A website, also written Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet address known as a Uniform Resource Locator. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web.

A web page is a document, typically written in plain text interspersed with formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). A web page may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable markup anchors.

Web pages are accessed and transported with the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which may optionally employ encryption (HTTP Secure, HTTPS) to provide security and privacy for the user of the web page content. The user's application, often a web browser, renders the page content according to its HTML markup instructions onto a display terminal.

The pages of a website can usually be accessed from a simple Uniform Resource Locator (URL) called the homepage. The URLs of the pages organize them into a hierarchy, although hyperlinking between them conveys the reader's perceived site structure and guides the reader's navigation of the site.

Some websites require a subscription to access some or all of their content. Examples of subscription websites include many business sites, parts of news websites, academic journal websites, gaming websites, file-sharing websites, message boards, web-based email, social networking websites, websites providing real-time stock market data, and websites providing various other services (e.g. websites offering storing and/or sharing of images, files and so forth).

History

The World Wide Web (WWW) was created in 1990 by CERN physicist Tim Berners-Lee. On 30 April 1993, CERN announced that the World Wide Web would be free to use for anyone. Before the introduction of HTML and HTTP, other protocols such as File Transfer Protocol and the gopher protocol were used to retrieve individual files from a server. These protocols offer a simple directory structure which the user navigates and chooses files to download. Documents were most often presented as plain text files without formatting, or were encoded in word processor formats.

Overview

Organized by function, a website may be

a personal website

a commercial website

a government website

a nonprofit organization website.

It could be the work of an individual, a business or other organization, and is typically dedicated to some particular topic or purpose. Any website can contain a hyperlink to any other website, so the distinction between individual sites, as perceived by the user, may sometimes be blurred.

Websites are written in, or dynamically converted to, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and are accessed using a software interface classified as a user agent. Web pages can be viewed or otherwise accessed from a range of computer-based and Internet-enabled devices of various sizes, including desktop computers, laptops, PDAs and cell phones.

A website is hosted on a computer system known as a web server, also called an HTTP server, and these terms can also refer to the software that runs on these systems and that retrieves and delivers the web pages in response to requests from the website users. Apache is the most commonly used web server software (according to Netcraft statistics) and Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS) is also commonly used.

Static website

A static website is one that has web pages stored on the server in the format that is sent to a client web browser. It is primarily coded in Hypertext Markup Language, HTML.

Simple forms or marketing examples of websites, such as ''classic website'', a ''five-page website'' or a ''brochure website'' are often static websites, because they present pre-defined, static information to the user. This may include information about a company and its products and services via text, photos, animations, audio/video and interactive menus and navigation.

This type of website usually displays the same information to all visitors. Similar to handing out a printed brochure to customers or clients, a static website will generally provide consistent, standard information for an extended period of time. Although the website owner may make updates periodically, it is a manual process to edit the text, photos and other content and may require basic website design skills and software.

In summary, visitors are not able to control what information they receive via a static website, and must instead settle for whatever content the website owner has decided to offer at that time.

They are edited using four broad categories of software:

Text editors, such as Notepad or TextEdit, where content and HTML markup are manipulated directly within the editor program

WYSIWYG offline editors, such as Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe Dreamweaver (previously Macromedia Dreamweaver), with which the site is edited using a GUI interface and the final HTML markup is generated automatically by the editor software

WYSIWYG online editors which create media rich online presentation like web pages, widgets, intro, blogs, and other documents.

Template-based editors, such as RapidWeaver and iWeb, which allow users to quickly create and upload web pages to a web server without detailed HTML knowledge, as they pick a suitable template from a palette and add pictures and text to it in a desktop publishing fashion without direct manipulation of HTML code.

Dynamic website

A dynamic website is one that changes or customizes itself frequently and automatically, based on certain criteria.

Dynamic websites can have two types of dynamic activity: Code and Content. Dynamic code is invisible or behind the scenes and dynamic content is visible or fully displayed.

Dynamic code

The first type is a web page with dynamic code. The code is constructed dynamically on the fly using active programming language instead of plain, static HTML.

A website with dynamic code refers to its construction or how it is built, and more specifically refers to the code used to create a single web page. A dynamic web page is generated on the fly by piecing together certain blocks of code, procedures or routines. A dynamically-generated web page would recall various bits of information from a database and put them together in a pre-defined format to present the reader with a coherent page. It interacts with users in a variety of ways including by reading cookies recognizing users' previous history, session variables, server side variables etc., or by using direct interaction (form elements, mouse overs, etc.). A site can display the current state of a dialogue between users, monitor a changing situation, or provide information in some way personalized to the requirements of the individual user.

Dynamic content

The second type is a website with dynamic content displayed in plain view. Variable content is displayed dynamically on the fly based on certain criteria, usually by retrieving content stored in a database.

A website with dynamic content refers to how its messages, text, images and other information are displayed on the web page, and more specifically how its content changes at any given moment. The web page content varies based on certain criteria, either pre-defined rules or variable user input. For example, a website with a database of news articles can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news articles for today's date. This type of dynamic website will automatically show the most current news articles on any given date. Another example of dynamic content is when a retail website with a database of media products allows a user to input a search request for the keyword Beatles. In response, the content of the web page will spontaneously change the way it looked before, and will then display a list of Beatles products like CDs, DVDs and books.

Purpose of dynamic websites

The main purpose of a dynamic website is automation. A dynamic website can operate more effectively, be built more efficiently and is easier to maintain, update and expand. It is much simpler to build a template and a database than to build hundreds or thousands of individual, static HTML web pages.

Software systems

There is a wide range of software systems, such as ANSI C servlets, JavaServer Pages (JSP), the PHP, Perl, Python, and Ruby programming languages, ASP.NET, Active Server Pages (ASP), YUMA and ColdFusion (CFML) that are available to generate dynamic web systems and dynamic sites. Sites may also include content that is retrieved from one or more databases or by using XML-based technologies such as RSS.

Static content may also be dynamically generated either periodically, or if certain conditions for regeneration occur (cached) in order to avoid the performance loss of initiating the dynamic engine on a per-user or per-connection basis.

Plug ins are available to expand the features and abilities of web browsers to show ''active content'' or even create rich internet applications. Examples of such plug-ins are Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash, Adobe Shockwave or applets written in Java. Dynamic HTML also provides for user interactivity and realtime element updating within web pages (i.e., pages don't have to be loaded or reloaded to effect any changes), mainly using the Document Object Model (DOM) and JavaScript, support which is built-in to most modern web browsers.

Turning a website into an income source is a common practice for web developers and website owners. There are several methods for creating a website business which fall into two broad categories, as defined below.

Content-based sites

Some websites derive revenue by selling advertising space on their site either through direct sales or through an advertising network. (see Contextual advertising).

Product- or service-based sites

Some websites derive revenue by offering products or services for sale. In the case of e-commerce websites, the products or services may be purchased at the website itself, by entering credit card or other payment information into a payment form on the site. While most business websites serve as a shop window for existing brick and mortar businesses, it is increasingly the case that some websites are businesses in their own right; that is, the products they offer are only available for purchase on the web.

Websites occasionally derive income from a combination of these two practices. For example, a website such as an online auctions website may charge the users of its auction service to list an auction, but also display third-party advertisements on the site, from which it derives further income.

Spelling

The form "website" has become the standard spelling, but previously "Web site" (capitalised) and "web site" were also widely used. Some academia, some large book publishers, and some dictionaries still use "Web site", reflecting the origin of the term in the proper name, ''World Wide Web''. There has also been similar debate regarding related terms such as web page, webmaster, and webcam.

Among leading style guides, the Reuters style guide, The Chicago Manual of Style, and the AP Stylebook (since April 2010) all recommend "website".

Among leading dictionaries and encyclopedias, the Canadian Oxford Dictionary prefers "website", and the Oxford English Dictionary changed to "website" in 2004. Wikipedia also uses "website", but Encyclopædia Britannica (including its Merriam-Webster subsidiary) uses "Web site".

Among leading language-usage commentators, ''Garner's Modern American Usage'' acknowledges that "website" is the standard form, but Bill Walsh, of The Washington Post, argues for using "Web site" in his books and on his website (however, The Washington Post itself uses "website").

Among major internet technology companies and corporations, Microsoft uses "website" and occasionally "web site", Apple uses "website", and Google uses "website".

Types of websites

Websites can be divided into two broad categories - static and interactive. Interactive sites are part of the Web 2.0 community of sites, and allow for interactivity between the site owner and site visitors. Static sites serve or capture information but do not allow engagement with the audience directly.

There are many varieties of websites, each specializing in a particular type of content or use, and they may be arbitrarily classified in any number of ways. A few such classifications might include: {|class="wikitable collapsible" style="font-size: 89%" |- ! colspan="3"| Click "show" or "hide" to toggle this table |- !Type of Website !Description !Examples |- |Affiliate |A site, typically few in pages, whose purpose is to sell a third party's product. The seller receives a commission for facilitating the sale. | |- |Affiliate Agency |Enabled portal that renders not only its custom CMS but also syndicated content from other content providers for an agreed fee. There are usually three relationship tiers. Affiliate Agencies |(e.g., Commission Junction), Advertisers (e.g., eBay) and consumer (e.g., Yahoo!). |- |Archive site |Used to preserve valuable electronic content threatened with extinction. Two examples are: Internet Archive, which since 1996 has preserved billions of old (and new) web pages; and Google Groups, which in early 2005 was archiving over 845,000,000 messages posted to Usenet news/discussion groups. |Internet Archive, Google Groups |- |Attack site |A site created specifically to attack visitors computers on their first visit to a website by downloading a file (usually a trojan horse). These websites rely on unsuspecting users with poor anti-virus protection in their computers. | |- |Blog (web log) |Sites generally used to post online diaries which may include discussion forums (e.g., blogger, Xanga). Many bloggers use blogs like an editorial section of a newspaper to express their ideas on anything ranging from politics to religion to video games to parenting, along with anything in between. Some bloggers are professional bloggers and they are paid to blog about a certain subject, and they are usually found on news sites. | |- |Brand building site |A site with the purpose of creating an experience of a brand online. These sites usually do not sell anything, but focus on building the brand. Brand building sites are most common for low-value, high-volume fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). | |- |Celebrity website |A website whose information revolves around a celebrity. This sites can be official (endorsed by the celebrity) or fan made (run by his/her fan, fans, without implicit endorsement). |jimcarrey.com |- |Click-to-donate site |A website that allows the visitor to donate to charity simply by clicking on a button or answering a question correctly. An advertiser usually donates to the charity for each correct answer generated. |The Hunger Site, Freerice, Ripple (charitable organisation) |- |Community site |A site where persons with similar interests communicate with each other, usually by chat or message boards. |Myspace, Facebook, orkut |- |Content site |Sites whose business is the creation and distribution of original content |(e.g., Slate, About.com). |- |Corporate website |Used to provide background information about a business, organization, or service. | |- |Dating website |A site where users can find other single people looking for long range relationships, dating, or just friends. |Many of them are pay per services such as eHarmony and Match.com, but there are many free or partially free dating sites. Most dating sites today have the functionality of social networking websites. |- |Electronic commerce (e-commerce) site |A site offering goods and services for online sale and enabling online transactions for such sales. | |- |Forum website |A site where people discuss various topics. | |- |Government Site |A website made by the local, state, department or national government of a country. Usually these sites also operate websites that are intended to inform tourists or support tourism. |For example, Richmond.com is the geodomain for Richmond, Virginia. |- |Gripe site |A site devoted to the criticism of a person, place, corporation, government, or institution. | |- |Gaming website Gambling website |A site that lets users play online games. Some enable people to gamble online. | |- |Humor site |Satirizes, parodies or otherwise exists solely to amuse. | |- |Information site |Most websites could fit in this type of website to some extent many of them are not necessarily for commercial purposes |RateMyProfessors.com, Free Internet Lexicon and Encyclopedia. Most government, educational and nonprofit institutions have an informational site. |- |Media sharing site |A site that enables users to upload and view media such as pictures, music, and videos |Flickr, YouTube, PureVolume and Google Videos |- |Mirror site |A website that is the replication of another website. This type of websites are used as a response to spikes in user visitors. Mirror sites are most commonly used to provide multiple sources of the same information, and are of particular value as a way of providing reliable access to large downloads. | |- |Microblog site |A short and simple form of blogging. Microblogs are limited to certain amounts of characters and works similar to a status update on Facebook | Twitter |- |News site |Similar to an information site, but dedicated to dispensing news, politics, and commentary. |cnn.com |- |Personal website |Websites about an individual or a small group (such as a family) that contains information or any content that the individual wishes to include. Many personal homepages are rare, thanks to the modern era of social networking sites such as Myspace, but some are still used for at home businesses. This website is different from a ''Celebrity website'', which can be very expensive and run by a publicist or agency. | |- |Phishing site |a website created to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business (such as Social Security Administration, PayPal) in an electronic communication (see Phishing). | |- |p2p/Torrents website |Websites that index torrent files. This type of website is different from a Bit torrent client which is usually a stand alone software. |Mininova, The Pirate Bay |- |Political site |A site on which people may voice political views, show political humor, campaigning for elections, or show information about a certain political party or ideology. | |- |Porn site |A site that shows sexually explicit content for enjoyment and relaxation. They can be similar to a personal website when it's a website of a porn actor/actress or a media sharing website where user can upload from their own sexually explicit material to movies made by adult studios. |PornoTube |- |Question and Answer (Q&A;) Site |Answer site is a site where people can ask questions & get answers. |Yahoo! Answers, Stack Exchange Network (including Stack Overflow) |- |Rating site |A site on which people can praise or disparage what is featured. | |- |Religious site |A site in which people may advertise a place of worship, or provide inspiration or seek to encourage the faith of a follower of that religion. | |- |Review site |A site on which people can post reviews for products or services. | |- |School site |a site on which teachers, students, or administrators can post information about current events at or involving their school. U.S. elementary-high school websites generally use k12 in the URL | |- |Scraper site |a site which largely duplicates without permission the content of another site, without actually pretending to be that site, in order to capture some of that site's traffic (especially from search engines) and profit from advertising revenue or in other ways. | |- |Search engine site |A website that indexes material on the internet or an intranet (and lately on traditional media such as books and newspapers)and provides links to information as a response to a query. |Google Search, Bing, GoodSearch, Ecosia |- |Shock site |Includes images or other material that is intended to be offensive to most viewers |Goatse.cx, rotten.com |- |Social bookmarking site |A site where users share other content from the Internet and rate and comment on the content. |StumbleUpon and Digg are examples. |- |Social networking site |A site where users could communicate with one another and share media, such as pictures, videos, music, blogs, etc. with other users. These may include games and web applications. |Facebook, Orkut |- |Warez |A site designed to host or link to materials such as music, movies and software for the user to download. | |- |Webmail |A site that provides a webmail service. |Hotmail, Gmail |- |Web portal |A site that provides a starting point or a gateway to other resources on the Internet or an intranet. |msn.com, msnbc.com, yahoo |- |Wiki site |A site which users collaboratively (and sometimes destructively) edit its content. |Wikipedia, WikiHow |} Some websites may be included in one or more of these categories. For example, a business website may promote the business's products, but may also host informative documents, such as white papers. There are also numerous sub-categories to the ones listed above. For example, a porn site is a specific type of e-commerce site or business site (that is, it is trying to sell memberships for access to its site) or have social networking capabilities. A fansite may be a dedication from the owner to a particular celebrity.

Websites are constrained by architectural limits (e.g., the computing power dedicated to the website). Very large websites, such as Facebook, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google employ many servers and load balancing equipment such as Cisco Content Services Switches to distribute visitor loads over multiple computers at multiple locations. As of early 2011, Facebook utilized 9 data centers with approximately 63,000 servers.

In February 2009, Netcraft, an Internet monitoring company that has tracked Web growth since 1995, reported that there were 215,675,903 websites with domain names and content on them in 2009, compared to just 18,000 websites in August 1995.

Awards

The Webby Awards, Favourite Website Awards, Interactive Media Awards and WebAwards are prominent award organizations recognizing the world's best websites.

See also

References

External links

Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

The Internet Society (ISOC)

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Name	Shawn Michaels
Names	Sean MichaelsShawn Michaels
Weight
Birth date	July 22, 1965
Birth place	Chandler, Arizona
Resides	San Antonio, Texas
Billed	San Antonio, Texas
Trainer	Jose Lothario
Debut	October 16, 1984
Retired	March 28, 2010 }}

Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show ''MacMillan River Adventures'', and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December 2010. He consistently performed for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until his retirement in early 2010, albeit in non-wrestling roles from 1998 to 2002. 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 briefly signed with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1987, while in contract with AWA. They returned to AWA, only to go back to the WWF in 1988.

Hickenbottom later worked as a singles performer, taking on a new persona of "The Heartbreak Kid" and, first as a villain and later as a fan favorite, moved into the main event sphere. He wielded considerable influence on booking decisions as the leader of The Kliq, a backstage group, which however fell apart in 1996. The following year, he teamed up with Hunter Hearst Hemsley, who often was referred to as Triple H (HHH), Chyna, and Rick Rude 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. Although as of 2009, the duo reunited as a tag team once more, with the two capturing the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. In the WWF/WWE, Michaels held championships, and headlined pay-per-view events, in each decade from the 1990s to the 2010s; at WrestleMania XXVI, he was forced to retire from in-ring competition when he lost a career-threatening match. In December 2010, he signed a long-term deal with WWE, making his first live appearance at a WWE show since WrestleMania later that month. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011.

Among other accolades, Hickenbottom is a four-time world champion: a three-time WWF Champion and a former World Heavyweight Champion. He was also the winner of the 1995 and 1996 Royal Rumbles and was the company's first Grand Slam Champion. He has also won the PWI Match of the Year Award a record eleven times. Hickenbottom currently resides in San Antonio, Texas with his wife, Rebecca, and their two children.

Early life

Shawn was born on July 22, 1965 in Chandler, Arizona. The last of four children – Randy, Scott, and Shari are his older siblings – he was raised in a military family and spent a brief part of his early years in Reading, Berkshire, England, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, Hickenbottom disliked the name Michael, so his family and friends just called him Shawn. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military.

He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of twelve. Hickenbottom was already an athlete; his career began at the age of six when he started playing football. He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School and eventually became captain of the football team. After graduating, Hickenbottom attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but soon realized that college life was not for him. He then began pursuing a career in professional wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

AWA and WWF(1984–1988)

Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario. During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, Shawn Michaels. After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels with Mid-South Wrestling and Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW) promotions in October 1984 at the age of 19. During his time with TASW, Michaels replaced Nick Kiniski in the American Breed tag team, teaming with Paul Diamond. Michaels and Diamond were awarded the TASW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero, Sr. The team was later renamed American Force. He also worked for Central States Wrestling. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. Michaels also made several appearances in the Dallas, Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling throughout 1985.

Michaels made his national-level debut at the age of twenty in American Wrestling Association (AWA), once again teaming with Marty Jannetty. The pair were billed as The Midnight Rockers and held the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose. In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels' autobiography). They then returned to AWA, but were re-signed by WWF a year later.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

The Rockers (1988–1991)

The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply "The Rockers." The team proved popular with both children and women. The team was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for the next two years.

In October 1990, The Rockers were scheduled to win the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), as Neidhart, half of the championship team, was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the belts, but soon after, Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The belts were returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television. When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broke, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers continued their partnership, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991 during an incident on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake's televised ''Barber Shop'' talk show promotional segment. Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early-to-mid 1990s as "The Boy Toy."

The Heartbreak Kid (1992–1995)

At the suggestion of "Mr Perfect" Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid." Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain. He was put together with mirror-carrying manager, Sensational Sherri, who, according to the storyline, had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music, "Sexy Boy." During that period, after Michaels had wrestled his scheduled match at live events, his departure was announced with the words, "Shawn Michaels has left the building" (alluding to the phrase "Elvis has left the building").

At WrestleMania VIII, in his first pay-per-view singles match, Michaels defeated El Matador: both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble. He subsequently became a contender to the promotion's singles championships. Michaels competed in his first pay-per-view main event when he co-headlined ''UK Rampage'' on April 19 at the Sheffield Arena, in a losing effort against "Macho Man" Randy Savage for the WWF Championship. He failed to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in the WWF's first-ever ladder match at a ''Wrestling Challenge'' taping on July 21, which would subsequently be made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. He, however, won the title from The British Bulldog on the October 27, 1992 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', which aired on November 14. Shortly thereafter, he faced Hart for the WWF Championship in the main event of the 1992 Survivor Series, but lost the match. Michaels and Hart were moved to the main event after The Ultimate Warrior was unable to compete in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on ''Monday Night Raw'' on May 17, 1993. He then regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting "bodyguard" (and off-air friend) Diesel, and co-headlined the King of the Ring in a title defense against Crush.

In September 1993, Michaels had quit the company, after it was announced that he had failed to defend his title enough times during a set period; in reality, he had been suspended for testing positive for steroids – a charge that Michaels denies to this day. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to WWF television in November at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith, and Owen.

He soon entered a staged rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the vacated Intercontinental Championship, during Michaels' absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in a ladder match between the two at WrestleMania X. Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match was voted by fans as "PWI Match of the Year" by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''. It also received a 5-star rating from ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' member Dave Meltzer, one of five WWE matches to do so. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the ''Heartbreak Hotel'' television talk show segment, mainly shown on ''WWF Superstars''.

On August 28, 1994, Michaels and Diesel captured the Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu). The next day, at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered a split between Michaels and Diesel, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series that November. Michaels went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1995, which set up a championship grudge match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sycho Sid as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match, and was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off, because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a fan favorite.

Kliq, World Champion and D-Generation X (1995–1997)

Michaels returned to the ring, as a fan favorite, in May 1995. He went on to defeat Jeff Jarrett in July at the In Your House pay-per-view event, to win his third Intercontinental Championship. This led to a title defense against Razor Ramon at SummerSlam, in a ladder match, which Michaels won. Around this time Michaels became the alleged leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq. Others perceived the group to have sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon, becoming dominant wrestling figures in the WWF for several years in the mid-1990s. Michaels disputes the perception, saying that McMahon pushed only deserving wrestlers. Michaels' fan base was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Kliq". In October 1995, he was legitimately attacked by several men outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. Shortly afterwards, at the In Your House: Great White North pay-per-view, Michaels forfeited the Intercontinental Championship to staged rival Dean Douglas because he was, according to WWF, unable to compete. Later in the night, Douglas lost the championship to Kliq member Razor Ramon. The next month, during a match with Owen Hart on an episode of ''Monday Night Raw'', Owen performed an enzuigiri that struck the back of Michaels' head. They continued the match, but Michaels collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion. The concussion was scripted, which was kept from most fans at the time. A retirement angle was written so that Michaels could take some time off, after he came back from an injury too soon.

After teasing a retirement, Michaels returned to WWF at the Royal Rumble match in 1996, which he wound up winning for a second year in a row, to receive a WWF Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania XII. Around this time, Jose Lothario became Michaels' on-screen manager. At WrestleMania XII, Michaels defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart in the overtime of their sixty minute Iron Man match, which had ended in a 0–0 tie. On May 19, 1996, Michaels and his fellow Kliq members were involved in the incident known as "Curtain Call". Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. After Michaels won a match against Diesel, Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley came to the ring and joined Michaels and Diesel in a group-hug. As Diesel and Helmsley were seen as villains at the time, in contrast to Michaels and Ramon, this constituted a breach of "kayfabe", as acting out of character, which was rare and controversial at the time. As WCW gained momentum due to the signings of Hall and Nash, Michaels held the championship for most of the year. Michaels' championship reign ended at the 1996 Survivor Series event, where he lost to Sycho Sid, his former bodyguard. Michaels recaptured the championship from Sid in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble.

On a special episode of ''Raw'' dubbed ''Thursday Raw Thursday'', Michaels vacated the WWF Championship; he explained to fans that he was informed by doctors that he had conjured a knee injury, and that he had to retire. His speech was regarded as controversial, as Michaels was allegedly unwilling to lose to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 (since it was noted that he was going to have a rematch with Hart at WrestleMania). Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again," which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. After knee surgery by Dr. James Andrews, Michaels returned a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. In his autobiography, Michaels reveals about his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Bret did interviews on live television claiming that he [Michaels] was faking his whole injury.

At SummerSlam, Michaels officiated the WWF Championship match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended in controversial fashion, with Michaels hitting Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he was aiming for Bret after he spat in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the championship to his nemesis, Bret Hart. The next night on Raw, signs of a heel turn started to show from Michaels as he told the WWF fans what happened at Summerslam was an accident and that he'd deal with the Undertaker when the time came. At WWF One Night Only, held in Birmingham, England in September, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture the WWF European Championship. The fans at the event were so appalled at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building, to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion. At the October pay-per-view event, In Your House: Badd Blood, Michaels and Undertaker participated in the first Hell in a Cell match. During the match, it saw Michaels fall off the side of the high structure through a table and saw him as the winner in the match. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer.

In the summer, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Hunter's then-girlfriend, Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable, D-Generation X (DX). Moving away from the family-oriented product, this marked the beginning of the WWF Attitude Era. Michaels continued his rivalry with Bret Hart and his reformed Hart Foundation, which was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts, such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag. Michaels later claimed the flag desecration was Bret's idea. Michaels' feud with the Hart Foundation culminated in a championship match at Survivor Series in 1997 against Bret Hart. Michaels came out of this match, dubbed by fans the "Montreal Screwjob", as the WWF Champion. Michaels now held both the WWF and European championship at the same time. Michaels, however, lost the European Championship to D-Generation X member, Hunter Hurst Hemsley, who often was referred to as Triple H (HHH), when he pinned him during a farcical match, making Triple H the European Champion.

Commisioner (1998–2000)

At the 1998 Royal Rumble, Michaels received a legitimate back injury in a Casket match against The Undertaker. Michaels took a back body drop to the outside of the ring and smashed his lower back on the casket, causing him to herniate two discs and crush one completely. This forced Michaels into retirement after losing the WWE Championship to Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV.

Michaels would continue to make non-wrestling appearances on WWF programming, and on November 23, 1998, replaced Sgt. Slaughter as the WWF Commissioner, a portrayed match maker and rules enforcer, eventually joining Vince McMahon's group of wrestlers called the Corporation as a villain. Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on ''Raw'', in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. In early 1999, Michaels re-joined DX as a fan favorite, but disappeared from WWF television for a few months to have back surgery, and by the time he had returned, DX had broken up.

Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television until May 15, 2000, upon which he returned on ''Raw'' to announce himself as the special guest referee for the Iron Man match between The Rock and Triple H at Judgment Day. One month later, Michaels briefly reappeared on ''Raw'' to hand over the role of Commissioner to Mick Foley and afterwards did not make any in-ring appearances until mid-2002, (he did, however, make a short speech at WWF New York during Armageddon 2000). During this time, believing that his wrestling career was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. He saw potential in using his name and opening the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy, after his lawyer, Skip McCormick, suggested the idea. Michaels eventually left the academy. During this time, Michaels was a sportscaster for San Antonio's local news for a short time during his retirement.

Return (2002–2005)

In 2002, Michaels returned to WWE television for the first time in over two years of absence. On the June 3 episode of ''Raw'' and was announced as a new member of the New World Order (nWo) by Kevin Nash(diesel). After the nWo had disbanded, Triple H appeared to make amends with Michaels. This was solidified when Michaels pleaded Triple H to return to ''Raw''. Later on, they came down to the ring sporting their DX music and attire. When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. Continuing the angle, a week later, Triple H attacked Michaels from behind in a parking lot and put his head through a car window, in storyline. In response, Michaels challenged Triple H to "a fight" (a non-sanctioned match) at SummerSlam, which Triple H accepted, laying the foundation for a rivalry that would last for several years. In his first official wrestling match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels won at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with a sledgehammer after the match. At Survivor Series, Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first-ever Elimination Chamber match. Michaels' reign as champion came to an end a month later when he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match, a series of three matches in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches, at Armageddon.

Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho, after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. On January 13, 2003, after Jericho won a battle royal to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble, choosing number two in order to start the match with Michaels, who had already been named number one. At the Royal Rumble, Jericho, with the help of Christian, eliminated Michaels. Michaels defeated Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. After the match, Michaels offered his hand to Jericho, who instead of shaking it, hugged Michaels. At first it seemed like good sportsmanship by Jericho until he quickly kicked Michaels in the groin.

As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event match at WrestleMania XX for the World Heavyweight Championship. The former DX partners both came up short in the match, however, as Benoit won the championship. At Bad Blood in June, Michaels lost to Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. Four months later, he lost a World Heavyweight championship match against Triple H, after Edge interfered at Taboo Tuesday, when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Following this, Michaels was out of action for a few months with a legitimate torn meniscus.

At the Royal Rumble in 2005, Michaels competed in the Rumble match and eliminated Kurt Angle. In seeking revenge, Angle re-entered the ring and eliminated Michaels, and thus placed him in an ankle lock submission hold, outside of the ring. Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Angle accepted when he appeared on ''Raw'' to attack Michaels. The following week on ''Raw'', Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier). Three days later on ''SmackDown!'', Angle defeated Jannetty, after Angle made Jannetty submit to the ankle lock. To send a "message" to Michaels, Angle also humiliated Michaels' former manager, Sensational Sherri, when he applied the ankle lock hold on her. At WrestleMania 21 in April, Angle defeated Michaels by submission, again with an ankle lock. Two months later, at a WrestleMania 21 rematch, Michaels defeated Angle at the Vengeance pay-per-view event.

Following the events of WrestleMania 21, the next night on ''Raw'', Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. On the April 11 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels approached authority figure Eric Bischoff, in which he demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari, a match consisting of one wrestler or team of wrestlers facing off against a team of wrestlers with numerical superiority such as two against one, or three against two. Bischoff refused to schedule the match, but informed Michaels to find a partner and he would grant him the match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of ''Raw'', Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels when Daivari was pinned. On the July 4 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels and Hulk Hogan had a tag team match, which they won. During the post-match pose, Michaels hit Hogan with his superkick, knocking Hogan to the ground and making Michaels a villain for the first time since returning in 2002. The following week on ''Raw'', Michaels appeared on ''Piper's Pit'' where he superkicked Roddy Piper and then challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam. Hogan defeated Michaels at SummerSlam, and after the match Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd, and Michaels once again became a fan favorite.

D-Generation X reunion (2006–2007)

On the December 26, 2005 episode of ''Raw'', Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in the "Montreal Screwjob". Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, he had moved on, and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon then began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels' matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels' opponents. During the Royal Rumble, McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprising appearance, eliminating Michaels from the match. On the February 13 episode of ''Raw'', McMahon tried unsuccessfully to force Michaels to sign retirement papers. The following week, Michaels won a handicap match against the Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky and Mikey) and after the match, Michaels' former partner, Marty Jannetty, came down to help Michaels from the assault by the Spirit Squad. After the two reunited, McMahon offered Jannetty a contract if he "kissed his ass." The following week, Jannetty refused McMahon's offer and instead took Chris Masters' "Masterlock challenge." Michaels tried to help Jannetty, which ultimately resulted in Shane attacking Michaels and forcing him to kiss his father's ass. At ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', Shane defeated Michaels in a Street Fight, a match without disqualifications and where scoring conditions can occur anywhere, after he applied a sharpshooter on Michaels, which led to McMahon immediately ordering for the bell to be rung, even though Michaels did not submit, which was an allusion to the "Montreal Screwjob". Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, Michaels defeated McMahon at WrestleMania 22 in a No Holds Barred match, a match where there are no disqualifications. At Backlash, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and "God" in a tag team match, with help from the Spirit Squad in a no disqualification match. On the May 22 episode of ''Raw'', the Squad was scripted to injure Michaels' knee. This was angle was written so that Michaels could have surgery on his knee, which had been legitimately injured for some time. In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as DX. They began at WrestleMania 22, where both Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop, during their matches. On ''Raw'', the two continued to deliver chops, as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H went for the WWE Championship, repeatedly butting heads with Vince McMahon in the process. On the June 12 episode of ''Raw'', DX officially reunited. During Triple H's gauntlet match, which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. Michaels came in to help Triple H, and the two did the DX "crotch chops." At Vengeance, DX defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5–on–2 handicap match. They also defeated the Spirit Squad at ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons at SummerSlam. At Unforgiven, DX once again defeated the McMahons and ECW World Champion The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match.

At Cyber Sunday, DX took on Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). The fan-selected referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win and the plaudit of being the first tag team to defeat DX in a tag team match since their reformation in June 2006. At Survivor Series, however, Team DX emerged victorious against Team Rated-RKO. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H suffered a legitimate torn right quadriceps during their match with Rated-RKO. Rated-RKO claimed victory over DX, citing Triple H's injury, as the "end" of DX. On January 15, Michaels lived up to his word of "dealing" with Rated-RKO, from his comments the previous week before, when he took out Randy Orton with a con-chair-to after a handicap match against Edge and Orton.

Various feuds (2007–2009)

On the January 29 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. He then defeated both Edge and Orton in a Triple Threat number one contender's match on another episode of ''Raw'' to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania 23, Cena retained the championship, after he made Michaels submit to the STFU. The next night on ''Raw'', Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the titles in the second to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. Michaels' feud with Cena continued and he faced off with Cena, Edge and Randy Orton in a Fatal Four-Way Match at Backlash for the WWE Championship. Cena retained the championship when Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Cena causing him to fall on Orton, which gained Cena the pinfall.

Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. The week before their scheduled match at Judgment Day, after Michaels won a match against Edge, Orton interfered, punting Michaels in the head. Orton assaulted Michaels again, just prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels' interview segment. Michaels collapsed during the course of their match, causing Orton to win by referee stoppage. Afterwards, Orton continued the beating, when he performed an RKO to a fallen Michaels. Michaels was then removed out of the ring in a stretcher. During the feud, Michaels conjured a storyline concussion. This injury was used to keep Michaels out of action, as he required surgery for his knee. Michaels made his return on the October 8 episode of ''Raw'', performing a superkick to newly-crowned WWE Champion, Randy Orton, during his title ceremony at the end of the show and then celebrating over the knocked-out champion as Vince McMahon watched. At Cyber Sunday, Michaels was voted by the fans to face Orton for the WWE Championship; though he won via disqualification when Orton hit Michaels with a low blow, which resulted in Orton retaining the championship. Michaels got another opportunity at the WWE Championship, when he was granted his rematch against Orton at Survivor Series. In their match, Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music upon request by Orton, referring to as Michaels superkicking Orton week after week. Michaels lost the match, when Orton performed an RKO for the win.

As part of the storyline involving Ric Flair, Michaels faced Flair in a Career Threatening match at WrestleMania XXIV, in which he won by performing Sweet Chin Music and thus ending Flair's career. Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the guest referee. Michaels won after faking a knee injury and performing Sweet Chin Music. Jericho then confronted Michaels on this matter, in which Michaels admitted to faking the injury in order to defeat Batista. Michaels then defeated Jericho at Judgment Day. At One Night Stand, Michaels lost to Batista in a stretcher match, thus ending their feud. On the June 9 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, ''The Highlight Reel'', being thrown directly through a television screen. The following week, it was revealed that, within the context of the storyline, Michaels had suffered a detached retina. At The Great American Bash, a match between Michaels and Jericho was scheduled, in which Jericho assaulted Michaels' eye, which caused Jericho to win by referee stoppage.

A month later at SummerSlam, Michaels was scripted to announce his retirement from professional wrestling, though the staged rivalry between Jericho and himself continued after Jericho punched Michaels' wife in the face. On the August 25 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels denounced his decision to retire and challenged Jericho to an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven, which Jericho accepted. The following week, Michaels and Jericho held a scripted official contract signing for the unsanctioned match. During the contract signing, a confrontation with Jericho occurred. A predicament ensued when Michaels suffered a small tear on his left triceps, though Michaels was medically cleared to compete in the match. At Unforgiven, Michaels defeated Jericho, after the referee stopped the match, due to the severity of the beating Michaels was giving Jericho. It was at the same September event that Jericho replaced CM Punk in the World Heavyweight Championship scramble match, which saw him win the match and become World Heavyweight Champion. The following month at No Mercy, Michaels met Jericho in a ladder match in which Jericho defended the championship against Michaels. At the event, Jericho defeated Michaels to retain the title.

In December 2008, Michaels accepted an offer to become an employee of John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). The storyline was that Michaels had lost his family's personal savings due to the global recession, forcing him to accept JBL's offer of employment. After failing to secure JBL the World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena at the Royal Rumble, Michaels agreed to take part in an "All or Nothing" match at No Way Out in February. Michaels won the match, letting Michaels out of his one-year contract with JBL immediately while still receiving full payment. Michaels became the first person to successfully defeat Vladimir Kozlov on the March 2 episode of ''Raw'', and as a result earned the right to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV in April. At the event, The Undertaker defeated Michaels to extend his WrestleMania winning streak to 17–0. After WrestleMania, Michaels took a hiatus from WWE.

Final storylines and retirement (2009–2010)

Michaels returned to WWE programming in a series of segments that aired on the August 10, 2009 episode of ''Raw'', where he had scripted left the WWE. Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H would try to convince Michaels to return to WWE and reform DX. After several incidents during the segments, Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) at SummerSlam. At the pay-per-view event, DX defeated Legacy. The two teams would exchange victories, with their feud concluding in October. Two months later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, DX defeated Chris Jericho and The Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC). thumb|right|150px|Michaels at WWE's Tribute to the Troops show in Dec. 2010. On the January 4, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels buried the hatchet with long-time rival Bret Hart, as they shook hands and hugged in the ring. In contrast to the storylines featured on the show, this was in fact a real-life reconciliation which laid to rest animosities surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. While some cast doubts on its sincerity, both men have confirmed that it was indeed genuine. DX lost the Unified Tag Team Championship in a Triple Threat match to the team of The Miz and Big Show on the February 8 episode of ''Raw'', the match also included The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows). At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Michaels cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. At WrestleMania XXVI, Michaels lost to The Undertaker and, as a result, was forced to retire due to the match stipulation. The following night, on the March 29 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels gave an emotional farewell speech, departing with the familiar sentence, "Shawn Michaels has left the building."

Hall of Famer and part-time appearances (2010–present)

On the December 14 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels won the Slammy award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels made an appearance via satellite to accept the award. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he will serve in an ambassadorial role. Michaels made his first live appearance at a WWE show since the night after WrestleMania at the December 11 ''Tribute to the Troops'' taping, where he and Triple H made a special appearance for a one-night only DX reunion. Michaels appeared on the January 10, 2011, episode of ''Raw'', where it was announced he was to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio, Michaels hit Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. The two were also joined by Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE previously to participate in the recent Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman, reuniting the majority of The Kliq. He further made an appearance on the June 27 edition of Raw where he was confronted by CM Punk, and gave the WWE Tag Team Champions, David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty, a ''Sweet Chin Music''. Later that night when Diamond Dallas Page made a special appearance and was interrupted and threatened by Drew McIntyre, Michaels gave McIntyre a ''Sweet Chin Music'' from out of nowhere. He (Michaels) then told Page, who was promoting WWE's ''The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro'' DVD, that he had never seen any of the material on the disc, as he was "working that night".

Personal life

Hickenbottom's marriage to his first wife, Theresa Wood, was brief and ended in divorce, but was amicably settled. He is now married to former WCW Nitro Girl Rebecca Hickenbottom (née Curci), who went by the stage name of Whisper. They were married on March 31, 1999 at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada in a small ceremony. The only people present were the couple and an Elvis impersonator. The couple have a son, Cameron Kade (born on January 15, 2000) and a daughter, Cheyenne Michelle (born on August 19, 2004 ). His cousin Matt Bentley is also a professional wrestler having wrestled in TNA & WWE.

Hickenbottom has several tattoos. He has a tattoo of a heart with a sword through it, that has a snake around it in the shape of an "S." He has one on his wedding finger, that has an ''R'' for his wife Rebecca. Another in his left wrist, is a bracelet design that says "Cameron" for his son and "Cheyenne" for his daughter. On his left leg he has a picture of his wife, the other leg has a picture of the state of Texas. Finally, he has a small broken heart with the letters "HBK" above it, tattooed on his right hip.

In 1996, Hickenbottom posed in a non-nude layout for ''Playgirl'' magazine. It was not until after he posed that he discovered that ''Playgirl'' has a mostly homosexual readership, which was seen as humorous by his fellow wrestlers. He is ambidextrous, which caused him problems as a boy playing football, as he had trouble differentiating between his right and left directions. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. He typically uses his right leg when performing Sweet Chin Music, but has been known to use either arm when performing his signature elbow drop. Hickenbottom is a fan of the San Antonio Spurs. He has been seen wearing Spurs merchandise and attending Spurs games. John "Bradshaw" Layfield made a reference to Hickenbottom being a season ticket holder during the 2007 Royal Rumble.

Hickenbottom is a born again Christian. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian under the influence of his wife Rebecca. His ring attire often incorporated cross symbols, and while on the way to the ring, he would normally get down on his knees and mouth a prayer while his pyrotechnics went off. He has been seen in the congregation during a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown of San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. He also appeared on a Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) program along with fellow professional wrestler Sting.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Modified figure four leglock – early 2008

''Sweet Chin Music'' (Superkick, sometimes with theatrics)

''Teardrop Suplex'' (Leg hook Saito suplex) – 1992–1993

Signature moves

Arm trap crossface – 2007–2010

Backhand chop

Belly to back suplex

Diving elbow drop, with theatrics

Dropkick

Figure-four leglock

Flying forearm smash followed by a kip-up

Inverted atomic drop

Moonsault, sometimes while springboarding to the outside

Skin the cat

Slingshot crossbody

Managers

*Diesel

*Jose Lothario

Sensational Sherri

*Sycho Sid

*Rick Rude

*Luna Vachon

*Triple H

Nicknames

"The Heartbreak Kid (HBK)"

"The Showstopper"

"The Headliner"

"The Main Event"

"The Icon"

"Mr. WrestleMania"

"Mr. Hall of Fame"

Entrance themes

The song "Sexy Boy" was originally composed for Michaels by Jimmy Hart and J.J. Maguire. Hart thanked Michaels personally for continuing to use the song as his entrance music when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. Michaels' entrance music was originally performed by Sherri Martel until she became a crowd favorite. The second version was performed by Michaels himself with traces of Sherri in the chorus portion of the song. The current version of the song in use today is the version Michaels sang himself.

*During DX reunions, Michaels used the DX entrance music "Break It Down," by The DX Band, even when wrestling in singles competition, but then went back to using "Sexy Boy."

*During his feud with Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25, Shawn had a new theme song that he used when dressed up as a white Undertaker. The name of the song was "Pulse Enigma", and it's composed by Jim Johnston.

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Association

AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty

Central States Wrestling

NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marty Jannetty

Continental Wrestling Association

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

*PWI Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho

PWI Match of the Year (1993) vs. Marty Jannetty on ''Monday Night Raw'' on May 17

PWI Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder match at WrestleMania X

PWI Match of the Year (1995) vs. Diesel at WrestleMania XI

PWI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII

PWI Match of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H at WrestleMania XX

PWI Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21

PWI Match of the Year (2006) vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22

PWI Match of the Year (2007) vs. John Cena on ''Raw'' on April 23

PWI Match of the Year (2008) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV

PWI Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV

*PWI Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a Career vs. Streak match at WrestleMania XXVI

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2010)

PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1996)

PWI ranked him #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1996

PWI ranked him #10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

PWI ranked him #33 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Marty Jannetty in 2003

Texas All-Star Wrestling

TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Paul Diamond

Texas Wrestling Alliance

TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWF Championship (3 times)

World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WWF European Championship (1 time)

WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times)

WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Diesel (2), Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1), and Triple H (1)

WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Triple H (1)

Royal Rumble (1995, 1996)

*Fourth Triple Crown Champion

First Grand Slam Champion

*WWF Commissioner

* Kiss My Ass Club Member

*WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)

*Slammy Award for Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance (1996)

*Slammy Award for Best Threads (1996)

*Slammy Award for Squared Circle Shocker (1996) Won for collapsing; Owen Hart accepts the award for making Michaels collapse

*Slammy Award for Master of Mat Mechanics (1996)

*Slammy Award for Match of the Year (1996) vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder match at SummerSlam

*Slammy Award for Leader of the New Generation (1996)

*Slammy Award for Best Finisher (1997)

*Slammy Award for Match of the Year (1997) vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII

*Slammy Award for Match of the Year (2008) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV

*Slammy Award for Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV

*Slammy Award for Moment of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI

In October 1990, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty defeated The Hart Foundation for the title. Despite winning the match, the win and reign are not recognized by WWE, as the ring ropes broke and the match was not aired on television. As a result, Michaels is only officially recognized as a 5-time World Tag Team Champion.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*5 Star Match (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder match at WrestleMania X.

*5 Star Match (1997) vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell at Badd Blood.

Best Babyface (1996)

Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Triple H and Chris Benoit

Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho

Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder match at WrestleMania X

Match of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho in a Ladder match at No Mercy

Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV

Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI

Most Charismatic (1995, 1996)

Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Marty Jannetty as The Rockers

Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Triple H vs. Shane and Vince McMahon

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003)

WrestleSlam Awards

*Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25

*Tag Team of the Year (2009) with Triple H as D-Generation-X

*Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26

See also

Texas Wrestling Academy

References

Notes

External links

Professional wrestling record for Shawn Michaels from The Internet Wrestling Database

WWE Hall of Fame Profile

Online World of Wrestling profile

Category:1965 births Category:American Christians Category:American football linebackers Category:American people of English descent Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:Military brats Category:People from Chandler, Arizona Category:Sportspeople from San Antonio, Texas Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Texas State University–San Marcos alumni Category:WWE Hall of Fame

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