The Heartbreak Kid. The Showstopper. The Main Event. Mr. WrestleMania. Whatever you choose to call him, there’s no denying that Shawn Michaels is one of the most decorated stars in wrestling, with a career that many only dream of.
He is a four-time WWF/E World Champion and a two-time WWE Hall of Famer. But in 1998, the story of HBK was on the road to a much different ending. In January of 1998, Shawn Michaels was amid his third reign as the WWF World Champion, but as his professional life prospered, his personal life was in shambles.
Known for having a bad attitude and a bit of an ego problem, Shawn had ruffled more than a few feathers behind the scenes on his way to the top.
Shawn was also caught in the hold of drug and alcohol addiction. He relied heavily on them to bring his personality out of the camera and to deal with the ruthless schedule of a top WWF performer, which at that time required over 300 days a year on the road.
Then the 1998 Royal Rumble happened. At the event, Shawn was set to defend his championship against The Undertaker in a Casket Match. The object of the casket Match is simple enough: A casket is at ringside, and the only way to win is by putting your opponent in the casket and shutting the lid. As the match began, it was the usual brilliance we had come to expect when HBK and Taker locked up in the ring.
A few minutes into the match, The Undertaker gave Shawn a back body drop over the ropes and to the floor below. However, on his way down, Shawn’s back hit the edge of the casket and compressed his lower back. The result was two herniated discs and a third crushed disc. Despite the pain, Micheals finished the match. The result of the injury was a career-ending back surgery. Shawn would continue to compete until March before having the surgery.
During that time, his reliance on substance abuse only worsened as he tried to deal with the pain of a severe injury while staying on top of the card. In March of that year, at WrestleMania 14, Shawn dropped the championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin, and his in-ring career was over. Shawn would continue to appear on WWF television over the next couple of years, but never wrestled. He usually appeared either in the role of an on-screen authority figure or a guest referee for a big match. But, even during this time, his personal demons continued to grow stronger and stronger.
Everything came to a head one fateful night in 2001. Shawn showed up for a live taping of the WWE’s flagship program, Monday Night Raw. However, as the old saying goes, the lights were on, but nobody was home. He showed up to the show so strung out from his addictions that he could barely walk straight or talk coherently.
Shawn Michaels was fired over the incident. Before leaving the building, he confronted his real-life best friend and former team mate in the faction “D-Generation X, “ Triple H, in front of the entire locker room. Shawn Michaels and Triple H didn’t speak for over a year.
At home, things weren’t looking much better for Mr. WrestleMania. The Heartbreak Kid had gotten married, and the couple had welcomed a son into the world. He knew he had to clean up his act, but still failed to do so. His addictions were starting to take a toll on his family.
Over the years, Shawn and his wife have been very open about his inability during this time to do basic things like read a bedtime story to his son because of the drugs and alcohol he was consuming. One day, Shawn found himself sitting in the parking lot of a church in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. Feeling like there was something there, he went inside and told the receptionist he was looking for a bible study. He attended the bible study the following week, and on that night, he accepted Christ as his savior. He went home and told his wife the good news!
From that day forward, Shanw Micheals never did drugs or drank alcohol again. And in his own words: “As I began to grow spiritually, my body began to heal physically.”
In the summer of 2002, Shawn reconciled with Triple H, and The Heartbreak Kid returned to WWE for the first time in over a year. Over the next several weeks, the stage would slowly be set for his first match in over four years. The match would take place at Summer Slam, the second biggest event of the year for WWE. His opponent would be none other than his real-life best friend, Triple H himself. In “Unsanctioned Match”, meaning no rules and no liability for WWE from a storyline standpoint.
Graphic courtesy X
On the night of Summer Slam, Shawn walked to the ring sporting his newfound faith with a tank top that read “Philippians 4:13” across the chest. Once the bell rang, it was clear that The Showstopper hadn’t missed a step! Shawn Michaels and Triple H stole the show that night and delivered one of the greatest Summer Slam matches of all time in the process.
The return of Shawn Michaels was supposed to be one night only at Summer Slam, but that’s not how it went down.
Shawn would continue to be used in story lines and eventually be back in the ring once again at the Survivor Series event that November. On that night, he would win the first-ever Elimination Chamber match to become a four-time world champion.
But that still wasn’t where the story would end. He would continue to wrestle full-time for WWE until WrestleMania 26 in 2010, writing an incredible second act to a career that was once believed to be over for good.
