10 Things You Should Know About Shawn Michaels' Wrestling Career In The 1980s

Shawn Michaels is one of the biggest legends in wrestling history. Shawn truly had one of the greatest careers the business has ever seen, lasting for more than 3 decades. With such a decorated legacy, many fans are knowledgeable about his career.

10 Things WWE Fans Should Know About Shawn Michaels Featured Image

HBK: 10 Things WWE Fans Should Know About Shawn Michaels

There are several facts that WWE fans should know about the legendary Shawn Michaels.

However, there's one part of Shawn Michaels' career that many fans don't know a lot about, and that was during the 1980s. Shawn wasn't a household name yet, which makes fans overlook this part of his career, but it was still a very important period which made Shawn Michaels the star that he is.

10 Shawn Made His Debut In Mid-South Wrestling

Shawn Debuted In October 1984

After Concluding His Training With Jose Lothario, Shawn Debuted In Mid-South Wrestling
Shawn Wrestled Against Art Crews In His Debut Match
Crews Defeated Shawn With A Swinging Neckbreaker

Before making his way to WWE, Shawn first made a name for himself in Mid-South Wrestling, which was one of the biggest wrestling territories in the NWA. Shawn came in as a relatively unknown wrestler, as he had just finished his training with his mentor, Jose Lothario.

Shawn wrestled his first match on October 20, 1984 against Art Crews, who was a prominent figure in the NWA, as he wrestled in the Pacific Northwest territories, Central States and Mid-South Wrestling. However, this match wasn't televised, and Shawn ended up wrestling his first televised match in a tag team match against Hercules Hernandez and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams.

9 Shawn's In-Ring Debut Was Well Received Backstage

Many Veterans Praised His Performance

Shawn Was Complemented By Art Crews Throughout Their Match
Terry Taylor Praised Michaels' Performance
Multiple Wrestlers Offered Shawn A Ride For The Next Show

A lot of debuts in the wrestling business don't go according to plan, but luckily for Shawn Michaels, his was an exception. It takes a long time for a rookie wrestler to earn the respect of the veteran crew, but Shawn was quick to do so, as multiple wrestlers including Art Crews, his opponent, praised his performance in his debut match.

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One of the wrestlers who was impressed by Shawn was Terry Taylor. Not only did Terry praise Shawn's performance, but he also gave him constructive feedback on where he needed to improve. Safe to say this feedback played a huge part in Shawn's growth as a wrestler.

8 Shawn Began Teaming With Marty Jannetty In Central States Wrestling

They Were Billed As The Midnight Rockers

Michaels And Jannetty Won The NWA Central States Tag Team Championships
They Defeated The Batten Twins To Win The Championships
They Later Went To The AWA Where They Won The AWA Tag Team Championships Twice

The Rockers tag team played a massive role in the career of Shawn Michaels, as it got him to the WWE and gave him a chance to connect with fans in the land of the giants. But before getting to the WWE, Shawn began teaming up with Marty Jannetty in Central States Wrestling, which was a NWA territory in Kansas City.

They began teaming up in late 1985 and were billed as The Midnight Rockers. They won the NWA Central States Tag Team Championships in May 1986 by defeating The Batten Twins. Their title reign only lasted for a week, as they dropped the titles back to The Batten Twins and found more championship success in the AWA.

7 Shawn Met Scott Hall In 1985

Both Men Wrestled For Central States Wrestling At The Time

Both Men Wrestled A Tag Team Match Against Each Other
Scott Hall Was Impressed With Shawn's Ability To Sell For A Bigger Opponent
The Duo Would Go On To Make History In The WWE Together

Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon undoubtedly changed the business forever. Their innovative ladder matches in the 90s are still being talked about to this day and they were apart of the Kliq, which for better or for worse, were a very impactful group in the wrestling business.

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But their history dates back a very long time. They met each other in 1985, before they became relatively big stars. They wrestled a tag team match against each other, and Scott Hall immediately became impressed with how Shawn could sell for a bigger opponent, which was something Scott wasn't accustomed to. They instantly became friends, and the rest is history.

6 Jake Roberts Called Shawn A Horrible Wrestler

They Wrestled Each Other In Mid-South Wrestling In February 1985

Jake Thought Shawn Would Never Amount To Anything In The Wrestling Business
Jake Criticized Shawn's Ability To Go Through The Motions In A Match
Jake Later Called Shawn Michaels One Of The Worst WWE Champions Of All Time

Like any other wrestler, Shawn Michaels had his fair share of ups and downs on his rise to the top. Things were going great in Shawn's early wrestling career, as many veterans praised his performances and Shawn was able to receive bookings in multiple territories across North America.

However, Shawn went through a number of roadblocks during his career. After a match with Jake Roberts in February 1985, Jake didn't feel that Shawn had what it took to succeed. It seems like Jake has kept this negative opinion about Shawn, as he's criticized a lot of things about Michaels and his career.

5 Shawn Got Fired And Later Rehired By WWE

He Was Fired 2 Weeks After Being Hired By The Company

Shawn Was Fired Alongside Marty Jannetty In 1987
They Were Fired Over An Incident At A Bar
They Were Later Rehired In The Summer Of 1988

After their success in the AWA, The Rockers were hired by WWE in order to boost their tag team division with a young and energetic babyface tag team. However, just 2 weeks after being hired by the promotion, both Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty were fired over Shawn breaking a glass bottle over a person's head.

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Certain WWE tag teams from the company's Golden Era completely disappeared.

For other wrestlers, getting fired this early into their WWE career would mark the end of their allegiance with the company, but thankfully, this wasn't the case for Jannetty and Michaels. WWE later rehired the duo in 1988 and gave them a second chance, as they were a tag team with a lot of potential and room to learn.

4 Shawn Made His WWE PPV Debut At Survivor Series 1988

The Rockers Competed In A 10 On 10 Survivor Series Elimination Match

The Rockers Were Eliminated Alongside The Brain Busters In A Double Disqualification
The Powers Of Pain Were The Sole Survivors
Dave Meltzer Rated The Match 3.5 Stars

After coming back in July 1988, The Rockers were immediately thrust into the PPV scene as they competed at Survivor Series 1988 in a 10 on 10 Survivor Series elimination match. The Rockers teamed up with The Hart Foundation, Powers of Pain, The British Bulldogs and The Young Stallions to take on Demolition, The Brain Busters, The Bolsheviks, The Fabulous Rougeaus and The Conquistadors.

A match involving 20 wrestlers didn't give The Rockers the biggest chance to shine on their PPV debut, but they made the most of it as they competed alongside WWE's top tag teams. The Rockers lasted for a decent amount of time before getting eliminated after a brawl with the Brain Busters. Technically, The Rockers walked out of their PPV debut with a win as the Powers of Pain eliminated The Conquistadors to win the match for their team.

3 Shawn's First Match Against Bret Hart

The Rockers Took On The Hart Foundation In Madison Square Garden

This Match Took Place In November 1989
Both Teams Were Babyfaces
The Match Ended In A 20 Minute Time Limit Draw

Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had an iconic rivalry in the 1990s, with great matches and heated backstage drama. But way before all of that, both men were part of WWE's two hottest babyface tag teams, looking to prove that they belonged in the land of giants.

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Shawn and Bret's first encounter against each other came in November 1989 in a tag team match between The Rockers and Hart Foundation. It was a rare babyface vs babyface match, but it worked due to the formula of The Rockers trying their best to compete on the same level as the two more experienced Harts. The match ended in a 20 minute time limit draw, which protected both teams and gave fans interest in a future rematch.

2 Shawn's WrestleMania Debut

The Rockers Faced Off Against The Twin Towers At WrestleMania 5

The Twin Towers Consisted Of Akeem And The Big Boss Man
It Was The Second Match On The Show
Dave Meltzer Rated The Match 1.75 Stars

Many wrestlers have had iconic WrestleMania debuts, but this wasn't the case for Shawn Michaels. The Rockers were still an undercard tag team, which meant having a match at WrestleMania wasn't going to be very likely. But at WrestleMania 5, The Rockers got the chance to compete on the biggest stage of them all as they took on Akeem and The Big Boss Man.

The match didn't really set the world on fire, as it was just a filler bout to get fans prepared for what was going to be a 14 match WrestleMania. The Rockers spent most of the match selling for the bigger team, before Akeem hit a big splash on Shawn Michaels to win the match for his team.

1 Shawn Won 0 Titles In WWE During The 1980s

Shawn Won His First Championship In 1992

The Rockers Won Tag Team Gold In The AWA And Central States Wrestling But Not WWE
The Rockers Won The WWE Tag Team Titles In 1990 But The Victory Was Later Revoked Due To A Botch During The Match
Shawn Won His First Championship In WWE By Defeating The British Bulldog To Win The Intercontinental Title

While Shawn did achieve championship success in the AWA and Central States Wrestling in the 1980s, he wasn't so lucky in the WWE. It took a while for WWE to see The Rockers as championship material, but in 1990, WWE planned to put the tag team titles on The Rockers by having them defeat The Hart Foundation, but things went wrong, as the top rope broke and the match turned into a disaster.

The Rockers' tag team title win was officially erased from the history books, and Shawn waited a while longer to achieve any championship success. In 1992, Shawn finally got his break, as he defeated The British Bulldog for the Intercontinental Championship, and an iconic career was ahead of him.