Shawn Michaels

* WrestleMania 21
* Armageddon '03
* Bad Blood '04
* Royal Rumble '04
* Backlash '03
* WrestleMania 19
* SummerSlam '02
* WrestleMania 14
* WrestleMania 10

**Michael Shawn Hickenbottom** (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name **Shawn Michaels**, is an American professional wrestler.

## Background

### Pre-WrestleMania

In 1987, The Rockers were signed by World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels' autobiography). They then returned to AWA, where they won the AWA tag team titles for a second time, but were re-signed by WWF a year later.

### WrestleMania X (1994)

In the fall of 1993, Jack Tunney announced that Shawn Michaels would be stripped of the WWE Intercontinental Championship for not defending the title often enough. An Intercontinental Championship tournament was established with "The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon defeating Rick Martel in the final to win the title. In the angle, Michaels refused to acknowledge the title change, however, as he insisted that he was the true Intercontinental Champion as he never lost the title. An Intercontinental Championship unification match was signed to determine the one true Intercontinental champion at WrestleMania X in a first-ever ladder match.

### WrestleMania XI (1995)

Diesel had originally entered the WWF as Michaels's bodyguard but later began wrestling and forming a tag team with Michaels. The pair held the WWF Tag Team Championship together in 1994. At Survivor Series 1994, however, Michaels accidentally kicked Diesel in the face. This led to an argument during which Diesel dissolved the tag team and vacated the championship. Three days later, Diesel defeated Bob Backlund to become the new WWF Champion. At Royal Rumble 1995, Michaels won the battle royal main event, which earned him a match against Diesel for the title belt at WrestleMania.

### WrestleMania XII (1996)

Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart's rivalry first started in 1992 when HBK, looking to achieve his boyhood dream, challenged WWE Champion Bret "Hit Man" Hart to a title match at Survivor Series. Michaels, however, suffers another agonizing loss as Bret Hart retained his WWE Championship. At 1996 Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels wins his 2nd Royal Rumble match, eliminating Diesel, earning a WWE title shot at WresleMania XII. It was announced that Hart would defend his WWE title in the first-ever 60-minute Iron Man match, where the superstar with the most victories in the allotted time would leave as WWE Champion.

### WrestleMania XXIV (2008)

On the February 25 episode of Raw, 2008 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Ric Flair challenged Shawn Michaels to a match at WrestleMania. Michaels accepted after some reluctance, knowing that due to a previous announcement from WWE chairman Mr. McMahon the next match Flair lost would result in his forced retirement. Flair said that "it would be an honor for [him] to retire at the hands of Shawn Michaels."

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Sweet Chin Music* (Superkick, with theatrics)
	+ Modified figure-four leglock – 2008–2010; used rarely
	+ *Teardrop Suplex* (Leg-hook Saito suplex) – 1992–1993; Used as a signature move thereafter
	+ Sharpshooter – Parodied from Bret Hart; used rarely
* **Signature moves**
	+ Arm trap crossface – 2007–2010
	+ Backhand chop
	+ Belly to back suplex
	+ Diving double axe handle
	+ Diving elbow drop, with theatrics
	+ Dropkick
	+ Figure-four leglock
	+ Flying forearm smash followed by a kip-up
	+ Inverted atomic drop
	+ Moonsault to a standing opponent, sometimes while springboarding to the outside
	+ Skin the cat
	+ Slingshot plancha
* **Managers**
	+ Chyna
	+ Diesel
	+ José Lothario
	+ Luna Vachon
	+ Rick Rude
	+ Sensational Sherri
	+ Psycho Sid
* **Wrestlers managed**
	+ Big Cass
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"Mr. WrestleMania"**
	+ "**(Just a) Sexy Boy**"
	+ "**The Best of the Best**"
	+ **"The Headliner"**
	+ "**The Heartbreak Kid (HBK)**"
	+ **"The Icon"**
	+ **"The Main Event"**
	+ **"The Showstopper"**
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Sexy Boy (V1)" by Jimmy Hart and J.J. Maguire (featuring Sherri Martel) (February 15, 1992 – January 30, 1993)
	+ **"Sexy Boy (V2)"** by Jimmy Hart and J.J. Maguire (featuring Shawn Michaels) (February 13, 1993–present)
	+ "Break it Down" by The DX Band (used while a member of D-Generation X)
	+ "Sexy Boy (V2)" (with "Pulse Enigma" Intro) by Jim Johnston, Jimmy Hart and J.J. Maguire (featuring Shawn Michaels) (used at WrestleMania XXV; 2009)

## Championships and accomplishments

* **American Wrestling Association**
	+ AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty
* **Central States Wrestling**
	+ NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marty Jannetty
* **Continental Wrestling Association**
	+ AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty
* **Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame**
	+ Class of 2017
* **Texas All-Star Wrestling**
	+ TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Paul Diamond
* **Texas Wrestling Alliance**
	+ TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE**
	+ World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Triple H
	+ WWF European Championship (1 time)
	+ WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times)
	+ WWF Tag Team/World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Diesel (2), Stone Cold Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1), Triple H (1)
	+ WWF World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
	+ Royal Rumble (1995-1996)
	+ First Grand Slam Champion
	+ Fourth Triple Crown Champion
	+ Slammy Awards (15 times)
		- Best Finisher (1997)
		- Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance (1996)
		- Best Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel
		- Best Threads (1996)
		- Double-Cross of the Year (2013) – For turning on Daniel Bryan and costing him the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell.
		- Leader of the New Generation (1996)
		- Master of the Mat Mechanics (1996)
		- Match of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009) – vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X, vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at SummerSlam, vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII, vs. The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House, vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV, vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV
		- Moment of the Year (2010) – vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI
		- Squared Circle Shocker (1996) – Won for collapsing; Owen Hart accepts the award for making Michaels collapse
		- Worst Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel
	+ WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)

## Trivia

* In *WWE 2K14*, HBK reuses his *WWE '12* head for his WrestleMania 23 to 26 attires.
* In *WWE 2K18*, his 1997 and 1998 attires serves as individual wrestlers, along with Big Boss Man, Finn Bálor, Ricky Steamboat, and Triple H.
* He fought Undertaker multiple times at WrestleMania, along with Triple H and Kane.
* Depends on the player's choice whether you accept or decline JBL's challenge at WrestleMania in HBK's Road to WrestleMania on *SVR 2010*, shows the cutscene of HBK after refusing the challenge. It might be possible is that the main option in this storyline.