Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative and oversees the creative aspects of the NXT brand, the promotion's developmental territory. Regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "The Heartbreak Kid", "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania".
Michaels in 2008
Michaels (left) with Marty Jannetty in 1989, known together as "the (Midnight) Rockers" during their time as AWA World Tag Team Champions
Diesel acted as Michaels's on-air bodyguard and tag team partner for two championship reigns.
Michaels in 1994
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting the wrong image. Since the advent of the Internet, it is relatively easy to discover a fighter's real name.
English boxer Nicky Cook with his ring name Cookie on the trunks