Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his
ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American
professional wrestler. He performs for
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its
Raw brand. Hickenbottom is one of the senior performers in WWE, having joined in 1988.
Hickenbottom began his wrestling career with
Mid-South Wrestling, now known as Universal Wrestling Federation, and
American Wrestling Association (AWA). During his time with AWA, he performed in partnership with
Marty Jannetty, as
The Midnight Rockers; winning the
AWA World Tag Team Championship twice. Hickenbottom and Jannetty then signed with World Wrestling Federation (WWF), while in contract with AWA. They returned to AWA, only to go back to the WWF in 1988.
Hickenbottom later worked as a sole performer, taking on a new persona of "The Heartbreak Kid." He was the leader of a backstage group known as
The Kliq, which was known for performing an unscripted act during the
Madison Square Garden "
Curtain Call" incident in 1996. The following year, he teamed up with
Hunter Hearst Hemsley, who often was referred to as Triple H (HHH), and
Chyna to form
D-Generation X (DX). This
group of wrestlers was known for their sophomoric crude humor. That same year, Hickenbottom took part in one of the most controversial matches in wrestling history, dubbed as the "
Montreal Screwjob." After a back injury forced him to retire following his
WWF Championship loss at
WrestleMania XIV, Hickenbottom opened a wrestling academy, called
The Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy, in which he trained upcoming wrestlers. He made his in-ring return at
SummerSlam in 2002. In 2006, Hickenbottom and Triple H briefly reformed DX, but after an injury that Triple H sustained, Hickenbottom returned to singles wrestling.