Source: Charleston Daily Mail
For millions of World Wrestling Entertainment fans, Shawn Michaels is viewed as one of the biggest superstars in the sport’s history.
Now local fans will get a chance to watch the 20-year veteran display his acrobatic skills live and in person.
The man commonly known as “The Heartbreak Kid” is one of the headliners for a WWE Raw non-televised event at the Charleston Civic Center on Sunday. Michaels will team up with another legend, Ric Flair, in a handicap tag team match.
The two men will face off against The Spirit Squad, a five-member team with the personas of athletic, but arrogant, male cheerleaders.
Even with the added manpower, Michaels doesn’t believe his opponents will have the upper hand in Sunday’s match.
“You just never know how many of them are going to get in that ring at once,” Michaels, 41, said. “The way it looks, though, I think it’s about even between us.”
Born in Arizona but raised in San Antonio, Texas, Michaels began wrestling professionally in his teens. Joining the WWE in the mid-1980’s, Michaels made his mark as a member of the tag-team, The Rockers, partnering with Marty Jannetty.
After the team split in 1992, Michaels launched a highly successful solo career. Known for his flashy attire and signature finishing move, a high thrust kick nicknamed “Sweet Chin Music,” Michaels quickly became a fan favorite.
His career culminated in 1997 when he was WWE’s first “Grand Slam Champion.” He has held every championship in the company including the WWE heavyweight title and intercontinental title three times each.
Even with all the accolades, Michaels says it’s still nice to perform for smaller, non-televised shows compared to bombastic pay-per-view events.
“When you come to those live events, you can just focus on letting those people enjoy themselves,” he said.
“You get one-on-one more with the fans in a more relaxed setting.”
Recently Michaels and fellow WWE legend, Triple H, reunited to re-form the D-Generation X faction. The two men were a part of the team’s start in 1997, when they terrorized the WWE with their bad boy attitudes.
Now featured as good guys, Michaels said the team is reigniting the fans’ interest once again.
“When we do our thing out there, it comes across to the people that we are two guys who genuinely like one another,” Michaels said.
“As long as we have fun, the fans have fun.”
After years of accomplishments, Michaels believes he is approaching the twilight of his career.
Married and a father of two, Michaels said he would like to focus more on being a family man. But he is not ruling out working for the WWE in another capacity.
“This line of work is all about having a good time,” he said.
“That’s the only reason I elected to keep doing it. It’s a job that I truly enjoy doing.”
