Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story

For years now, Shawn Michaels has been my favorite wrestler. And when his book was released, I was more than eager to read it. The book goes into detail of Shawn's life. From his childhood, to his days in AWA, to the infamous "Curtain Call", to the even more infamous Montreal "screwjob", Shawn gives his side on all of these items. I also appreciate the fact that Shawn is not scared to be open with his spirituality and faith. In the book, he talks about how he escapes from the problems he faced, by downing pills night after night. After his back injury, Michaels goes into how he found God and how he demonstrates his faith to this day. For those of you who think that his demonstration of faith is an act (read reviews below), read this book, and for those who still don't believe it after reading it, read it again. One of the most interesting points of the book is the chapter entitled "Montreal". That is probably the chapter I analyzed the most of any of the chapters in the book. Shawn discusses exactly what happened. Now, I will probably make Bret Hart fans disgusted, but I wasn't exactly rioting when the "screwjob" went down in Montreal. I disagree with how they went about it, but in another aspect, Bret got what he deserved. He was leaving the company to go to WCW, and expected to get a major PPV win the day before he left (I know they were in his hometown, but please what do you expect). There are several other parts of the book, where Shawn discusses the "Curtain Call" in Madison Square Garden, his return, and more recently, his amazing rivalry with Kurt Angle. With no doubt, this is one of the best books I have ever read. Pick it up as soon as you can.

Shawn's story is compelling, and it speaks volumes about the nature of the man behind the "Heartbreak Kid" persona. You'll read about his near-career-ending injuries, and you'll come to appreciate the devotion he showed to the fans, toughing out a knee injury and a shattered back - both of which were supposed to have ended his career as a professional wrestler. He talks about growing up, his school life, his relationship with his family. He also writes in detail about his relationship with the wrestling community, his close friends in the business (and how he went about meeting them). Of course, he recollects his training with Jose Lothario to begin what is arguably one of the most successful professional wrestling careers in history, and he takes you through the cycle of promotions he went through (and the people he met and traveled with along the way) along his rise to the top. Addressing a topic that comes up very often in his career, he dedicates a long chapter to the infamous Montreal screw job that stripped Bret Hart of the championship title; he talks in depth about the set-up, the execution, and the locker room reaction to it. Shawn describes it well; I can just imagine Vince McMahon (the owner of the company) yelling at Bret in the locker room now. Boy would I have loved to have been a fly on the wall during that whole fiasco... As new as the book is, it even covers his more recent matches with Kurt Angle and the "Rockers Reunion" with Marty Jannetty. As a big Rockers fan growing up, it was cool to see Shawn writing about his experiences with Jannetty, and how they got back together for one night in 2005 to wrestle La Resistance. I couldn't put this book down. I found myself up until six in the morning from the night before reading chapter after chapter. Though filled with its fair share of wrestling jargon and "insider talk", for the average person, this autobiography is easy to read, well written, and will keep you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend it to all wrestling fans.

Many people have obviously complained that this book is not what it should be. Well, I got news for you, all of these people are the types of who have a pure hatred of the guy. Someone they don't even know personally, yet they make claims as if they were Shawn's guardian angels standing beside him throughout his life. This is HBK's life through his own eyes, his point of view. Take it for what it's worth. I don't believe Bret is evil either. I think both guys were just human. They both had their flaws and they clashed. Also, if you're coming clean about something, you're story is obviously going to change. If he just repeated what he had said in the past, there wouldn't be much of a point. If you haven't read the book don't rate it. You idiots are just as bad as political junkies that rate books down from the other side when you haven't even read it. As for the book, it was a good read. You get a good sense of how HBK sees the business and how having a good exciting match is more important than looking strong. All and all, if you want a view of how HBK viewed wrestling, his friendships, and the events surrounding his controversal career, you'll find this at the very least, interesting. If you're a HBK fan, you'll fly right through it.

I've read many a WWE novel over the last few years and this is by far the best of the bunch. The writer does an exceptional job of getting Shawn's substance abuse problem over without getting into too many details. Shawn must have an incredible memory, (ex. He remembers his very first day of work, what hotel he stayed at, where he went to kill time and the time he showed at the arena) that convinces me at times, that he is truthful about the events that transpire. While it covers all of the major events in Shawn's life like the Screwjob, Kliq and drugs. This book should have easily been 100 pages longer than it was. Much more intelligent than most of the other wrestler's who've written books. Overall: Very classy, very clean, very well written.

Shawn Michaels has morphed and changed with the times over his career not only as a wrestler and performer but as a human being. Though he was never the biggest guy in the squared circle he had the biggest heart of them all, and proved himself in the land of giants that was the WWF at the time. Breaking the mold that wrestlers and the WWF champion could only be muscle bound loafs that could pull off maybe 5 moves ahem cough Hulk Hogan. Though he was an amazing performer in the ring he was known out of the ring for his antics and causing trouble for everyone envoled. The book clears up some of the facts and gives you the inside look at Shawn Michaels as a wrestler, but it also gives you an inside look as Michael Shawn Hickenbottom the man that had it all but still felt empty. The only way Michael Shawn Hickenbottom could fill that whole was with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. After being born again not only has Michael Shawn Hickenbottom changed, but so has Shawn Michaels and the Heartbreak Kid. One of the better written wrestling books out. Pick it up learn about one of the most controversial, charismatic and incomparable wrestlers ever.