1997 was a very interesting year for the WWE. They hadn’t quite turned the corner on WCW, but so many things were falling into place. A year after he had debuted as Mankind, Mick Foley had also introduced the WWE to both Dude Love and Cactus Jack. His matches with Hunter Hearst Helmsley were firing on all cylinders.
The blood feud between Bret Hart and Stone Cold has spilled over throughout the entire company and Shawn Michaels further cemented the status that he was the best and one of the most polarizing stars of all time. Late 1997 and 1998 wasn’t just the dawn of The Attitude Era, it was the beginning of D-Generation X. Here’s HBK’s run as the lead degenerate, explained.
The Curtain Call
Despite happening early in 1996, The Curtain Call was part of the foundation that Shawn and Hunter’s on-screen partnership was built on. During one particular Raw, the duo had actually shown video of the infamous moment and quipped at one another about how they were each a good guy and the other a bad guy. Showing the moment on Raw proved to be one of the sparks that ignited DX.
One Night Only
During The Attitude Era, The WWE had several PPVs that were only for the United Kingdom fans. At the One Night Only event, Davey Boy returned to his home country as the conquering hero, ready to defend the European title against HBK.
Related: 10 Times Shawn Michaels Legitimately Made WWE Stars
But Shawn has other plans, he was able to do what many thought to be impossible and beat The British Bulldog in Great Britain!
Hell In A Cell
Shortly after One Night Only, Michaels had to answer for his egregious error from SummerSlam. As the guest referee, he inadvertently swung a chair aiming for Bret Hart but striking The Undertaker instead. HBK would be sentenced to Hell In A Cell with The Undertaker at In Your House: Badd Blood.
The very first Hell In A Cell match would set a very high bar. Despite being trapped inside with The Deadman, Shawn still found a way out to take a massive bump into the table. Kane debuted here too, costing Undertaker the match and giving Shawn the victory.
The Feud With Bret
Throughout “The New Generation” years, the two best wrestlers in the world were undoubtedly, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. They let their professional rivalry get the better of each man personally and tore each other down every chance they got.
There was no stopping either man and it helped lead Shawn to become a top heel; especially after Bret had declared HBK and Hunter a bunch of degenerates.
Montreal
Despite being a heel in the states, Bret was an idol all over the world. When the Screwjob happened, Shawn became public enemy number one all over the world. Jeers of “you screwed Bret” rang out across arenas all over the world.
Related: Montreal Screwjob: The Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels Rivalry Explained
While he spent years denying his involvement in the booking, he also had no issue picking at that wound either and completely playing it up for the ultimate heel reaction. Shawn was a degenerate being just that.
“Versus” Triple H
Now that he was the world champion, HBK had not defended the European title in seemingly months. Commissioner Slaughter had been dealing with the antics of both Shawn and Hunter for a while as well.
He thought he backed the duo into a corner when he forced Shawn to defend the European title against the future Game. The merry pranksters crisscrossed the ropes before Shawn laid out for HHH to pin him and become the European champion, laughing at the Sarge the whole time.
The State Of The Union
Now firmly entrenched and officially named D-Generation X, HBK and HHH had carte blanche to try and push the envelope as far the limits of good taste would allow. The brass at the USA Network had tried to reel the WWE in for what they were allowing Shawn and Hunter to do.
They had succeeded, but the letter that they sent to the WWE also become fodder for DX. Shawn and Hunter read the promo on air, as is and made it a farce.
The Casket Match
The Undertaker was again out for the blood of The Heartbreak Kid by the time The Royal Rumble 1998 rolled around. He was also out for Shawn’s world title. But casket matches and Royal Rumbles are seldom a good combination for The Phenom. He would lose the match, again due to Kane’s interference. But the bigger casualty from the match was Shawn’s back after taking a nasty bump onto the casket.
Getting Ready For Mania
The casket bump practically crippled Shawn, who was self-medicating and doing all he could to get into some workable shape for his WrestleMania showdown with Stone Cold Steve Austin. That meant having to sit out of action until the event.
Related: Every Shawn Michaels WWE Title Reign, Ranked
He even missed an advertised PPV appearance, where he would have teamed with HHH and the New Age Outlaws against Owen Hart, Stone Cold, Cactus Jack, and Terry Funk. Savio Vega wound up taking The Heartbreak Kid’s spot at the first-ever No Way Out event.
WrestleMania XIV
Shawn Michaels' last day as an official in-ring competitor until 2002 had finally arrived. Despite being in unspeakable amounts of pain seen all over every bit of his face, the leader of DX had finally made it to the ring. The DX Band played him out and he thought he had Mike Tyson in his back pocket.
But despite seemingly having the odds stacked against Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn was not able to defeat the Rattlesnake. He left knocked out and left Triple H having to pick up the ball.
Next: 10 Backstage Stories About Shawn Michaels That We Can’t Believe
