Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Shawn Michaels

Role / Field:

Iconic American professional wrestler, known as 'the Heartbreak Kid' and 'Mr. WrestleMania'.

Born:

1965-07-22

Century / Era:

1965s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom; July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of the NXT brand, the promotion's developmental territory. Regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "the Heartbreak Kid" (often abbreviated as HBK), "the Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania".

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, renamed in 2002), from 1988 until his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years, resuming his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 until ceremoniously retiring in 2010. He returned for a one-off final match in 2018. In 2016, he began working as a coach at the WWE Performance Center, and was a producer on NXT in 2018, before becoming the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative for the NXT brand itself. In WWF/WWE, Michaels headlined pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2018, main-eventing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, five times (12, 14, 20, 23 and 26...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Aamir Khan — Contemporary (Born in 1965) (1965): Iconic Indian actor and filmmaker, known as "Mr. Perfectionist" in Hindi cinema.
• Alan Freed — Contemporary (Died in 1965) (1965): Pioneering disc jockey who popularized rock and roll and broke racial barriers in 1950s pop culture.
• Albert Schweitzer — Contemporary (Died in 1965) (1965): German polymath renowned for theology, music, and 'Reverence for Life'
• Alan Menken — Shared historical date (07-22 · Born) (1949): Award-winning American composer celebrated for Disney film scores and Broadway musicals.
• Alan Moorehead — Shared historical date (07-22 · Born) (1910): Australian war correspondent and author of popular histories, famed for Nile explorations.
• Aldo Nadi — Historical peer (Died in 1965) (1965): Italian fencing champion known for his Olympic success and teaching in the US.
• Andrea M. Ghez — Historical peer (Born in 1965) (1965): Pioneering astrophysicist known for studying the Milky Way's central black hole.
• Abba Eban — Historical peer (Died in 2002) (2002): Israeli diplomat, politician, and scholar of Arabic and Hebrew languages.
• Aileen Wuornos — Historical peer (Died in 2002) (2002): American serial killer known for murdering seven male clients in Florida.
• Abdul Basit 'Abd us-Samad — Historical peer (Died in 1988) (1988): Renowned Egyptian Quran reciter, celebrated for his melodious and emotionally engaging style.
• 1965 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1965
• July 22 (07-22) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on July 22

Frequently Asked Questions about Shawn Michaels