My In-Depth Biography of Shawn Michaels (Part 2)
By John C.

This is part two of my in-depth look at the career of Shawn Michaels. If you have not read part one yet please do so because you will learn about his years as a Rocker, his run as the IC champion and his year as the world champion. In part two of the bio you will learn about his rocky relationship with Bret Hart, the injury that ended his career and his last match in the WWF. Without further adieu, here is the conclusion to the HBK bio.

The Dream Team of Wrestling: Michaels and Austin
Although Shawn missed a few months with a knee injury he came back as a force to form an impromptu tag team with Stone Cold Steve Austin. At the time, Shawn was a face and Austin was quickly becoming the most popular wrestler ever so the team was over huge. During an episode of Raw on May 25, 1997 they teamed up to take the tag straps away from long time champions, Owen Hart and the British Bulldog. It was one of the greatest tag team matches in the history of Raw due to the fact that it lasted nearly 20 minutes with a ton of heat and featured four workers who were very good.

At King of the Ring ’97, a year after Austin won KOTR, the tag team champions participated in a one on one match. As far as I know, this was the only one on one PPV match that these two had against eachother when they were healthy. It ended up being a short match that ended in a no contest finish that I am still complaining about to this day! I understand the WWF’s position at the time because they did not want either man to do job. I assume that they felt that Michaels and Austin had several other PPV battles ahead of them but sadly that never came to pass. Due to Shawn’s back injury and Austin’s neck injury the only other time they wrestled against each other one on one was at WrestleMania XIV in what turned out to be Shawn’s last WWF match.

In July, the team were stripped of the titles due to a real backstage fight between Shawn and Bret in the summer of '97. The WWF said Shawn had an injury to cover it up. I believe the knee injury from earlier in the year began flaring up on him although that is not known for sure. He sat out of the Canadian Stampede PPV in July ’97 due to the injury. The main event of Stampede was a ten men tag where Shawn was rumored to be pinned which forced his critics to once again claim that he was avoiding doing a J.O.B. Although the Austin/Michaels team did not last for a long time it was fantastic to see two of the best wrestlers of all time on the same team.

At Summerslam in August ’97 he played the role of referee in the Hart/Undertaker world title match when he "accidentally" cost the Undertaker the match. This was when he turned heel, this was when he released the monster known as DX.

Degeneration X is Born
"The icon. The showstopper. The main event." Those are the phrases used to describe Shawn during his DX days. There are many questions as to when DX was officially born. The first time Shawn and Triple H wrestled on the same team was on Raw in the middle of August ’97. It was a tag match that saw Shawn and Triple H taking on their rivals at the time, the Undertaker and Mick Foley. Therefore, the unofficial beginning of DX was on the August 18, 1997 edition of Raw. Following that tag match, Shawn and Triple H appeared on camera together often although the name Degeneration X did not debut on WWF TV until October ’97. If my memory serves me correctly, Bret called Shawn and Hunter degenerates (another word would be wicked or immoral). The term degenerate was coined by WWF hater Phil Mushnick and that word was the one he used to describe fans of the WWF. Chyna and the late Rick Rude later joined the group although Shawn and Triple H were the only ones that actually wrestled at the time.

Shawn with Triple H, Chyna and Rude

Shawn Michaels defeated the British Bulldog at the UK PPV "One Night Only" for the European title on September 20, 1997 making him the first grand slam champion in federation history. He beat the Bulldog in his own country and then went on to heat up his feud with Bret Hart.

Bret was a big time heel in his role where he bashes America in every speech while HBK was attempting to be a heel by doing cheap tactics and basically anything for the win. This was one of the things that led to the downfall of Bret Hart. It is believed that the European belt was given to Shawn because Vince McMahon wanted to punish Bret for refusing to do the job at Survivor Series ’97. Since The Bulldog is Bret’s brother-in-law, McMahon felt that by punishing Bret’s family member it would lead to Bret changing his stance on the Montreal finish. Shawn walked away with the title even though he was never scheduled to win the belt in the first place.

Meanwhile, Degeneration X was growing on people quickly. They were doing such a good job as heels that Shawn had vaulted himself over Bret in terms of being the number one heel in the company. This caused a lot of tension between Shawn and Bret because Bret was promised the spot as the #1 heel because he was willing to do the anti-American angle.

Before the famed Survivor Series ‘97 match, Shawn wrestled in a match that was just as memorable as the more popular Montreal match. It was the first ever Hell in a Cell match against the Undertaker at the October ‘97 PPV called Badd Blood. This match changed Shawn's career forever as he proved yet again that he was the best man to introduce a gimmick match. Just like he proved during the ladder match in ’94, Shawn was able to produce another five star performance in a gimmick match that nobody had seen previously. He took a huge bump when he fell from three quarters high up the cage onto an announce table that waited about 10 feet below. He ended up winning the match, thanks to the debut of Kane, in what was one of the most brutal matches anybody has ever seen. For the fourth year in a row Shawn delivered one of the greatest matches in wrestling history. Without Shawn, ladder matches and HIAC matches would not exist. He set the trend and now everybody is doing their best to follow the model provided by the greatest wrestler to ever grace a WWF ring. The HIAC match was so good that I wrote a full length column about the match which you can read by clicking HERE.

Feuding With Bret Hart On and Off Screen
The names of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels will always be linked together due to their relationship on WWF television and their supposed hatred for eachother out of the ring. Shawn was the man who ended up defeating Bret in what was Bret's last match in the WWF at Survivor Series ’97. It was probably the most controversial moment in the history of wrestling. By now, I think every wrestling fan knows the outcome of this match. Shawn had Bret in Bret’s finishing maneuver, The Sharpshooter, when WWF owner Vince McMahon told the referee Earl Hebner to "ring the f**king bell." The scheduled finish for the match was supposed to see Bret’s family members run in and cause a DQ. However, Vince McMahon changed that outcome without telling Bret thus providing wrestling fans with what many people believe to be the "biggest screwjob in wrestling history." The whole thing is detailed on the Wrestling with Shadows documentary.

Whatever role Shawn Michaels played in this match is unknown to this day. The only ones that really know are Vince McMahon, Bret Hart and Shawn himself. In my opinion it really does not matter what role, if any, Shawn played in this whole situation. It was an issue between an employee, Bret, and his boss, Vince. Sure, Shawn could have been in on it but does it really matter what role Shawn played in this whole thing? It is something between Vince and Bret so instead of sitting here and speculating on the behaviour of Michaels I think it would be best if I just moved on.

One thing we do know is that Shawn and Bret did not like eachother during Bret’s last year in the WWF. The biggest reason is probably because of the perception that Shawn refused to job to Bret at WrestleMania 13 as originally scheduled. To add heat to an already hot fire, the two men often made shoot (meaning real) comments about one another on camera. The rivalry came to a head in June ’97 when Shawn and Bret apparently participated in a pull apart brawl backstage at a WWF show. Although the relationship between the two deteriorated in the summer of ’97 it seemed as though they were able to look past their differences. By the time Survivor Series ’97 came around they were on good enough terms that they were willing to change in the same dressing room. In recent interviews, Bret has said that he really doesn’t blame Shawn for everything that happened because, in Bret’s view, everything Shawn did was because of the orders of Vince McMahon. Nobody really knows what the relationship between Shawn and Bret is today but I doubt that any of you will be seeing them having a drink in your local bar. In the battle between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels I think it's pretty obvious that Shawn was the winner out of the ring AND in the ring.

Shawn vs. Bret

The Injury That Ended It All
After winning the title at Survivor Series ’97, Shawn retained the title at the December ’97 PPV against Ken Shamrock. At Royal Rumble ’98, Shawn once again defeated the Undertaker in a casket match at the Royal Rumble thanks to Kane again. During the casket match Shawn took a bump that would end up forcing him to retire from full time in ring competition. He took a bump on his back that caused him excruciating pain. He had suffered a major problem with the lower disks in his back forcing him to cut back on his schedule drastically. It is believed that the injury occurred when the Undertaker tossed Shawn over the top rope causing Shawn to land on the corner of the wooden coffin. It is one of those injuries that looks as bad as it sounds. Remarkably, Shawn was able to wrestle another fifteen minutes and finish the match. His career, however, would come to an end a few months later.

The Final Match
Many people felt that Shawn would be unable to defend the world title at WrestleMania XIV against Stone Cold but he made it and delivered yet again. This match was hyped unbelievably for a couple of reasons. It was the last big match in Shawn’s career so the WWF went all out in building up a good storyline. Austin and Michaels were the two wrestlers in the business which led to an unbelievable PPV buyrate but there was something else that helped their cause. The WWF brought in the $2 million nutcase Mike Tyson to be a part of this classic match. Tyson was playing the role of enforcer/referee in the match. He brought in interest from non wrestling fans to see what Tyson would do. Prior to the match it appeared that Tyson had joined Shawn in DX as Shawn attempted to "stack the deck" against Austin. As you all know, Austin won the match in what was a relatively clean match. Even though Shawn did not win the match he still put in a tremendous effort. He could not bump the way he used to and at several points in the match you could see him wincing in pain. This put an end to Shawn's in ring career. He put the deserving man over and he walked away without any regrets. Although he didn't win his last match, I have no trouble saying that Shawn Michaels went out on top like the true champion that he is.

Present & Future
He is currently retired from the WWF as a wrestler and has no desire to wrestle again. He recently opened up his own wrestling school and promotion in Texas called the Texas Wrestling Alliance (TWA). On March 31, 1999 he married Rebecca, formerly Whisper of the Nitro Girls, and the happy couple has a baby boy named Cameron. Instead of being the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn has become a proud father and a devoted husband.

In the WWF, Shawn’s current role is as the Commissioner although he is not active within the WWF today. His time is spent with his family and his wrestling promotion so the chances of Shawn having a permanent role within the WWF is slim. However, there is a good chance that he will have "guest appearances" because the name Shawn Michaels still is a popular one with wrestling fans worldwide. When he does go back it would be in a non wrestling role because his surgically repaired back will not allow him to wrestle again on a full time schedule. Regardless of what you may see or hear, do not expect Shawn Michaels to wrestle on a full time basis again. He retired at age 32 still in the prime of his wrestling career. His last match came during an April 4, 2000 TWA show in a match that he won. He proclaimed that it would be the "last match" of his glorious career. He had always said that he wanted to retire before the age of 35 but I doubt he envisioned that he would walk away from the business due to a career ending injury.

Now that you know the history of Shawn Michaels I will take a few moments to talk about some of the things that made Shawn great.

Analyzing Shawn Michaels
Before I started to write this bio I watched one of the four tapes I have about some of Shawn's best matches (it is NOT for sale or trade). On the tape are his two ladder matches against Razor Ramon, his match in Britain against Davey Boy Smith, the Survivor Series debacle of ‘97, and his last match ever, the WrestleMania XIV classic against Steve Austin. After watching these matches it showed me just how great Shawn was.

There are some men who are great on the mic or great in the ring but not good at both. Shawn was an exceptional to the rule, he was a great worker and a very capable mic worker. He’s definitely one of the most charismatic, flamboyant personalities to grace the business and his character was so great he had the uncanny ability to turn heel or face within weeks (to date he’s had 9 heel/face turns). To me, that's what makes a wrestler great, the ability to get the fans to cheer for you one night and boo you the next. You can ask wrestlers themselves and they will tell you that the fans are the ones who determine whether a wrestler makes a heel turn or turns face. Only the legends of wrestling can be the top face and the top heel in their wrestling careers. Shawn excelled in both areas because, to paraphrase his friend Triple H, he was that damn good.

The Prototypical Jerk aka A Great Heel
I always felt as though Shawn was at his best as a heel. Back in '93 and '94 when Shawn became the "Heartbreak Kid" it was obvious that he had the potential to be one of the greatest wrestlers ever. I remember how much heat he would have for his matches. In my opinion, he was just as good, or even better, when he held the Intercontinental title during this period. To be a successful heel it takes a lot of hard work, cheap tactics and some risqué comments to get a crowd to hate you. Shawn would do anything to piss a crowd off whether it was humping the Canadian flag in Montreal or playing strip poker in the middle of the ring. If you actually booed Shawn then he really worked you over. Looking at his matches, I see it in a different light now and I ask myself, how could anybody NOT like this guy? Sometimes people were so into his character that they didn't pay attention to his in ring abilities. They remember his interviews during the "Heartbreak Hotel" segments instead of remembering all of his wonderful performances in the ring. He climbed to the top of the mountain because of his character but he stayed on top because of his wrestling ability.

Always Exciting in the Ring
In the ring Shawn was absolutely fantastic. He had the best ring psychology with his opponents out of anybody I have ever seen outside of Flair. He managed to piss them off with his cocky, brash attitude and flat out destroy them with his tremendous skill. His finisher was a superkick, just a simple standing side kick delivered to his opponents jaw. However, when Shawn began using this move it turned into "Sweet Chin Music," also known as the fateful end for an opponent who was just dazed in the corner. When he was a face he got the crowd behind him as he would "warm up the band." He'd start to bang his foot on the mat, the crowd would make a lot of noise and everybody knew what was coming. When we see the same move done by lesser known wrestlers we overlook them. We say things like, "big deal, it's just a kick" or "Shawn did it better." With Shawn it was more like an event, the end to a tremendous performance or in music terms it would be called a crescendo.

Sweet Chin Music!

He also was able to pull off such high risk moves like a moonsault, hurricanrana, suicide dive, missile dropkick and his patented elbow off the top rope. The ability to deliver an exciting match night after night, no matter the opponent, was one of the things that made Shawn so good.

For five consecutive years, 1993-1997, Shawn was the best wrestler in North America and possibly the entire world. If you asked people like Mick Foley, The Undertaker, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Vader, Sid and Jeff Jarrett who some of their best matches were against I can almost guarantee you that they will say it is Shawn Michaels.

Although there are many things to be proud of I'm sure there a few things Shawn wishes he could have done. Shawn cannot say that he beat Steve Austin in a one on one televised match for the title, nor can he say that he ever beat Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair on PPV but he can say he beat Bret Hart two out of three times in Pay Per View matches. Something Shawn can be proud of is the fact that he has always stayed true to the WWF. Shawn's loyalty towards the WWF is something that I admire the most about him.

The Subject of Critics
He's been a part of the WWF for 11 years now, NEVER being a part of the NWA/WCW and always doing anything for his company. Some people criticized Shawn for his unprofessional behavior in dealing with Bret Hart. They criticize him for refusing to do the job to Bret at WrestleMania XIII. They criticize him because he refused to compete in the Canadian Stampede PPV because he was supposed to take the clean pin.

They criticize him for the ways that he lost the titles he held. He lost the IC title twice without being pinned for the title. He has held the tag titles three times although he never actually lost the belts in the ring. As far as the world title goes, he did lose the belt twice in the ring with the other time being the infamous "losing my smile" incident in February ’97 that was caused by the knee injury.

Even though he is probably my favourite wrestler of all time I have to wonder about all the rumors that I have read about the man. Some of them could be true although nobody really knows which ones are true and which ones are just propaganda. I will not jump to conclusions so unless I hear the real stories from Shawn himself. As far as I am concerned, everything I mentioned in the previous two paragraphs shall remain as rumors. The phrase, innocent until proven guilty, has a lot of validity even in pro wrestling. I can understand why some people may have a problem with Shawn though I am not one of those people.

There is Only One Shawn Michaels
It seems that everywhere I look people are saying this wrestler or that wrestler could be the next Shawn Michaels. In basketball the search for the "next Michael Jordan" will continue, in hockey the search for the "next Wayne Gretzky" and in wrestling some people are searching for the next Shawn Michaels. There will be no other Jordan, Gretzky or Michaels. I think you are putting a lot of pressure on a person by labeling them in such a way. Don’t get me wrong, I think people like Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy are great at what they do but claiming that they are the next HBK is a little too much. In my opinion there is only one HBK, there will only be one HBK and if you really are desperate to see the guy I suggest you go to a local video store and watch some of his matches. Don’t bother looking for the next HBK because there is only one Shawn Michaels.

The Greatest Ever?
Now that I've done a bio of Shawn I'm sure people are going to ask me who I think is the greatest of all time. That debate is something that people rarely agree on. One person may believe that Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever (he is) while another might say that Will Perdue is. Everybody is different. However, this is MY biography of Shawn Michaels so you get to read what my opinion is on this subject. Before I get into an analysis there are a few things I want you to know about me.

I'm 24 years old and I was born and raised in London, Ontario, Canada. As you probably know, Canada is basically WWF country so I grew up with the WWF. I have been watching wrestling since I was 8 but I really didn't understand the business until I was about 14 years old so that would be around 1990. The only way I can make a decision as to who is the best wrestler I have ever seen is by basing it from 1990 until today. Having not watched WCW until 1993 I do not think I can make a judgment as to how good Ric Flair or Sting are. I know that Flair’s best days were prior to that so this before you bash me just remember that this is the best wrestler that I have ever seen.

The choice of some people for greatest WWF wrestler ever may be Hulk Hogan. However, he does not appear on my short list due to the fact that he was never a good worker. I appreciate everything he did for the wrestling business but when you put it all together he is not one of the best ever. I always enjoyed watching Randy Savage work because he was another one of those guys that could wrestle a good match as a heel or a face. His feud with Ricky Steamboat in ’87, Savage was the heel, culminated in one of the greatest matches ever. His feud with Flair in ’92, Savage was the face, also provided one of the best matches and feuds in wrestling history. He would make my top six list along with the Undertaker and the recently retired Mick Foley although three people really stand out in my eyes.

In the end, my list comes down to Steve Austin, Bret Hart and of course, Shawn Michaels. After looking at tapes of Austin, Hart and Michaels I have come to the realization that all three brought the kind of electricity to the ring that fans didn't think was possible. Steve was a great technical wrestler who had to change his style because of a terrifying neck injury. After the injury he changed his style so much so that he evolved into a great brawler. He's a hard-nosed guy who is working his ass off even though he is dealing with a neck injury that would put him on the shelf if he was in another sport. Bret is probably the best technical wrestler ever. He may not have the flamboyant attitude or personality of Austin or HBK but very few men can match his in ring ability.

As I said in the above tribute, Shawn really knew how to captivate the audience in the ring and outside the ring. He is undoubtedly the most athletic and entertaining wrestler that I have ever seen. If I had to pick one wrestler as the best wrestler in WWF history, possibly wrestling history, I would have to say that it is Shawn Michaels. Yes Regis, that is my final answer.

Final Thoughts
Shawn Michaels was the most complete wrestler that I have ever seen in the history of wrestling. He had a tremendous workrate, he bumped magnificently, his promos were great (especially his heel promos), he understood what psychology was all about and he was probably the most charismatic wrestler of all time. Whether he is the best wrestler ever is a debate that I am sure some of you agree with while others will disagree. In my opinion, a healthy Shawn Michaels was as good as anybody in the history of this business. He did not wrestle twenty years like Ric Flair nor did he wrestle fifteen years like Bret Hart. During his eleven year career though, he went from being a potential superstar to becoming the best wrestler in the world. He climbed the ladder, literally and figuratively, to become the greatest of all time.

If you have any questions, corrections or comments on this bio I would love to hear it so please don't hesitate to mail me at wwfjohnc@hotmail.com and I will reply to you as soon as possible. Thanks to the PWI Almanac 2000, Scott Keith’s Wrestling FAQ and HBKHeaven.com for all the other Shawn Michaels info that I needed to complete this tribute. In a few days I will post some reader feedback on this article. In one week’s time I will write a column about Shawn’s twenty greatest matches. Before I go, please remember one thing:

Shawn Michaels was the best wrestler that ever lived. Period.

Smell ya later,
John C. wwfjohnc@hotmail.com
AOLIM: JohnC1104