Diary of a Heartbreak Kid Read online

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  ISBN 978-1-4516-6888-9

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  CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  PROLOGUE: A Showstopper Is Born

  DAY ONE: Thursday, March 31, 2011

  DAY TWO: Friday, April 1, 2011

  DAY THREE: Saturday, April 2, 2011

  DAY FOUR: Sunday, April 3, 2011

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  It was uncomfortably silent when Shawn Michaels warily toed the aisle for the first time in his career on October 16, 1984. In an undersize arena that’s possibly no longer standing in Texas today, a Lake Charles crowd devoid of reaction met Michaels, a sandy-haired youth with a pure and charming smile, as he crossed through the ring ropes.

  More than two decades later, an attending audience that was exponentially larger—plus a worldwide viewership watching from home—sat in respectful awe when HBK, a veritable ring marvel, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2, 2011.

  Richly inspired by his athleticism, showmanship and expressions of genuine heart, the WWE Universe embraced the Showstopper’s high honor as he was rightly exalted for performing like no one else in all of sports entertainment.

  In one night, his legendary laddertop leap, fulfilled boyhood dream and repeated masterful dances on the Grandest Stage of Them All were celebrated in grandeur—on the eve of WrestleMania XXVII, appropriately enough.

  Michaels’s squared circle career was born just months before Vince McMahon hatched WrestleMania—two phenomena that evolved in parallel until Michaels seized the event as his personal stage for excellence. Christened “Mr. WrestleMania” after consistently unforgettable performances, HBK completed his grandest ambition at the Show of Shows, but this time there was no championship, no rivalry, no battleground.

  This time, it was simply a guaranteed glory that Michaels indisputably earned over the course of a twenty-six-year career: entry into the WWE Hall of Fame.

  PROLOGUE: A Showstopper Is Born

  1

  BUILT BY ASSOCIATION

  All it took was the initial exposure to Joe Blanchard’s Southwest Championship Wrestling in the HemisFair Arena to convince Shawn Michaels. Raucously cheering for the likes of Bruiser Bob Sweetan, Michaels, a self-admittedly shy youth, conjured a dream to chase and a passion to fulfill from the sound of the very first ring bell.

  Michaels was introduced to and trained by Jose Lothario, and his squared circle apprenticeship earned him a spot on the roster of the American Wrestling Association (AWA). Here Shawn was first paired up with an equally energetic competitor with a comparably frenetic ring style: Marty Jannetty. As the Midnight Rockers, the young tag team kicked off their careers, ascended their division ranks, captured the AWA World Tag Team Championship and readjusted their aspirations to a larger pond with much bigger fish in WWE.

  2

  ROCKIN’ OUT, ROCKIN’ IN

  Following an invitation by WWE officials, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty landed in June 1987 on the doorstep of Vince McMahon’s vastly growing franchise, where the pair clashed with Jose Estrada and Jimmy Jack Funk in their first-ever WWE match. Despite an unsavory first impression among fellow Superstars that led to the dismissal of Jannetty and Michaels, the revitalized, less rebellious Rockers were welcomed back to WWE on July 7, 1988.

  The rugged road to the truest proving ground in sports entertainment would pay off in spades as The Rockers—with their neon fringe and heavily teased hair tresses—propelled themselves upward to be among the most prolific tag team specialists in WWE history.

  3

  A REAL GLASS ACT

  Ironically similar to a crack in a glass windshield, a trivial incident between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty led to a much more severe fracture during a visit to Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake’s Barber Shop in late 1991. Michaels’s ego had grown too large for The Rockers, and Shawn initiated his solo career in a most despicable fashion: “accidentally” superkicking his benevolent tag partner and then projecting Jannetty through a pane of glass.

  Representative of their shattered union, the shards of the window lay strewn about the carpet of Beefcake’s set and around Michaels’s betrayed former friend. With a proud collar pop of his leather bomber jacket, The Heartbreak Kid—as “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig later dubbed Michaels while in a commentating role—was introduced to the world.

  4

  “CLIMB” DOES PAY

  However contemptible his actions on Barber Shop, the split of The Rockers was the first step up a very tall ladder for Shawn Michaels. After capturing the Intercontinental Championship from the British Bulldog in 1992, The Heartbreak Kid reigned during his singles career and only continued his ascent upward . . . until he leaped from that ladder’s peak at WrestleMania X.

  Michaels met Razor Ramon in Madison Square Garden that night for the Intercontinental title in a revolutionary Ladder match that many have referred to as one of the best bouts in WrestleMania history. Using the lofty aluminum apparatus to uniquely batter each other, HBK and Ramon commanded the attention of the WWE Universe. Time slowed in New York City and the show came to a breath-baiting halt when Michaels soared from the peak of the ladder on to his rival, forging a quintessential ’Mania moment and amassing early equity for his future Mr. WrestleMania namesake.

  5

  CLING OF THE RING

  Reviled yet recognized by the WWE Universe as an exceptional performer, Shawn Michaels entered the 1995 Royal Rumble with his usual bravado and detestable swagger. The “Sexy Boy”/“Boy Toy” kicked off the thirty-man clash as the first entrant beside the second competitor, the British Bulldog. More than an hour later, the same two Superstars looked across the ri
ng to see the foe with whom they started the match. That is, until Bulldog powered HBK over the top rope, seemingly securing his WWE title opportunity at WrestleMania.

  However, leveraging both the match rules and the ring ropes, The Heartbreak Kid precariously dangled above the arena floor—and instant defeat—with only one boot touching. As “Rule Britannia” signaled Davey Boy Smith’s supposed triumph, Shawn steadied his balance, slipped back into the ring and ambushed the swindled Bulldog, who was knocked from his mounted celebratory position on the middle rope to the outside.

  Michaels made history with his start-to-finish feat, and his Rumble accomplishment situated him in the main event of WrestleMania XI against his former best friend and bodyguard, WWE Champion Diesel. Though unsuccessful against “Big Daddy Cool” on the Grandest Stage of Them All, The Heartbreak Kid rebounded with a second, successive Rumble victory in 1996—the year in which Michaels would simply not be denied.

  6

  BOYHOOD DREAMER

  The WWE Universe has often heard the impassioned echo of the McMahon-uttered statement “The boyhood dream has come true” in the most definitive WrestleMania retrospectives. This declaration aptly encapsulates the emotions fueling Shawn Michaels as he looked down at the reflection of his own tear-swelled face in the luster of the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XII.

  The long-awaited sixty-minute clash between Michaels and Bret “Hit Man” Hart culminated in overtime with dual doses of Sweet Chin Music to the defending WWE Champion. After more than an hour of alluring competition between sports entertainment’s finest technicians, The Heartbreak Kid met his destiny and clutched the rich prize he’d sought for so long, a gleaming manifestation of the dream that had finally been fulfilled.

  7

  LEADING THE NEW GENERATION

  Together with the leather chaps and mirrored ornamentation of his flashy ring garb, the WWE title around his waist completed Shawn Michaels’s signature style as the leader of WWE’s “New Generation.”

  The Heartbreak Kid’s career continued to flourish with successes against a bevy of challengers, including Sycho Sid, Vader and Mankind. But the taxing confrontations associated with the role of WWE’s premier Superstar wore heavily on Michaels’s body, especially given the nature of his famously high-risk techniques.

  Though very much a “Superman” of the ring, the WWE Champion displayed a much more deeply human side to the WWE Universe when he revealed he’d lost his smile. Forced to repair his deteriorating knee, Michaels relinquished his prized WWE title and went on a mission to both heal and retrieve his absent grin, making a permanent connection with WWE fans in the process.

  8

  BREAK IT DOWN AND OUT

  The Showstopper ultimately located his smile by the end of 1997 . . . at the expense of each and every authority figure (and then some) in WWE. With the formation of D-Generation X, Shawn Michaels and his best friend, Triple H, revolutionized sports entertainment with their edgy, unruly and unrelenting exploits and played a critical part in the onset of The Attitude Era, as well as WWE’s Monday Night Wars victory over WCW.

  Leaving an indelible neon-green mark on WWE, DX said and did whatever they wanted to whomever they wanted, defying everyone from WWE officials to revered Superstars like Bret Hart. As the WWE Universe quickly grew to understand, HBK and The Game had two words for anyone who stood against them or any future iterations of the rebel faction—though none were more potent D-Generates than its core members.

  A proud D-Generate marching into WrestleMania XIV, the Showstopper would compete in his last match for four years against Stone Cold Steve Austin. With Triple H by his side, Michaels lost the bout, the WWE title and the spotlight in a single night, which ended with a knockout punch from celebrity guest Mike Tyson.

  9

  STRONG, COURAGEOUS, VICTORIOUS

  He left the ring with Triple H beside him, but when Shawn Michaels returned to action in 2002, his best friend was now his greatest nemesis. A D-Generate converted into a pure family man, HBK came back to WWE and proved that when it comes to the squared circle, he is above all a peerless performer.

  With biblical passages encouraging him to “be strong and courageous,” Michaels reemerged and clashed with The Game at SummerSlam. Their unfinished business carried into Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden for the debut of the Elimination Chamber, years after the back surgery that doctors argued would preclude Michaels from ring action forever.

  In New York City’s famous arena, HBK conquered five other Superstars—among them Triple H and Chris Jericho—to capture the World Heavyweight Championship and utter a truly remarkable statement: The Showstopper was back.

  10

  MR. WRESTLEMANIA

  Compensating for time lost while away from the stage he was born to walk, Shawn Michaels quickly reestablished himself as the Main Event, particularly when the setting happened to be the Show of Shows.

  After his return in 2002, HBK continued to set the standard when it came to competing at WrestleMania. Chris Jericho. Kurt Angle. John Cena. Even Mr. McMahon: Against some of WWE’s greatest names, even in instances of defeat, Michaels’s consistent level of performance at the Biggest Spectacle of All has been rivaled only by the parallel progression of Undertaker’s flawless WrestleMania winning streak. This, perhaps, is why the Showstopper versus the Phenom was an event that not even divine intervention could deter.

  11

  THE SHOW STOPS

  Once and again a second time, Shawn Michaels challenged Undertaker on the Grandest Stage of Them All in clashes for much more than any championship at WrestleManias XXV and XXVI. With his honor, his legacy and, ultimately, his career in the balance, the Showstopper sought to bring down the Dead Man and his mythic streak. The result: two matches that no one in the WWE Universe—Superstar or spectator—will ever forget and, moreover, a somber yet dignified end to Shawn Michaels’s prolific career.

  In Phoenix on March 28, 2010, the Show was officially stopped. But this would be no epitaph. Rather, despite the loss to Undertaker, HBK stood rapt by the adulation of the 72,000 present in the stadium and the millions watching worldwide.

  Michaels’s career was further celebrated on a poignant edition of Monday Night Raw just twenty-four hours after his final match at WrestleMania. His emotions slightly obscured beneath the brim of his cowboy hat, the proud San Antonian Showstopper stepped away from what he’d always done best with a proud, contented wave.

  One year later, the celebration of a brilliant career brings Mr. WrestleMania back to WWE on a suitably radiant weekend. For all the championships he’s chased and performances he’s sought to exceed at the Show of Shows, this WrestleMania brings with it the greatest honor Shawn Michaels could ever envision, as he is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

  DAY ONE: Thursday, March 31, 2011

  12

  THE ARRIVAL, 4:43 p.m.

  The retired Showstopper flies again, this time arriving in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport mere miles away from the sites of a momentous WrestleMania weekend. Joined by his family, the WWE Hall of Fame–bound Texan disembarks beside his wife, Rebecca, the pair corralling two children following a flight from San Antonio. The HB Clan waits for its patriarch outside the airport while Shawn rounds up the family’s ride to downtown and stumbles into the Kliq, resurrected: droves of HBK supporters in shirts from all eras looking to meet and congratulate Michaels.

  Posters, magazines, zebra-striped Heartbreak Kid driving caps from 1995. The usual assortment, one would suppose. A life-size cardboard cutout of a DX-shirted Showstopper, however, is the most unexpected artifact in the middle of a bustling airport terminal.

  “He signed my hand!” one youth excitedly yelps while clinging to his mom. This small hand is among easily a hundred autographed objects in a span of just several minutes.

  Shar
pies exhausted, HBK makes his departure to rejoin his family and head to their hotel.

  “This is the most work I’ve done all day. It’s too much,” jokes a quite relaxed Michaels.

  13

  HEADS UP, 5:31 p.m.

  From “The Boy Toy” to a crotch-chopping D-Generate to onetime tag partner of the “Good Lord” Himself, Shawn Michaels has played many roles in his WWE career. One year after retiring from the ring, HBK still wears many hats, but most notably that of husband and father.

  When Michaels and his family pull up to their destination, his son, Cameron, is still carrying a pair of heroic novelties: Batman backpack and a glistening World Heavyweight Championship that traveled across the country in an airplane overhead bin. HBK’s younger child, Cheyenne—in little lady cowgirl boots, white with pink trim—is just as patient as her older brother while their legendary dad coordinates his extended weekend in a hotel meeting room.

  14

  SUCCESS BAGGAGE, 5:48 p.m.

  After receiving his official schedule for his four-day WrestleMania week ahead, Shawn experiences a close encounter with WWE Hall of Famers Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson, two ring legends—Patterson especially—who were integral motivators for Michaels in his earliest years. Warm congratulatory praise is received with sheer humility by the Showstopper, who occasionally peeks around to ensure that the younger members of his clan haven’t strayed out of sight.

  The longtime mentors turned friends say good-bye for now, and Shawn reroutes his attention to wrangling the family and their baggage. Amid a uniform pile of standard black luggage rests one noticeable camo-colored knapsack, representative of Michaels’s very passionate outdoor interests. The pushcart is kicked forth and the family sets off toward their weekend domicile.