A 26-year career inspired a whole generation of professional wrestlers who grew up watching a kid from Chandler, Arizona putting out a whole library of matches and spitting out charisma like sunlight from the sun. The “Heart Break Kid” being the best wrestler of his generation had a career that is still remembered to this very day.
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom a.k.a. Shawn Michaels is an inspiration to our generation of wrestlers who grew up watching matches like Michaels vs Bret Hart (Wrestlemania 12), Michaels vs Razor Ramon (WM X), Michaels vs HHH (SummerSlam ’02), Michaels vs Jericho (WM 19), Michaels vs Kurt Angle (WM 21), Michaels vs Ric Flair (WM 24), Michaels vs The Undertaker (WM 25, WM26), etc.
Mr. WrestleMania began to run through the ropes under the training of legendary Mexican wrestler José Lothario in 1983. After his first couple of years in NWA, TASW & AWA, he went to WWF in 1987. The tag team of Michaels and Marty Jannetty knows as The Rockers became a sensation among WWF Fans. 4 years of this tag team ended in one of the most memorable ways in WWE History where Shawn pushed Marty through the glass window to turn heel.
Since 1992, Michaels pretty much ruled the mid-card division till 1995 during which he became a 3x Intercontinental Champion. During which he gave some memorable matches with Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, Jeff Jarrett.
After so many years in the mid-card division, Michaels became 2nd person to win the Royal Rumble Match 2 times (1995 & 1996) and in 1995 he became the first person to win the match by entering the match at #1. Though Michaels was unsuccessful to win the WWF Championship against Diesel (a.k.a. Kevin Nash) at WrestleMania XI, he did beat Bret Hart in a 60-Minute Iron Match for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania XII where Michaels’ “Boyhood Dream” came true.
He did hold the Championship for 8 months when he beat guys like Diesel, British Bulldog, Mankind and later lost to Sycho Sid at Survivor Series. He did win the title again in his hometown (San Antonio, Texas) at Royal Rumble 1997 when he beat Sid. He did later had an injury which was supposedly a career-ender but it turned out he left because of ego issues. He came back 6 weeks later when he feuded with Steve Austin and Hart Foundation.
The new faction created by Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley with Chyna and Rick Rude are known as D-Generation X became one of the driving forces for WWF to fight WCW in ratings. Shawn Michaels was a part of Montreal Screwjob which was one of those incidents that changed the wrestling business forever.
His ego problems grew month by month till the time he dropped the WWF Championship to Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV. He later walked out of the company due to problems between him and the creative department of WWF. He did make a couple of appearances for WWF Programming between 1998-2000. 2001 was the full year when Michaels never made a single appearance for WWF TV.
The emphatic return of HBK did happen on June 3rd, 2002 of RAW. He did later feuded with Triple H which was one of the bloodiest feuds in 2002. He did beat HHH in his in-ring return at SummerSlam 2002 in a Non-Sanctioned Match. In the same year, he became the World Heavyweight Champion in the 1st ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series 2002. He dropped the title to HHH as he feuded with Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. He did continue his feud with HHH till 2004.
The next chapter in Michaels’ career was a feud with Kurt Angle from WrestleMania 21 to Vengeance 2005. In 2006, he and HHH formed D-Generation X again for 1 year with those 2 people only. He feuded against The McMahons & Rated-RKO.
When HHH got injured, Michaels was the replacement in the main event of WrestleMania 23 against John Cena for the WWE Championship. In 2008, Shawn had a memorable feud and a memorable match against “Nature Boy” Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. His career continued with a feud against Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship.
His last year in his active roster Wrestling Career included a 5 star classic with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25, a stale PG Version of D-Generation X to feud against The Legacy, a feud over a rematch against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26 which was the swan song of a warrior from the state of Arizona whose dream was to be a wrestler.
His career is so much inspiring that a lot of traits in today’s wrestlers include a percentage of Shawn Michaels which have things like Superkick, overselling a move, and things like cocky attitude in your character. He is also molding developmental talent in NXT at Capitol Wrestling Center where he is a coach and a trainer.
Shawn Michaels’s Net Worth
Shawn Michaels’s early struggling days of his wrestling career are way too much behind his life. He made a wealthy career out of his career because of his attributes in the ring and out of the ring, his value in the wrestling business and his popularity all over the world converted to him in a beautiful way. His current Net worth status as of this month says that his net worth is $1.2 Million (Rs. 8.9 Crores).
| Year | Net Worth (in US$) |
| 2021 | 1.2 Million |
| 2020 | 1.8 Million |
| 2019 | 1.5 Million |
| 2018 | 1 Million |
| 2017 | 1.4 Million |
| 2016 | 1.9 Million |
| 2015 | 1.2 Million |
Shawn Michael’s Income Sources
The “Heart Break Kid” was earning during the early stages of his wrestling career as per one match fee structure as besides AWA he wasn’t signed by NWA and TASW. Later his WWF Contract gave him a base salary with Pay-Per-View bonuses, Merchandise sales, Product Sales, Video Game Features.
His non-wrestling days in 1998-2001 gave him just a Base Salary. The rest of his career had the same contract structure when he had till 1997. Now, he has a legend’s contract and an NXT contract under which he trains and coaches the developmental and NXT TV talent.
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| Source | Year |
| NWA, TASW Show-up money | 1984-1986 |
| AWA Contract | 1986-1987 |
| WWF Contract | 1988-1998 |
| WWF Contract offered by Vince | 1998-2002 |
| WWE Contract | 2002-2010 |
| WWE Legends Contract | 2010-Now |
| NXT Contract | 2015-Now |
| TV Show Contract | 2013 |
| Movies | 2017,2018,2019 |
*[NOTE:- WWE and Wrestling Contracts are very exclusive and nonbreakable so there is no information of his WWE income per year. However, Vince McMahon did pay Shawn Michaels $750,000/yr from 1998 to 2002 to just sit home and not jumping ship to WCW (Acc. to Jim Ross)]
Shawn Michaels’s Appearances on Movies and Television
Shawn Michaels not only had a run in the wrestling business but he also appeared for a couple of films. He had 2 appearances on television and he had a TV show in 2013.
Shaun Michael Movies
| Movies | Year |
| The Resurrection of Gavin Stone | 2017 |
| Pure Country: Pure Heart | 2017 |
| Avengers Of Justice: Farce Wars | 2018 |
| The Marine 6: Close Quarters | 2018 |
| 90 feet from Home | 2019 |
Shawn Michael Television Shows
| Year | Show |
| 1996 | Baywatch |
| 1999 | Pacific Blue |
| 2013 | Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures |
Shawn Michaels’s Brand Endorsements
Besides being a legendary professional wrestler, a 2x WWE Hall of Famer, and a coach in NXT, The Showstopper is also involved in brand-to-brand endorsement activities. He signed a deal with Eyeblack in 2012 where he is the brand ambassador and he has a clothing line with Eyeblack as the company has the right to sell their products with Michael’s name and phrases on their product.
Shawn Michael’s Social Media Appeal
Mr. Wrestlemania being the Icon that he is and how inspirational he is, the social media appearance of Shawn Michaels is good. He is seen advertising NXT TV where the talent is being trained by him to showcase their skills in the sport of professional wrestling. He is on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
| Platform | Followers | Profile Link |
| 4 Million | Click Here | |
| 1.5 Millon | Click Here |
Shawn Michael’s Car Collection
Shawn Michaels is known to not be much of a car collector as he is known to have a GM Pickup Truck in his home in the state of Texas. He used to have Magnum PI Ferrari 1996.
| Cars | Cost |
| Magnum PI Ferrari 1996 | $50,000 |
| GM Pickup Truck | $30,000 |
Shawn Michaels’s Residential Profile
Mr. WrestleMania’s residence is in San Antonio, Texas. There is not too much information about his home because of privacy but is some data about the house which says that it is on the land of 5500 sq. feet area surrounded by green landscapes. As we saw on the A&E biography of HBK, there is a gym along with a steam room in his house.
Shawn Michaels’s personal life
Michael Hickenbottom was born on July 22nd, 1965 in Chandler, Arizona. His father Richard Hickenbottom was in the military and he wasn’t a fan of pro wrestling saying that pro wrestling is in “A Male Soap Opera”. He always likes pro wrestling and in high school, he used to wrestle with his friend where most of the time he bled.
He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base where he was the captain of the football team. It was the bad grades in college that made Michael realize that college education was not for him and he wanted to be a wrestler.
Shawn Michael’s Career Stats and Achievements
Shawn Michael’s Career Stats
| Total Matches | 2072 |
| Total wins | 1408 |
| Total Losses | 573 |
| Total Draws | 91 |
| Total Singles Matches | 877 |
| Total wins In Singles | 569 |
| Total Losses in Singles | 258 |
| Total Championship Matches | 166 |
| Total Championships | 21 |
| World Championship | 4 |
| Wrestler he had most matches | Randy Orton (119) |
| Wrestler he wrestled least | Yoshi Tatsu (1) |
| Total WrestleMania Main Events | 5 (1996, 1998, 2004, 2007. 2010) |
| WrestleMania W/L Record | 6 Wins – 11 Losses |
| SummerSlam W/L Record | 6 Wins – 4 Losses – 1 Double DQ |
| Survivor Series W/L Record | 7 Wins – 10 Losses |
| Royal Rumble W/L Record | 6 Wins – 11 Losses – 1 Double DQ |
Shawn Michael’s Achievements
- 2x AWA World Tag Team Champions
- 1x NWA Central States Tag Team Champion
- 2x AWA Southern Tag Team Champions
- 2x TASW Texas Tag Team Champions
- 1x TASW 6-Man Tag Team Champions
- 1x TWA Heavyweight Champion
- 4x World Champion (in WWE)
- 3x WWF Intercontinental Champion
- 6x WWF/WWE Tag Team Champion
- 1x WWF European Champion
- 2x Royal Rumble Winner (1995, 1996)
- 2x WWE Hall Of Famer (Class of 2011 & Class of 2019)
- Pro Wrestling Hall Of Famer (Class of 2017)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003)
Shawn Michaels’s Girlfriends, Relationships
Shawn Michaels was 1st married in 1988 to Theresa Lynn Wood. This marriage stayed for 6 years and he got divorced in 1994. There is a mystery as far as the divorce and relationship morale goes but Shawn Michaels described the separation as amicable.
In late 1996, Shawn and Tammy started to have a relationship. This relationship went to a time when Shawn and Tammy had sex in the locker room even with the rule that there can’t be any such activity anywhere in the arena. The break-up happened in the late 97’ or early 98’ Tammy says that it was the first time she had her “heartbroken”.
In 1999, Shawn got married for the 2nd Time to Rebecca Curci. As Shawn was in a self-destruction phase, Rebecca helped him to turn Christian from a Catholic and clean up all the problems he had. They are the parents of two children (Cameron Cade and Cheyenne).
Unknown Facts about Shawn Michaels
- Shawn Michaels was fired on his 1st day in WWE due to a incident in a bar
- Shawn Michaels got the nickname “Heart break Kid” by legendary professional wrestler Curt Henning (a.k.a. Mr. Perfect)
- Shawn Michaels is ambidextrous. It means he is both left handed and right handed.
- Shawn Michaels is the trainer of Bryan Danielson (a.k.a. Daniel Bryan).
- Shawn Michaels’ final match was in his birth state of Arizona at WrestleMania XXVI.
FAQ’s About Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom
Shawn Michaels won 14 championships in WWF/WWE which include World Championships (4), Intercontinental Championship (3), Tag Team Championships (6), and European Championship (1).
Yes. He did show interest in working for WCW in 1998. That was the main reason for Vince McMahon offering Shawn Michaels a $750,000/Yr deal for 4 years just to sit home.
Yes. He received 5 stars for 2 matches. First was his WrestleMania X ladder match against Razor Ramon and second, was the 1st ever Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker in 1997.
Triple H, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Road Dogg (a.k.a Brain Armstrong).
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