D - Generation X D - Generation X ( better known as DX ) was a tag team ( formerly a stable ) that wrestles for World Wrestling Entertainment . The group originated in the midst of the WWF ' s " Attitude Era " from 1997 to 2000 and helped change the face of sports - entertainment . Their gimmick was that of a group of rebels who did and said what they wanted , no matter how provocative . DX is generally considered one of the most popular stables in pro wrestling history . After its original run , the group underwent several roster changes . After one - off returns in 2000 and 2002 , DX reformed in June 2006 as the duo of Triple H and Shawn Michaels . Now DX teams together only in One - Night - Only reunions . History . D - Generation X . D - Generation X was formed during the genesis of what would become the WWF ' s highly successful " Attitude Era " in the later half of 1997 . Real - life friends and reported Clique members Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley ( who began being known simply as Triple H ) were the original two members , along with Helmsley ' s bodyguard , Chyna and Michaels ' " insurance policy , " Rick Rude . Triple H and Michaels immediately united together after Michaels turn ed heel after hitting The Undertaker with a chair at SummerSlam 1997 . On October 13 , 1997 , the group officially referred to themselves as Degeneration X for the first time and debuted their signature slogan , " Suck it ! " They were often shown on television practicing sophomoric humor and rebelling against authority figures in the company . Their trademark " crotch chops " became one of the most popular gestures in wrestling while their " D - Generation X " T - shirts enjoyed considerable sales . The name D - Generation X was possibly taken from an opinion column by Phil Mushnick which appeared in TV Guide , in which Mushnick lambasted wrestling ' s primarily Generation X fanbase as degenerates , dubbing them " Degeneration X . " On the other hand , Michaels ' autobiography would suggest that it was in fact then - WWF head writer Vince Russo who first conceived the moniker for the popular faction . On - screen , however , the name was taken from Bret Hart who claimed that Shawn Michaels and Triple H were nothing more than degenerates . D - Generation X ' s first feud was against Bret Hart and his Hart Foundation . This feud ended at Survivor Series 1997 in the infamous Montreal Screwjob which led to Bret leaving the company along with two of the remaining three members of the Foundation . The only member that remained in the WWF , Owen Hart , continued to feud with DX , specifically Triple H . " D - Generation X " was later used as the title for a WWF pay - per - view telecast on December 7 , 1997 . DX army . On March 29 , 1998 , at WrestleMania XIV , Shawn Michaels was the reigning WWF Champion , and Triple H was the reigning European Champion . They recruited boxer Mike Tyson to act as the " Special Enforcer " in the main event of the night featuring Michaels against Stone Cold Steve Austin . At the end of the match , Tyson turned on D - Generation X and cost Michaels the match . Michaels , who would take a long hiatus due to a real - life injury , was now out of DX . The next night on " RAW " , Triple H declared himself to be the new leader , saying that Michaels had " dropped the ball . " He recruited a re - debuting X - Pac and the New Age Outlaws to reform DX in an incarnation that came to be known as the " DX army . " In his debut , X - Pac , who had just been released from World Championship Wrestling , cut a now - famous promo where he responded to then - WCW wrestler Hulk Hogan ' s live interview that alluded to X - Pac ' s recent release from the promotion . This incarnation of DX became extremely popular and eventually turn ed face . During this time , they were involved in several storylines and skits - including a feud with rival faction Nation of Domination and The Corporation . DX parodied the Nation and The Corporation where they dressed as the members of the respective factions and impersonated their characteristic mannerisms . They also made a video package where they " raided " Atlanta , the home of WCW . At one point , they attempted to " invade " ( with a tank and military dress ) a live broadcast of " WCW Monday Nitro " in Norfolk , Virginia , across Hampton Roads from where " WWF Raw is War " had their live broadcast . They made it to the front gate of the Norfolk Scope arena , but were barred entry . Another incident almost caused a lawsuit when DX told people in line for " Nitro " tickets that the show was for free , and that they should leave . This incarnation of the faction lasted about a year . The end of an era . DX began falling apart in the early part of 1999 . On January 25 , Chyna turned on DX by attacking Triple H and joining Vince McMahon ' s Corporation stable . Two months later , Triple H also joined The Corporation after turning on X - Pac at WrestleMania XV . DX , now down to The New Age Outlaws and X - Pac , fell apart two months later when Billy Gunn turn ed on X - Pac during a match in May , leaving DX and starting a feud with Road Dogg . In June , Triple H informed Gunn that Road Dogg and X - Pac were still getting royalties from the DX name ( kayfabe ) , which led to a feud that culminated in a match at Fully Loaded where X - Pac and Road Dogg defeated Gunn and Chyna for the rights to the D - Generation X name . Reformation . On October 25 , 1999 , the group ( minus Chyna ) reformed as heels and included every original member , except for Shawn Michaels , Chyna , and Rick Rude ( who had died that April ) . From then until mid - 2000 , DX remained a strong and united group . In early 2000 , however , Billy Gunn was placed out of action for several months after suffering an injury against The Dudley Boyz . On screen , Gunn ' s storyline involved him getting thrown out of DX because " he lost his cool . " X - Pac teamed with Road Dogg , but the two never reached the heights of the New Age Outlaws . At WrestleMania 2000 , Vince McMahon turned on The Rock and aided Triple H in retaining his title . This marked the start of what many fans nickname d " Corporate - DX " ( much like the Corporate Ministry from the previous year ) . However the group was officially dubbed the McMahon - Helmsley Faction ( it had earlier gone by the name " McMahon - Helmsley Regime " ) . The following month The Rock defeated Triple H at Backlash in a match which featured Steve Austin ' s brief return to the WWF . Though Triple H would regain the title the following month at Judgment Day , the group gradually broke apart . By late 2000 , Triple H was a solo star . On the November 6 , 2000 edition of " RAW is WAR " , the group temporarily rejoined ( save for X - Pac , who was injured ) to take on Chris Benoit , Eddie Guerrero , Dean Malenko , and Perry Saturn ( The Radicalz ) in an 8 - man tag team match , which DX won . The match included the group doing their old DX entrance as well as telling the crowd to " Suck it ! " It was the symbolic end to D - Generation X . However , the members of DX ( excluding Triple H ) and K - Kwik , Road Dogg ' s then - tag team partner , feuded with the Radicalz that month , eventually leading to a match at Survivor Series 2000 involving the same 8 wrestlers , except for Triple H , who was replaced by K - Kwik . The Radicalz won the match . After that , DX remained unseen and largely unspoken of until Shawn Michaels returned to WWE in 2002 . On July 22 , 2002 , on the episode of " RAW " , a week after the breakup of the nWo , Triple H handed Shawn Michaels a DX T - shirt and stated he " had an idea , " suggesting that the two reform the group . The duo later came out that night to their old music and crotch chops to the delight of the crowd . However , Triple H turned on Michaels on that same night ; he had teased the reunion as a ploy to appease Michaels and lure him to the ring before giving him a Pedigree . This act led to the in - ring return of Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam 2002 and the genesis of a long feud between the two . Revival in 2006 . In 2006 , a series of events occurred which hinted at a DX reunion . At WrestleMania 22 , former members Shawn Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop during their respective matches , which was met with loud cheering from the fans in attendance . The two continued to deliver chops in the following episodes of " RAW " as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H focused on the WWE Championship , repeatedly running into Vince McMahon in the process . On the June 12 " RAW " , the events came to a head , when , during Triple H ' s gauntlet match against the Spirit Squad , Shawn Michaels came in to help his former companion . After the duo had defeated the Spirit Squad , the two men began to perform their crotch chops . The reunited DX continued their brash antics at the expense of the Spirit Squad , Vince and Shane McMahon and Jonathan Coachman for several weeks and repeatedly took part in blatantly camp product placement during " RAW " promo s . Most of their antics involved practical jokes on Vince . On the June 26 " RAW " , they added to the list of parodies with Triple H impersonating Vince McMahon , talking about his love of " Dicks " ( referring to Dick Ebersol , Dick Clark , and Dick Cheney ) , while Shawn impersonated Shane McMahon ( this episode is also famous for being the " Holy Shit " episode due to excrement being dumped on Vince and Shane McMahon and the entire Spirit Squad ) . During their feud , DX defeated the Spirit Squad at Vengeance and " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " , as well as The McMahons at SummerSlam . At Unforgiven in a handicap Hell in a Cell match that featured The Big Show on The McMahons ' side , DX again came out victorious . DX ' s next feud was with Rated - RKO ( Edge and Randy Orton ) . At Cyber Sunday , the fans selected Eric Bischoff to be the special guest referee for the match . Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a chair to give Rated - RKO the win . With this , Rated - RKO became the first team to defeat DX in a tag team match since their reunion in June 2006 . At Survivor Series 2006 Team DX ( DX , The Hardys , and CM Punk ) defeated Team Rated - RKO ( Rated - RKO , Gregory Helms , Johnny Nitro , and Mike Knox ) , in a clean sweep . 2007 . At New Year ' s Revolution 2007 , during their match with Rated - RKO , Triple H suffered a ( legit ) torn right quadriceps muscle . This prompted Rated - RKO to claim victory not only of the match ( which was ruled a no - contest ) but over DX as a whole . Michaels , however , vowed to support Triple H through his injury and to get revenge on Rated - RKO . The next week , he " took out " Randy Orton with a one - man con - chair - to . After Triple H ' s knee injury , Michaels was involved in feuds with Randy Orton , Edge , and John Cena . Despite performing solo , Michaels still used the DX gimmick and theme music , but this was eventually phased out , leading to the end of the latest incarnation of DX . However , Michaels was eventually taken off TV due to a ( kayfabe ) concussion ( he actually needed knee surgery since the previous summer ) . Michaels had successful knee surgery on May 23 . Despite the end of DX , Triple H continues to use the crotch chop before executing his finishing move , the Pedigree . Michaels and Triple H teamed up again under the D - Generation X gimmick on the January 28 , 2008 episode of " Raw " defeating Umaga and Snitsky . Despite DX reforming for one night only occasions , both Triple H and Shawn Michaels have used the " crotch chop " since the one night only returns . On the September 29 , 2008 edition of " Raw " , Triple H and Shawn Michaels reunited as DX to take on Chris Jericho and Lance Cade . They won by disqualification , due to Cade and Jericho attacking Michaels with a ladder . After being mocked by John Morrison and The Miz for two weeks , on the 800th episode of " Raw " , DX defeated the duo . During the Christmas season , DX appeared in numerous vignettes to promote DX clothing and other WWE merchandise ; one commercial even featured Kelly Kelly . DX Army Reformation ( 2009 – 2010 ) . In April 2009 , Michaels took time off from WWE after losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV . Meanwhile , Triple H was embroiled in a rivalry with Randy Orton and The Legacy ( Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase ) . The feud continued from the spring through the summer with Triple H mainly combating with Orton over the WWE Championship . Eventually , Triple H would begin to target The Legacy because they were responsible for his losses against Orton during matches . After losing a handicap match to The Legacy , Triple H stated that he would search for Michaels in order to reunite DX . On the August 10 , 2009 episode of " Raw " , video segments aired in which Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef ; throughout the segments , Triple H would try to convince Michaels to return to WWE . After several incidents during the segments ( including a grease fire and Shawn shouting at a little girl ) , Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy at SummerSlam , quitting from his chef job in the process . On the August 17 episode of " Raw " , Michaels and Triple H officially reunited as DX , but as they were in the process of their in - ring promo , Legacy surprise attacked them both . Their first match after reuniting was against Legacy at SummerSlam , which they won . At Breaking Point , however , they lost to Legacy in the first ever Submissions Count Anywhere match in WWE history . At the October pay - per - view Hell in Cell , DX defeated Legacy in a Hell in a Cell match . They began a feud with Chris Jericho and Big Show . It was quickly ended at Bragging Rights where team Smackdown defeated team Raw lead by DX . DX was scheduled to face John Cena for The WWE Championship in a Triple Threat Match but failed to do so . After failing to get the WWE Championship from John Cena , due to conflict between each other , they continued on to go for the Unified Tag Team Championships from Jerishow . They defeated Jerishow at to become the new Unified Tag Team Champions . DX defended the titles against Jerishow the next day at The Slammy Awards but only to get them selves disqualified by pushing over the referee moments after the match started . They went on to send the DX army superstars to personally escort Jericho out of the RAW arena , as he is now trespassing . As of 11 : 05 PM on the December 21st episode of RAW Hornswoggle is the honorary mascot for Degeneration X Signature taunts . Crotch chop . When DX formed they began doing a gesture where they would put one arm on each side of their crotch and point down . This was known as the " crotch chop " . There is an alternate version of the " crotch chop " where instead of pointing down on each side of their sides , they point down and make their arms in an " X " formation , over their stomach / crotch . However , when DX reformed in 2006 , Michaels said he felt uncomfortable doing the real " crotch chop " so he would do the alternate version , as he had become a born again Christian since the last D - Generation X incarnation . When DX enters the ring they do a pyro routine . Green X pyrotechnics go off three times , with DX crotch - chopping at each firing . They then pause for a second , then chop once more as the pyrotechnics fire again . Suck it ! " Suck it ! " is DX ' s signature slogan . This is also used in their popular " Let ' s get ready to suck it ! " routine , originally a parody of Michael Buffer ' s " Let ' s get ready to rumble ! " The routine starts when Triple H asks the audience " " Are you ready ? " " He then shouts " No , ( city name ) , I said ARE YOU READY ? ! " to get a louder reaction from the crowd . He continues and says " " Then , for the thousands in attendance , and the millions watching at home . Let ' s get ready to suck it ! " " Billy Gunn ( 1998 - 2002 ) or Shawn Michaels ( 2006 – Present ) then ends the routine by saying " " And if you aren ' t down with that , then we got two words for ya . " " before sticking up the microphone up in the air for the crowd to scream " " Suck it ! " " As well , Triple H will often say the match is for someone else , varying on their recent exploits and who they ' re about to wrestle ( e . g . , " " and for Vince McMahon , who is home right now choking his chicken " " when they had previously sent Vince home injured . ) Another taunt DX performs , is crossing their forearms above their head , making an " X " formation , which looks identical to the referee ' s X symbol that means " This wrestler is legitimately injured ! " nWo influence and DX inspiration . DX is believed to have been heavily influenced by World Championship Wrestling ' s ( WCW ) New World Order ( nWo ) ( although WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has denied this on many occasions ) . It also was one of the two main contributing factors to the World Wrestling Federation ' s Attitude Era ( along with Stone Cold Steve Austin ) . Incidentally , DX and the nWo included members of professional wrestling ' s The Kliq ( with Shawn Michaels and Sean Waltman as the only two Kliq alumni as members of both stables ) . Similar events have taken place that echoed the infamous actions of D - Generation X , namely their " invasions " of " WCW Monday Nitro " . TNA pulled a similar stunt on WWE years later , with WWE threatening to sue to prevent TNA from showing any of the footage on their TNA iMPACT ! . In late 2004 , WWE came to Universal Studios ( where TNA tapes their shows ) to shoot a Royal Rumble commercial . Tracy Brooks , along with Shane Douglas , Abyss , and the 3Live Kru came to greet the WWE wrestlers with milk and cookies . Ron Killings also took some mahi - mahi off the catering table . Throughout December ' s Turning Point pay - per - view , TNA aired parody segments with people pretending to be Triple H and Vince McMahon . Interesting bits include Tracy bringing milk and cookies into the room and a midget kicking " McMahon " in the groin . Before showing the real footage , Mike Tenay remarked along the lines of " Here ' s the footage that WWE doesn ' t want you to see . . . It ' s not like we drove a tank up to their headquarters in Stamford . " ( an obvious dig at the DX invasion of the CNN building ) . The actual footage blurred out all the WWE wrestlers , but Rey Mysterio , who is good friends with Konnan of 3Live Kru , was easy to identify despite being blurred . No suit was filed by WWE . Members . Members Wrestling facts . Note : The Last DX theme ( used from their reunion until NYR ) was actually a Remix of the Original Theme , Break It Down . This version has a little more rock and less percussion . It hasn ' t yet still released on any WWE CD and it ' s considered a WWE Production . It can be only heard on the video game WWE SmackDown vs . RAW 2007 and WWE SmackDown vs . RAW 2008 as their entrance Theme .