Heartbreak and Triumph

Shawn Michaels was HBK: The Heartbreak Kid - the most resilient champion in WWE. In his early thirties, Michaels had to bow out of the spotlight, plagued by recurrent injuries which had ended - or so he thought - his career. This is the story of his truly remarkable comeback, and of his glittering twenty-year-plus career.

---

He is one of the most charismatic showmen ever to grace a WWE ring. He was HBK: The Heartbreak Kid - the most resilient champion in WWE. And pound for pound, he may well be the toughest. He was the first Grand Slam champion - the only competitor to hold every title WWE had to offer at the time. Weighing in at 225 pounds, he was WWE Champion on three occasions, defeating men who were close to twice his size. From the very beginning of his spectacular career Michaels gained a reputation for pushing his body to extremes. He was willing to go the limit: to do whatever he had to do to put on a stunning show - and eventually his body paid the price. In his early thirties, an age when most Superstars are hitting their prime, Michaels had to bow out of the spotlight, plagued by recurrent injuries which had ended - or so he thought - his career. But then, sensationally, after four years out of the ring, in June 2002 'The Showstopper' returned to a rapturous reception from which he has never looked back.
He is now once again wrestling at his physical peak and it is a measure of the regard in which he is held that in late 2004 no less than 4 million WWE fans voted him the man they most wanted to see take on World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H at Taboo Tuesday. This is the full story of his truly remarkable comeback, and of his glittering twenty-year-plus career.