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Shawn Michaels aka "Heartbreak Kid" (HBK) on "WWE Raw"
Shawn Michaels aka "Heartbreak Kid" (HBK) on "WWE Raw" - © USA Network
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Shawn Michaels aka Heartbreak Kid (HBK) WWE Raw Shawn Michaels Pictures
Shawn Michaels is a professional wrestler featured on USA Network's "WWE Raw."

Sports-entertainment has seen its share of immortals. There have been icons, some Great Ones, a few Olympians and a whole lot of legends. But there has only been one Showstopper, and he is WWE Superstar Shawn Michaels.

In an industry where the hyperbole is the norm, there may not be enough ways to describe the Heartbreak Kid (HBK). Shawn Michaels is truly incomparable. Shawn Michaels has made a career of stealing the show – competing in matches that are talked about for years. Shawn Michaels' rivalries over a career spanning more than 20 years are truly the stuff of legends.

Shawn Michaels first started revolutionizing the sport during his partnership with Marty Jannetty as The Rockers. Their wars with "Playboy" Buddy Rose & Doug Sommers in the AWA and then the subsequent rivalries with The Hart Foundation and The Brain Busters in WWE changed the face of tag team wrestling and captured the imagination of our fans. Arguably, Shawn Michaels could have gone down as one of the greats if he had chosen to stay primarily in tag team competition. But the Heartbreak Kid knew he could become an all-time great. One superkick to Jannetty during Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop closed the door on a popular partnership and opened another to Michaels' legend.

HBK's career can't be just measured in titles, even though his trophy case is spilling over. Shawn Michaels was WWE's first-ever Grand slam Champion, holding the European Championship, World Tag Team Championship, the Intercontinental Title and WWE Championship. Shawn Michaels, along with Triple H, co-founded one of the greatest factions of all time, D-Generation X, whose popularity and anti-establishment philosophy continue to capture the imagination of our fans today.

Perhaps the greatest measure of Shawn Michaels' legacy is his uncanny ability to perform his best on the biggest stages. Shawn Michaels has won the Royal Rumble Match twice and has headlined WrestleMania more times than the Immortal Hulk Hogan. The Heartbreak Kid didn't compete in the first Ladder Match, but he put them on the map with his WrestleMania X war against Razor Ramon over the Intercontinental Championship. Shawn Michaels didn't win the match, but at the end of the night, no one was talking about the loss. They were talking about Shawn Michaels and the amazing risks he took during the bout.

Students of the sports-entertainment game continued to talk about The Showstopper's performances in many WrestleManias that followed—from an unbelievable clash with John Cena for the WWE Championship in 2007 to HBK's emotional confrontation with the "Nature Boy" at WrestleMania XXIV, ultimately Ric Flair's last match.

Owning the spotlight has been a common theme throughout Shawn Michaels' life. Even as a little boy growing up in Texas, he wanted to be the star of the show. At age 12, Shawn Michaels saw his first wrestling match and knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler. Shawn Michaels became a stand-out linebacker and a captain on his high school team. Upon graduating, Shawn Michaels attended Southwest Texas State University, but soon realized that college wasn't the path he wanted to follow. Shawn Michaels began chasing his dream to become a WWE Superstar.

But success didn't come overnight. Early in his career, Shawn Michaels had doubters, skeptics who said he was too small to become a World Champion. But Shawn Michaels, along with his bitter rival Bret "Hit Man" Hart, overcame incredible odds and proved that skilled wrestlers did not need to be giants to succeed in sports-entertainment. Even when WWE struggled early in the Monday Night Wars against WCW in the late 1990s and its Superstars jumped ship to the competition, HBK stayed and carried the company on his shoulders as champion. Shawn Michaels helped lay the foundation that eventually enabled WWE – and Superstars such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and Mankind – to overcome WCW in the Monday Night Wars.

A serious back injury put the Heartbreak Kid on the sidelines for four years between 1998 and 2002. During that time Shawn Michaels healed and overcame personal demons to find peace in his life. Amazingly, Shawn Michaels returned to the ring better than ever, defeating Triple H in a Street Fight at SummerSlam, and then eventually winning the World Heavyweight Championship.

The Game and HBK have been the worst of enemies, spilling buckets of blood in one of WWE's most memorable rivalries. But their wars have only made them the best of friends; it's difficult to imagine these DX cohorts teaming with anyone else. Triple H, who does not give praise easily, sums up Shawn Michaels' legacy like this:

"If you were to ask me who's the greatest I've ever been in the ring with, that's easy. It's Shawn."

Though more than 30 years have passed since he saw his first wrestling match, the Heartbreak Kid is still a 12-year-old boy at heart, daring to dream. Shawn Michaels is still tuning up the band and delighting audiences with Sweet Chin Music. Even after the show finally ends for good, Shawn Michaels will still be the Icon … the Showstopper … the Main Event.

Signature Move: Sweet Chin Music (Superkick)
Career Highlights: WWE Champion; World Heavyweight Champion; Royal Rumble winner (1995 & 1996); Intercontinental Champion; World Tag Team Champion; European Champion






SHAWN MICHAELS: FACTS

How tall is Shawn Michaels? How old is Shawn Michaels? Where was Shawn Michaels born? Find out here.

Age: 44 years old
Birthday: July 22, 1965
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 225 lbs.
AKA: Heartbreak Kid
Nickname: The Showstopper
The Main Event
The Icon
HBK
Rocker
The Boy Toy
Midnight Rocker
The Pitbull
The Wrestler of the 90s
Full Name / Real Name: Michael Shawn Hickenbottom
Birthplace: Phoenix, AZ
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Wife: Rebecca Curci
Theresa Lynn Wood (5/28/1988 - 8/23/1994, divorced)




SHAWN MICHAELS: NEWS


Shawn Michaels aka "Heartbreak Kid" (HBK) on "WWE Raw" 'SmackDown' Welcomes Back 'The Rock' to Celebrate Its 10th AnniversaryPremiering Friday, October 2, the anniversary special features Dwayne Johnson and a mega-eight-man tag match with top superstars from "Raw" and "Smackdown," including John Cena, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Read more...
WWE Raw 2009 NBC Celebrates 25th Anniversary of WrestlemaniaPremiering on Saturday, August 29, the special will relive all the action and excitement of WrestleMania 25 in one lightning-fast hour of groundbreaking music television. Read more...

WWE RAW: NEWS (9)


Logo for MyNetworkTV's "WWE SmackDown" 'WWE Tribute to The Troops' Honors Military for HolidaysWWE Superstars and Divas will head to Iraq this holiday season to honor the U.S. Armed Forces with a one-hour special chronicling their time there, culminating with a live performance, to air Saturday, December 19. Read more...
USA Network Pins Down 'WWE Raw'The cable network has made a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment to keep the ratings juggernaut on the network through fall 2014. Read more...
Cast of "Burn Notice" USA Garners Best Cable Summer Ratings Ever"Burn Notice" was the #1 scripted series for the summer in all of television, while "Royal Pains" ranks as the top rookie series so far this year. Read more...
SEE ALL WWE RAW NEWS (9)