BOTTOM'S UP:
HOW THE SHY LIFE BECAME SHAWN MICHAELS' HIGH LIFE
Credit: The Wrestler Extra-WRESTLING True Life Stories Vol.3- Fall 1999
THE HEARTBREAK KID stared at his telephone and felt an eddy of anxiety spin through his mind. How do I approach her? he thought. Will she reject me?
Thirty-three-year-old Michael Shawn Hickenbottom felt as if he were 15 again-sweating, freezing, terrified of breaking the ice with his school's prettiest pom-pom girl. Except this woman was no teenybopper; she was an adult, and worse yet, a public figure. One of those stunners that left you tongue tied even when you told yourself, She's just a person, no different from anyone else. Yeah, right. The world could watch this lady on TV, could go blank on her just as he was. I don't know how to do it, a voice in his head moaned. He found it difficult enough to introduce himself to a stranger in his own neighborhood; but this woman lived miles away, in a different state, and that was truly daunting. Reluctantly, Hickenbottom closed his eyes and recalled the phone call he had made to a friend a few days earlier...
"Would you call a friend of hers to see of she would give me her number?" Hickenbottom asked his friend, sheepishly. Recognizing Hickenbottom's reticence around the fair maidens, the buddy went to bat and coerced the telephone number from the woman. He quickly called Hickenbottom back. "Give her a call," the friend advised. Hickenbottom considered the telephone number...Then a week passed, and still Hickenbottom had not contacted the woman. Finally, Hickenbottom's pal called him back. "Have you made the call?" he asked. "No" responded Hickenbottom flatly. "Why not?" asked the friend. "Because I feel like a stalker," answered an embarrassed Hickenbottom. "I feel like one if those guys on TV who calls up and says, "Hey, I want to meet you." "Listen to this," said the friend. Hickenbottom heard a woman's voice say, "Why hasn't he called me?" "That's the message I got," said Hickenbottom's ally-turned-proxy. The Heartbreak Kid took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and shook away the lingering doubt. He remembered the woman asking his friend, "Why hasn't he called?" That was his opening, the icebreaker, the invitation, the acknowledgment of acceptance. Hickenbottom steeled himself and dialed the phone...
Consider the hip gyrations that reverberate through a room, the crotch chops that send an audience reeling. The puckish grin of a kid who knows he's good. The '70s disco-style brimmed cap, the skin-tight outfits. Then, with the audience in a frenzy, a tug at the waist, and a flash of hip, maybe more...
That was The Heartbreak Kid in his glory days, ruling the WWF. The libido-laden hypnotist who could make the coeds in section 29, row 32 hurl bras to ringside as if they were offerings to a king. The Heartbreak Kid, with his heart-shaped bed. The guy you loved to hate, but you couldn't, because you'd emulate him if the world had no laws, mores, or values. Such was life in Soap Opera Land for HBK, until back surgery prompted his retirement in early-1999. Today, he has written a new life script that includes a new federation, a new wrestling school, and a rare sneek peek at the man behind the HBK show. He is, by birth name, Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, but everyone calls him by his middle name. And it's an apt name: neither overly masculine nor feminine, just a little bit "average Joe" sounding. Perhaps suggesting a bit of vulnerability. And unlike his stage persona, Shawn Hickenbottom is anything but the cocky Casanova you see on the 19-inch screen.
Consider, for starters, that he declines to divulge the identity of the popular woman with whom he is now involved. The brash HBK would have stamped her portrait on a 40'-by-40' billboard. Then there was his appearance in Playgirl magazine. "I'm no Heartbreak Kid, that's for sure," says Hickenbottom. "Playgirl was something the WWF wanted me to do, because it fits the Heartbreak Kid character. Personally, Shawn Hickenbottom has no desire to do something like that: to sit there on a bench like I'm some kind of stud. I ain't." Just ask his favorite lady, his mom, Carol. "Shawn has always been, and still is, shy around girls," says Carol Hickenbottom. "His ring persona is all a facade. If he is showing off as Shawn Michaels, he's someone else.
The Heartbreak Kid persona has served Michael Shawn James Hickenbottom well, however. It has made him money, it has transformed him into one of the most popular wrestling entertainers of his generation. Only in his angst-laden world of romance has HBK betrayed him. The Heartbreak Kid facade can be so intense, so ubiquitous, that potential suitors often confuse the brash and commanding Shawn Michaels whisper-in-your-ear persona with the "just hold-me" romantic Hickenbottom.
Consequently, over the years many Hickenbottom first dates have become last dates. "For a guy who calls himself The Heartbreak Kid, I'm a pretty lonely guy," admits Hickenbottom. "If people see me as the TV guy, there's nothing I can do about that. If they look at me and see my on-air personality, they're not my type. Relationships don't work because they can't differentiate between the two." The operative question is: Who would make an ideal Mrs. Shawn Hickenbottom. "One thing I've learned is that it has to be a strong, independent woman, one with a career of her own, something she is very competent in, so she is not intimidated by what I do. That's been the number-one problem in the past. My job is so big, people want to talk wrestling and nothing else." The Bionic Woman? Exactly, says Hickenbottom. Someone who can cook the bacon, work an accountant's spread sheet, climb a corporate ladder, and still render him speechless by prancing around town in a low-cut coal black dress, black pumps, and gray pearls. Has his present relationship brought the ideal woman? "I'm no closer now than I was in the last two or three years," he says. Unlike Shawn Michaels, who seemingly needs no one, Shawn Hickenbottom is, admittedly, needy, warm, and yearning to be nurtured. To wit: Whenever he leaves for, or returns from, the road, he always gives Mom and Dad a smooch on the cheek. Also, this erst-while Playgirl centerfold still relies on Mom to choose his travel wardrobe. So, the next time you see HBK saunter into the ring wearing a slick Ralph Loren suit, remember that his mom is his real-life valet. "I was the youngest of the family and was spoiled," says Shawn. "I still would love to be spoiled." As a child and young man, Shawn Hickenbottom was not spoiled in the brattish, material sense. In high school, he did not covet a shiny Corvette; and he did not worry about being one step ahead of the latest fashion fads. But from his first prenatal pinfall to his latest birthday, he has been lavished in a bounty of unconditional love from two older brothers, an older sister, and strong parents.
The son of an Air Force pilot, Michael Shawn Hickenbottom was born at Williams Air Force Base in Chandler, Arizona. Colonel Richard Hickenbottom's career, flying T33,T39,F94,F89, and F4 aircraft, jetted his family around the globe, from Arizona to Maryland to England to Iowa and, ultimately, to San Antonio, Texas. "It was like living in two worlds, Dad's world and the world at home," says Carol. Even when splintered across the world, the divided family stayed strong by sending Dad recorded messages on audio tape. Being strong meant emulating Richard Hickenbottom. The colonel was a sober man who inspired strength in, and commanded discipline and honor from, his children. Although Shawn, brothers Randy and Scott, and sister Shari never bragged to their friends about their dad's rank, they still respected the uniform and the message it sent. Theirs was a "Yes, Ma'am or Yes, Sir," world with mutual respect its foundation. That also implied that you respected yourself, your abilities, your potential. "Shawn and the kids were brought up to believe that whatever you do in life, you are responsible for at whatever age. You have to be honest, and if you do something, don't look around for excuses. They grew up talking things out around the table." If Carol was more magnanimous and listened to both sides of a story or dispute, Richard was less flexible. Scott and Randy, more than Shawn were affected by their father's quest for flawlessness. "They were perfectionists in what they tried to do," says Carol. "If they were not doing their best, they'd hear from their father, "That was a wussy sort of hit," or, 'What were you thinking about when you were catching the ball?' The siblings were all alike; they grew up with this: "If you're going to do it, do the best you can or don't bother." While that relentless zeal for perfectionism would eventually manifest in Hickenbottom's wrestling career, as a child and teenager, he did not feel pressure from his father, even when playing high school football. "It was just that my dad was not as hard on me," says Shawn."I never took his stuff as anything but constructive. My dad would say, "You missed a block, you can do better." I agreed. He never raised us with ultimatums, and nothing was catastrophic. I knew I was unconditionally loved."
Shawn Hickenbottom responded to his nurturing world by being the ideal son. Throughout his youth, he never got in trouble with the law. Staying out past curfew or not finishing his homework on time were virtual aberrations. "He was such a good little guy," says Carol with a chuckle. Yet, he was also a shy little guy, some times even self-conscious. Unlike his adulthood, Hickenbottom rarely found himself in youth's spotlight, and he was particularly overshadowed by his older siblings. Even in high school, when he would star for the Randolph High football team, Hickenbottom chose to remain in the shadows. "I have no idea why," he says. Then after a moment's thought: "In my head, for whatever reason, I saw the kids with the straight A's...so much attention is on education, and rightfully so. Education isn't the end-all, be-all. I learned later that having a good deal of common sense takes you further than books sometimes." But the lesson would be years in the learning. "To me, the best effort was the best. I wasn't smart enough to realize that I didn't believe in being not good enough to do this..." While Hickenbottom doubted his academic acumen, he had no reservations over his creative abilities. Like most boys, he read comic books avidly. Superman and Spiderman were neat; but, Falcon, wow, was he cool! Even Shawn's buddy Andrew agreed. When they were six, Andrew convinced his mom to make a Superman suit for him, and a Falcon costume for Hickenbottom. Afterward, the pair soared off to worlds unknown, following Richard in his F4. When the Falcon wasn't flying around the house, Hickenbottom was at his town's swimming pool, inventing the types of moves off a high board that would become his trademark as a pro wrestler. "Look out below! Here comes 2 1/2 backflips." He was pure energy, and by releasing it in visceral ways, he became interested in a career as a stuntman. Diving also sparked his regard in another physical sport, pro wrestling. The best part of wrestling was being able to portray what you wanted to be. By age six, Hickenbottom was hooked on the sport eager to one day leap high into the air off the top rope. But it would be years before he would consider a job in this field. The "Little Guy" remained small in stature until his junior year of high school. Suddenly, Shawn Hickenbottom no longer blended in with the scenery. He was part of the in-set now, the cool crowd, with self-imposed regulations on being non-cool. Being part of the clique meant you didn't laugh or giggle, didn't goof off, didn't lose your composure. Not cracking jokes and acting like a clown, which Hickenbottom liked to do. And certainly, it meant you didn't suplex your buddy Kenny Kent in the town pool. Hickenbottom was allowed to bend the meaning of cool, because he was the biggest guy in the group, the Diesel-type bodyguard. When there was butt to be kicked, Shawn did the work. When the guys needed his five knuckle support, Shawn gave it. Even if the guys were wrong, and even to the chagrin of his mother. "Let your buddies fight their own battles," Carol warned. But Shawn Hickenbottom fought his friends' battles because that's what you did; that was the meaning of honor. You did so, you didn't ask why, you did not bear judgment on others. But remaining non-critical was not easy, particularly when his friends were very judgmental. "You want to be a professional wrestler?" they asked snidely. You guys just like to squash talent, thought Hickenbottom. "You should go to college," they added. That was the smart thing to do after high school, they maintained, while peering down their noses at him. Smart, I'm not the swiftest in school. I want to be a wrestler. He expressed his convictions to his friends and to his family. Mom's and Dad's response? "You need to go to college," said his father. "Education is the most important thing there is. But if you're serious, we'll go see someone about wrestling." That "someone" was Fred Behrend, promoter of Texas All-Star Wrestling. He eyed Shawn, saw raw athleticism and a solid build. But he also saw youth in the young man's eyes. "The best thing for you to do is to get your education," said Behrend. "If you are still interested, come back when you've graduated from high school." Grudgingly, Shawn got the hint. On the night of his high school graduation, Shawn Hickenbottom panned his senior classmates. They all have stuff planned, he thought. He had done as his parents requested, had taken his SATs and had adequate scores to attend a local college, Southwest Texas State University. College was a wrestling squash match where the world champ is paired against the world chump. In the classroom, Shawn was the one being thumped. he went through the motions, and that was mostly slow-motion. He skipped all but one of his classes, Psychology. In that, he recorded an A. He was adrift in a world in which he couldn't win, and it was one count-out after another. But in the back of his mind, his father's advice remained firmly entrenched: "At lest if you have an education, you have something to fall back on." But a 1.4 grade point average his first semester hardly qualified as an education. Stultified, Hickenbottom returned home to San Antonio to face his parents. "I told you I didn't want to do this," he explained, when his parents questioned his low grades. Yet, Richard remained firm. "Look, you go back to school, get your grades up to at least a 2.0. Then, we'll come back and look into wrestling seriously." "You've got a deal," responded Shawn.
Shawn returned to school, to the trailer he had lived in with his buddy Scott. Scott had since relinquished the notion of succeeding in college and had moved out. In moved Shawn's buddy, Kenny. They were the Felix and Oscar of the fresh class: Kenny was the earnest graphic arts student, eager to pursue a career in graphic arts and advertising. Shawn focused on classes such as speech communications that were applicable to a career in wrestling. But this was a bull's work, Shawn knew. Now age 19, he preferred to drink every night, and was surviving on "liquid courage." One such drinking spree sent him over the edge. During a trailer party that last summer semester, Shawn had consumed a drunkard's share of liquor and was as far removed from reality as Mankind. At one juncture of the evening, he stole off to the bathroom, secreting a battery operated beard trimmer. But Shawn was not about to trim his beard, Instead, he put the activated trimmer up against his head. Off came hair, off came scalp. Out drippled blood, enough to send Kenny racing up the street to use a public telephone at a liquor store. "Shawn's cut his head badly!" he screamed at Carol Hickenbottom. "He has to come home." Shawn did come home, but at the end of the semester. There was no further talk of college. Idealism had conquered pragmatism. He returned to Behrend, who introduced him to Jose Lothario. "There are no guarantees," said Lothario. But he quickly saw that Shawn was a sure thing--strong, athletic, personable. The two became mentor/student, uncle/nephew,and traveled to Mexico to watch the no-holds-barred, aerial style of the Luchadores. The impact on Shawn was immediate and profound: How thrilling it would be to fly through the air. Lothario taught not only moves, but psychology. Success, he explained, began in the mind, with attitude, through observation. "Open your ears and eyes, close your mouth," he told Shawn. Hickenbottom did as told, and began to drink in the spirit of the sport. Don't talk the talk, you wanna walk the walk became his wrestling maxim. Finally after a few months of training, Lothario set Shawn on his way. "You are ready; go out there, perform, learn on the job." After making his pro debut in 1985, Hickenbottom traveled to the central U.S. states area where he met wrestler Marty Jannetty. The two formed a quick friendship, and, after joining the AWA, they formed the tag team Midnight Rockers. In 1989, they jumped to the WWF, and remained together as a successful pair, now calling themselves The Rockers. But as successful as they were together, by 1990, the relationship had begun to deteriorate. Hickenbottom, completely absorbed with his new career, was perfectly happy to discuss wrestling 25 hours a day. Jannetty, in Hickenbottom's eyes, did not share the level of interest, nor Hickenbottom's zeal to create something different in the ring. Later that year, on an edition of Brutus Beefcake's "Barber Shop," Hickenbottom blindsided Jannetty. Shortly afterward, Jannetty left the WWF.
By 1992, Hickenbottom was established in the WWF. His flippant arrogance in the ring and before the television cameras roused the fans' passion. In 1992, he joined forces with Fabulous Sherri Martel and began a feud with Intercontinental champ Bret Hart that would last until Hart's 1998 departure to WCW. On October 27, 1992, he defeated Davey Boy Smith to win his first of three career I-C titles. Winning the World title seemed a foregone conclusion for wrestling's favorite bad boy. and arguably the most famous grappler on the world. When he captured his first world title on March 31, 1996, television's Shawn Michaels seemed the prefect ambassador of the sport: He was as glitzy as the sport, he was as articulate and paradoxically charming and annoying. Most important, he garnered people's attention. When the WWF requested their top star to go out into the field, meet the people, deal with the press, Hickenbottom agreed. He was single, after all, and there was nothing holding him back. Save for Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, the guy who preferred to be number two, who eschewed being the top guy, the one under the spotlight. Shy Shawn. The days became weeks which melded into months. Slowly, while Raw's ratings floundered, Hickenbottom's morale foundered. By that time he relinquished his title to "Psycho" Sid on November 17, 1996, Shawn Hickenbottom no longer was having fun. His emotions sapped, he nevertheless forged on, fueled by the loyalty to the WWF and his fans. "Psycho" Sid, an unlikely World champ, lasted two months before the world caught up to him. In January 1997, Shawn Michaels was back on the WWF throne, albeit briefly. Not only did his soul ache, so did a knee injury that hampered his ability to perform. Just days after winning his second WWF heavyweight championship, Shawn Hickenbottom stood alongside Vince McMahon. He grabbed the house microphone and told the world he was relinquishing the title. He and McMahon embraced in a hauntingly human show of affection. Raw's viewers understood the pain Shawn felt in his knee; they did not recognize the sadness and exhaustion in his heart.
Despite his aversion to being the federation's principle star, Michaels continued to reign above his colleagues, until the coldest rattlesnake in the business hissed and weaved his way to the top of the ladder. The transition from Michaels-WWF to a Steve Austin-WWF was gradual and seamless. So smooth, that Michaels' absences from the scene was hardly noticed by fans. he garnered his third and final World title in November 1997, but lasted just four months. He was succeeded by Austin, the federation's next megastar. By the conclusion of 1998, Shawn Hickenbottom had realized all of his dreams. But now a nagging back injury kept him sidelined, and there was speculation he might never wrestle again. For weeks he considered having surgery; but such an operation, doctors said, would most likely end his career. When pain became too great to bear, Hickenbottom consented to the operation. He cried not because of the agonizing pain in his back, not because he was disappointed, but because he would no longer be able to perform. His creative genius was being suppressed, the same way his high school buddies had repressed his humor and yearning to wrestle.
On January, 12, 1999, he under went back surgery to repair several herniated disks. The operation was a success, but The Heartbreak Kid would no longer shake and waggle his assets at ogling coeds. "When I made the decision, I sat back and realized what perfect timing it was for all this to happen," Hickenbottom says. "I'd won the World title a couple of times, and had done things at lest right now that no other WWF superstar had done. I had etched my space in the history books. I was at peace with the idea to retire from in-ring competition. It was an easy decision, as I looked at what else could I do." Carol Hickenbottom questions her son's insouciance over retiring from the ring. "It was a really traumatic thing to give up. It took him three weeks for him to say, "I'm okay with it." Hickenbottom may now be at peace with his quasi-retirement from the sport. That's because he is still as active as ever, although much of what he does is behind the scenes. He remains employed with the WWF, serving occasionally as commissioner and McMahon's worthy nemesis. He says writing the Commish' story lines keeps "my juices flowing." If creativity is his personal wellspring of life, Shawn Hickenbottom is as alive as ever. "You only lose that when you are not performing. You put an idea on paper, then it goes on TV. When the wrestlers perform it well, then it's cool. They bring your ideas to life and that's just as satisfying. Now I've reached an age where my ego doesn't need to be massaged by my performing; I don't need to get the credit." He and Lothario are getting plenty of credit for their new promotion, Pro Wrestling International. It's a home bred federation featuring a smattering of homegrown wrestlers, topflight Mexican wrestlers, and a few international stars. Hickenbottom says McMahon will also provide some talent. "I can't perform anymore, but I can teach others to," says Hickenbottom. "Jose did a wonderful job with me, and I have the knowledge they need to pursue a career. There are only a handful of WWF and WCW shows here a year, so this fills on the gaps." In addition to the federation, teacher and student have recently opened a wrestling academy to cater to local athletes seriously wishing to pursue a career in the sport. "It's a hotbed here in Texas," says Hickenbottom.
In contrasting TV's Shawn Michaels with Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, it's impossible to avoid the controversy, the rumors. Consider the scuttlebutt that Hickenbottom and McMahon were often at odds, and Hickenbottom even wanted out of the WWF. "We have a great relationship, me and Vince. We're very close. I guess, years back, like any relationship, we had our ups and downs. A lot of that was caused by innuendo and rumor...Me supposedly wanting to leave was never true. Shawn refusing this or that were never true. I've done everything the man's asked me to do. I wasn't the trouble I was made out to be; if I was, I wouldn't still be here in the WWF. He asked Hogan to leave, he asked Bret to leave, he's never asked me to leave. I don't feel comfortable saying I'm better than the other guys." Inevitably, any discussion of Shawn Michaels leads to the perceived Bret Hart-Michaels rivalry. Hart was publicly critical of the Michaels persona and demeanor, saying Shawn set a poor example for today's youth. Hickenbottom is reluctant to delve into their off-air relationship. "The Bret Hart issue was a Bret with Vince issue. In Hart's own mind, he can't differentiate the "Hitman" from who Bret Hart is. I don't care to say anything bad about him; the wrestling business is a show. The difference between me and Bret is I see it and realize it is a show."