his victory. The two would meet at the 1996 Survivor Series.
Continued...
