Mid 20th Century
214-670: Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) 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" (often abbreviated as HBK), "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania ". Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly
428-504: A Career Threatening match on March 30, 2008, at WrestleMania XXIV . Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. On April 27 at Backlash , with Chris Jericho as the guest referee , Michaels defeated Batista. Jericho then confronted Michaels, in which he admitted to faking a knee injury in order to defeat Batista. Michaels defeated Jericho on May 18 at Judgment Day . At One Night Stand on June 1, Michaels lost to Batista in
642-521: A Royalist garrison imposed on it in 1642. The subsequent Siege of Reading by Parliamentary forces succeeded in April 1643. The town's cloth trade was especially badly damaged, and the town's economy did not fully recover until the 20th century. Reading played a significant role during the Glorious Revolution : the second Battle of Reading was the only substantial military action of
856-503: A Street Fight after he applied a sharpshooter on Michaels, leading to McMahon ordering for the bell to be rung though Michaels did not submit, which was an allusion to the "Montreal Screwjob". Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, Michaels defeated McMahon on April 2 at WrestleMania 22 in a No Holds Barred match . At Backlash on April 30, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and " God " with help from
1070-523: A battle royal to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble , choosing number two in order to start the match with Michaels, who had already been named number one. At the Royal Rumble on January 19, Jericho, with the help of Christian , eliminated Michaels. Michaels later interfered in the match, causing Jericho to be eliminated. Michaels defeated Jericho on March 30 at WrestleMania XIX but
1284-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
1498-536: A con-chair-to after a handicap match against Edge and Orton. At the Royal Rumble on January 28, Michaels was the last man eliminated in the Royal Rumble match by the winner of the match, The Undertaker. On the January 29 episode of Raw , Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. At WrestleMania 23 on April 1, Cena retained
1712-466: A glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early to mid-1990s as "The Boy Toy". At the suggestion of Curt Hennig , Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid". Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain . He
1926-420: A handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule such a match and instead told Michaels to find a partner. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw , Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At Backlash on May 1, Hogan and Michaels defeated Hassan and Daivari. Later, in
2140-470: A non-metropolitan district , with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services in the borough for the first time. Ahead of those reforms, the borough council campaigned to have Reading's boundaries enlarged to take in Earley, Woodley , Purley on Thames , the residual Tilehurst parish (covering the parts of Tilehurst which had not been transferred into the borough in 1911), and the eastern part of
2354-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
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#17327870395612568-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
2782-516: A sledgehammer after the match. At Survivor Series on November 17, Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first Elimination Chamber match. On December 15 at Armageddon , he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match . Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho , after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. On January 13, 2003, after Jericho won
2996-630: A stretcher match . On the June 9 episode of Raw , Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel , being thrown directly through a television screen. The following week, it was revealed that, within the context of the storyline, Michaels had suffered a detached retina. On July 20 at The Great American Bash , Jericho defeated Michaels by referee stoppage after assaulting Michaels's eyes. At SummerSlam on August 17, Michaels announced his retirement from professional wrestling. That night, Jericho punched Michaels's wife in
3210-437: A Cell match, ending the feud. At Cyber Sunday on November 5, DX lost to Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton ) after fan-selected referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win and the plaudit of being the first tag team to defeat DX in a tag team match since their reformation in June 2006. On November 26 at Survivor Series , Team DX emerged victorious against Team Rated-RKO in
3424-559: A WrestleMania rematch, Michaels defeated Kurt Angle (who was drafted to Raw in the draft lottery ) on June 26 at Vengeance . On the July 4 episode of Raw , after defeating Carlito and Kurt Angle, Michaels hit Hogan with his Sweet Chin Music , knocking Hogan to the ground and turning heel for the first time since 1998. The following week on Raw , Michaels appeared on Piper's Pit where he superkicked Roddy Piper and then challenged Hogan to
3638-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
3852-468: A career in professional wrestling. His cousin Matt Bentley is also a wrestler. Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario . During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, "Shawn Michaels". After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels with
4066-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
4280-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
4494-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
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#17327870395614708-521: A charge he never admitted. On WWF programs, his suspension was explained by his having neglected to defend the title often enough. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned on November 24 at Survivor Series , substituting for Jerry Lawler , who
4922-410: A clean sweep victory. At New Year's Revolution on January 7, 2007, Triple H suffered a legit torn right quadriceps during their match with Rated-RKO. Rated-RKO claimed victory over DX, citing Triple H's injury, as the "end" of DX. On the January 15 episode of Raw , Michaels lived up to his word of "dealing" with Rated-RKO, from his comments the previous week before, when he took out Randy Orton with
5136-420: A degree of independence from the abbey from the 13th century onwards, particularly after the town's merchant guild was granted a royal charter in 1253. Following the dissolution of the abbey in 1538 the borough was granted a new charter in 1542. The borough boundaries were then set out in a subsequent charter from Elizabeth I in 1560. The borough covered the whole of the parish of St Laurence and parts of
5350-417: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Reading, Berkshire Reading ( / ˈ r ɛ d ɪ ŋ / RED -ing )
5564-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
5778-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
5992-492: A few weeks to have back surgery and by the time he returned DX was on the way of dissolving within the next couple of months. On November 23, 1999, Michaels made a special appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling at the 10th Anniversary Show at the Yokohama Arena , serving as the guest referee for the H vs fake Hayabusa (Mr. Gannosuke) main event. He got himself involved in the match when Gannosuke delivered
6206-501: A hiatus from WWE. Professional wrestler 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches
6420-465: A ladder match between the two on March 20 at WrestleMania X . Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's championship belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match was voted by fans as " Match of the Year " by Pro Wrestling Illustrated . It also received a five-star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer , the first of nine WWF/E matches to do so. Over
6634-433: A ladder match, which Michaels won. Around this time, Michaels became the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq . Critics perceive the group to have sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon, becoming dominant wrestling figures in the WWF for several years in the mid-1990s, causing friction with other wrestlers. Michaels disputes the perception, saying that McMahon pushed only deserving wrestlers. Michaels's fan base
Shawn Michaels - Misplaced Pages Continue
6848-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
7062-521: A low blow on him and he responded later on with Sweet Chin Music . Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television after August until May 15, 2000, when he returned on Raw Is War to declare himself the special guest referee for The Rock and Triple H's Iron Man match at Judgment Day . One month later, Michaels briefly reappeared on Raw Is War to hand over
7276-744: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
7490-458: A match at SummerSlam , which Hogan accepted the following week. Hogan defeated Michaels at SummerSlam on August 21, and after the match Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd, turning face once again. He became the first person to cleanly defeat Chris Masters on September 18 at Unforgiven with Sweet Chin Music . On
7704-863: A month. The old Victorian Corn Exchange now provides an alternative access to a shopping centre. Every year Reading hosts the Reading Festival , which has been running since 1971. The festival takes place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom aside from the Glastonbury Festival . Reading Festival takes place at Little Johns Farm in Reading, Richfield Avenue. For some twenty years until 2006, Reading
7918-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
8132-564: A narrow steep-sided gap in the hills forming the southern flank of the Thames flood plain . The Kennet, which naturally divided into multiple shallow streams through the centre of Reading, was embanked as part of the construction of the Kennet and Avon Canal in the 18th century, allowing the development of wharves . The floodplains adjoining Reading's two rivers are subject to occasional flooding. As Reading has grown, its suburbs have spread: to
8346-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
8560-482: A new town hall by inserting an upper floor into the refectory of the Hospitium of St John , the former hospitium of Reading Abbey . For some 400 years up to the 1970s, this was to remain the site of Reading's civic administration through the successive rebuilds that eventually created today's Town Hall . In 1976, Reading Borough Council moved to the new Civic Centre . In 2014, they moved again to civic offices in
8774-501: A one-year general employment contract from John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). After failing to help JBL win the World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena on January 25, 2009, at the Royal Rumble , and being derided for it, Michaels agreed to face JBL in "All or Nothing" match at No Way Out on February 15, which Michaels won thus letting him out of his contract early while still receiving full payment. On
Shawn Michaels - Misplaced Pages Continue
8988-487: A presence in the town, supplying Fibre-to-the-Premises ( FTTP ) broadband internet connections at speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s. Reading School (a state grammar school ), founded in 1125, is the 16th oldest school in England. There are six other state secondary schools and 38 state primary schools within the borough, together with a number of private schools and nurseries. Alfred Sutton Boys' School closed in
9202-473: A professional association football team, Reading F.C. , and participates in many other sports. Reading dates from the 8th century. It was a trading and ecclesiastical centre in the Middle Ages , the site of Reading Abbey , one of the largest and richest monasteries of medieval England with royal connections, of which the 12th-century abbey gateway and significant ancient ruins remain. By 1525, Reading
9416-588: A refurbished existing office building on Bridge Street , in order to facilitate the demolition and redevelopment of the previous site. Reading is 42 miles (68 km) north of the English south coast. The centre of Reading is on a low ridge between the River Thames and River Kennet , close to their confluence , reflecting the town's history as a river port. Just above the confluence, the Kennet cuts through
9630-470: A self-governing, self-funding theatre group and registered charity founded in 1947 that operates and maintains its own 97-seat theatre. Rabble Theatre in Caversham and Reading Rep on London Road offer classic and contemporary performances. Jelly is an artist-led organisation that has been committed to improving access to the arts since 1993. The demonym for a person from Reading is Redingensian , giving
9844-442: A significant presence in the town include Huawei Technologies , Pegasystems , Access IS , CGI Inc. , Agilent Technologies , Cisco , Ericsson , Symantec , Verizon Business , and Commvault . These companies are distributed around Reading or just outside the borough boundary, some in business parks including Thames Valley Park in nearby Earley, Green Park Business Park and Arlington Business Park . Reading town centre
10058-597: A single Luftwaffe plane machine-gunned and bombed the town centre, resulting in 41 deaths and over 100 injuries. The Lower Earley development, begun in 1977, was one of the largest private housing developments in Europe . It extended the urban area of Reading as far as the M4 Motorway . Further housing developments have increased the number of modern houses and hypermarkets in the outskirts of Reading. A major town-centre shopping centre, The Oracle , opened in 1999,
10272-475: A split between the two, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series on November 24. Michaels won the Royal Rumble on January 2, 1995, which set up a championship grudge match on March 20 at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund ). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sid as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match and
10486-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
10700-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
10914-490: A wrestling routine at his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood . He was a keen athlete while growing up, and his sporting career began at the age of six when he played football . He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base and eventually became captain of the football team. He attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas , but dropped out to pursue
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#173278703956111128-590: Is a conversion of a nonconformist chapel dating from 1707. Besides the two major shopping malls, Reading has three smaller shopping arcades, the Bristol and West Arcade, Harris Arcade and The Walk, which contain smaller specialist stores. An older form of retail facility is represented by Union Street , popularly known as Smelly Alley . Reading has no indoor market, but there is a street market in Hosier Street. A farmers' market operates on two Saturdays
11342-667: Is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance. It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centres, including the Oracle , the Broad Street Mall, and the pedestrianised area around Broad Street. It is home to the University of Reading . Every year it hosts the Reading Festival , one of England's biggest music festivals. Reading has
11556-808: Is a major shopping centre. In 2007, an independent poll placed Reading 16th in a league table of best performing retail centres in the United Kingdom. The main shopping street is Broad Street , which runs between The Oracle in the east and Broad Street Mall in the west and was pedestrianised in 1995. The smaller Friars Walk in Friar Street is closed and will be demolished if the proposed Station Hill redevelopment project goes ahead. There are three major department stores in Reading: John Lewis & Partners (known as Heelas until 2001), Debenhams (now closed down), and House of Fraser . The Broad Street branch of bookseller Waterstone's
11770-629: Is a museum dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. It houses designated collections of national importance. It is owned and run by the University of Reading , as are the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology , the Cole Museum of Zoology and the Harris Botanic Gardens , all of which can be found on the university's Whiteknights Campus . The small Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock tells
11984-641: Is a town and borough in Berkshire , England. Most of its built-up area lies within the Borough of Reading , although some outer suburbs are parts of neighbouring local authority areas. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet , Reading is 40 miles (64 km) east of Swindon , 28 miles (45 km) south of Oxford , 40 miles (64 km) west of London and 16 miles (26 km) north of Basingstoke . Reading
12198-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
12412-530: Is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner (and the first man to win the match as the first entrant), the company's first Grand Slam Champion and fourth Triple Crown Champion , as well as a two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee ( 2011 as a singles wrestler and 2019 as part of D-Generation X). Michaels won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated " Match of the Year " reader vote a record eleven times, and his match against John Cena on April 23, 2007,
12626-434: Is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are
12840-575: Is buried within the Abbey grounds. As part of his endowments, he gave the abbey his lands in Reading, along with land at Cholsey . The town grew around a crossing of the River Kennet, about 1 mile (1.6 km) upstream from its confluence with the River Thames. In 1312, King Edward II directed that its bridges should be kept in good order. It is not known how badly Reading was affected by
13054-559: Is complemented by Palmer Park , a purpose built public park in east Reading gifted to the town by the proprietors of Huntley & Palmers in 1889. A string of open spaces stretch along one or other side of the River Thames throughout its passage through Reading. From west to east these are Thameside Promenade , Caversham Court , Christchurch Meadows , Hills Meadow , View Island and King's Meadow . Reading also has five local nature reserves : Clayfield Copse in Caversham , with
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#173278703956113268-460: Is from Reading, made the film Cemetery Junction , which, although filmed elsewhere in the United Kingdom, is set in 1970s Reading and is named after a busy junction in East Reading . Jasper Fforde 's Nursery Crimes Division novels, The Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear , are also placed in Reading. The BBC Two sitcom Beautiful People , based on the memoirs of Simon Doonan ,
13482-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
13696-772: Is largely based on Reading. Described with topographical accuracy, it is still possible to follow the steps of the novel's characters in present-day Reading. Reading also appears in the works of Thomas Hardy where it is called 'Aldbrickham'. It features most heavily in his final novel, Jude the Obscure , as the temporary home of Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead. Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in Reading Gaol from 1895 to 1897. While there, he wrote his letter De Profundis . After his release, he lived in exile in France and wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol , based on his experience of
13910-493: Is named after the 17th-century Oracle workhouse , which once occupied a small part of the site. It provides three storeys of shopping space and boosted the local economy by providing 4,000 jobs. As one of the largest urban areas in the United Kingdom to be without city status , Reading has unsuccessfully bid for city status on four recent occasions – in 2000 to celebrate the new millennium; in 2002 to celebrate
14124-467: Is regulated by the Environment Agency . Reading's water supply is largely derived from underground aquifers , and as a consequence the water is hard . The commercial energy supplier for electricity and gas is at the consumer's choice. SSEN runs the local electricity distribution network, while SGN runs the gas distribution network. A notable part of the local energy infrastructure is
14338-707: Is set in Reading in the late 1990s. The Maiwand Lion in Forbury Gardens , an unofficial symbol of Reading, commemorates the 328 officers of the Royal Berkshire Regiment who died in the Battle of Maiwand in 1880. There are a number of other works of public art in Reading. The Blade , a fourteen-storey building completed in 2009, is 86 m (282 ft) tall and can be seen from the surrounding area. Jacksons Corner with its prominent sign, former home of Jacksons department store, occupies
14552-625: The AWA World Tag Team Championship twice, the team continued to the WWF as The Rockers and had a high-profile breakup in January 1992. Within the year, Michaels twice challenged for the WWF Championship and won his first Intercontinental Championship , heralding his arrival as one of the industry's premier singles stars. Michaels is a four-time world champion , having held the WWF Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once . He
14766-703: The American Breed tag team , teaming with Paul Diamond . Michaels and Diamond were awarded the TASW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero Sr. The team was later renamed American Force. While in TASW, Michaels and Diamond feuded with Japanese Force . Michaels made his national-level debut, as Sean Michaels, at the age of 20 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in a victory over Buddhakhan on ESPN. He
14980-523: The Battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest of England , William the Conqueror gave land in and around Reading to his foundation of Battle Abbey . In its 1086 Domesday Book listing, the town was explicitly described as a borough . The presence of six mills is recorded: four on land belonging to the king and two on the land given to Battle Abbey. Reading Abbey was founded in 1121 by Henry I , who
15194-499: The Black Death that swept through England in the 14th century, but it is known that the abbot, Henry of Appleford , was one of its victims in 1361, and that nearby Henley lost 60% of its population. The Abbey was largely destroyed in 1538 during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries . The last abbot , Hugh Faringdon , was subsequently tried and convicted of high treason and hanged, drawn and quartered in front of
15408-506: The National Wrestling Alliance 's (NWA) Mid-South Wrestling territory on October 16, 1984, against Art Crews , losing to Crews via swinging neckbreaker. Michaels's performance in his debut match impressed many veterans, including Terry Taylor . Michaels made his televised debut on October 20, 1984, teaming with Jim Hornet in a losing effort against the tag team of Hercules Hernandez and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . In January 1985, he debuted for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW),
15622-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
15836-537: The River Kennet to boats as far as Newbury . Opposition stopped when it became apparent that the new route benefited the town. After the opening of the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810, one could go by barge from Reading to the Bristol Channel . From 1714, and probably earlier, the role of county town of Berkshire was shared between Reading and Abingdon . In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it
16050-607: The Sheffield Arena and broadcast on Sky Movies Plus (the match later aired in the US on the edition of June 15 of Prime Time Wrestling ). Michaels was also unable to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in the WWF's first ladder match at a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, which was subsequently made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. However, he won
16264-497: The WWF Commissioner , eventually joining Vince McMahon's group of wrestlers called The Corporation . Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on Raw , in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. On the January 4, 1999, episode of Raw Is War , Michaels re-joined DX as a face, but disappeared from WWF television for
16478-511: The WWF European Championship . The fans at the event were so upset at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion . At In Your House: Badd Blood on October 5, Michaels defeated The Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match, during which Michaels fell off
16692-536: The central branch of the library was relocated to a new building on King's Road in 1985. The Reading Museum opened in 1883 in the town's municipal buildings . It contains galleries relating to the history of Reading and to the excavations of Calleva Atrebatum , together with a full-size bowdlerised replica of the Bayeux Tapestry , an art collection, and galleries relating to Huntley and Palmers . The Museum of English Rural Life , in East Reading ,
16906-628: The first Battle of Reading , King Ethelred and his brother Alfred the Great attempted unsuccessfully to breach the Danes' defences. The battle is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , and that account provides the earliest known written record of the existence of Reading. The Danes remained in Reading until late in 871, when they retreated to their winter quarters in London . After
17120-494: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
17334-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
17548-435: The " Montreal Screwjob ". Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, he had moved on, and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon then began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels' matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels' opponents. On January 29, 2006, at the Royal Rumble , McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprise appearance to eliminate Michaels. On
17762-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
17976-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
18190-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
18404-496: The 20th century, annexing Caversham across the River Thames in Oxfordshire in 1911, as well as most of Tilehurst to the west at the same time. Compared to many other English towns and cities, Reading suffered little physical damage during either of the two world wars that afflicted the 20th century, although many citizens were killed or injured in the conflicts. One significant air raid occurred on 10 February 1943, when
18618-430: The AWA tag team titles for a second time, but were re-signed by WWF a year later. The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon 's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply The Rockers . The team proved popular with both children and women and was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for
18832-541: The Abbey Church. By 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire and the tenth largest town in England when measured by taxable wealth reported in tax returns. By 1611, it had a population of over 5,000 and had grown rich on its trade in cloth, as instanced by the fortune made by local merchant John Kendrick . Reading played a role during the English Civil War . Despite its fortifications, it had
19046-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
19260-825: The Bulmershe College of Higher Education , a teacher training college , in 1989, becoming Bulmershe Court Campus . The Henley Management College , situated in Buckinghamshire and about 10 miles (16 km) from Reading, was taken over in 2008, becoming Greenlands Campus . The University of West London maintains a presence in the town for its higher education students, principally in nursing , but has now divested itself of its previous ownership of Reading College and its further education students. The Reading Borough Libraries service dates back to 1877. Initially housed in Reading Town Hall ,
19474-480: The English town of Reading, Berkshire , but grew up primarily in San Antonio, Texas . As a child, he disliked the name "Michael" and convinced his family and friends to address him by his middle name. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military. He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and performed
19688-967: The February 13 episode of Raw , McMahon unsuccessfully forced Michaels to sign retirement papers. The following week, Michaels won a handicap match against the Spirit Squad ( Kenny , Johnny , Mitch , Nicky and Mikey ), after which Michaels's former partner, Marty Jannetty, saved him from the assault by the Spirit Squad. After the two reunited, McMahon offered Jannetty a contract if he "kissed his ass." The following week, Jannetty refused McMahon's offer and instead took Chris Masters's " Masterlock challenge ." Michaels tried to help Jannetty, which ultimately resulted in Shane attacking Michaels and forcing him to kiss his father's behind. On March 18 at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII , Shane defeated Michaels in
19902-596: The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II ; in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee ; and in 2022 to mark the Platinum Jubilee . Local government for the borough is provided by Reading Borough Council , which has been a unitary authority providing all local government functions since 1998. There are no civil parishes in the borough. Some of the built-up area's outer suburbs are outside
20116-466: The Greater Reading area. Reading has over 100 parks and playgrounds, including 5 miles (8 km) of riverside paths. In the town centre is Forbury Gardens , a public park built on the site of the outer court of Reading Abbey . The largest public park in Reading is Prospect Park , an estate in west Reading previously owned by Frances Kendrick but acquired by Reading Corporation in 1901. This
20330-544: The Kliq. During a match with Owen Hart on a November episode of Raw , Hart performed an enzuigiri that struck the back of Michaels's head. They continued the match, but Michaels collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion. The concussion was scripted, which was kept from most fans at the time. A retirement angle was written so that Michaels could take some time off after he came back from an injury too soon. After teasing retirement, Michaels returned to
20544-491: The March 2 episode of Raw , Michaels became the first person to defeat Vladimir Kozlov , and so earned a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 on April 5, which he lost thus extending The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak to 17–0 . Their match was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. After WrestleMania, Michaels took
20758-743: The NWA territory in Dallas, Texas . In April 1985, Michaels went to work for another NWA territory in Kansas City called Central States Wrestling . There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship , later losing it back to the Battens. After leaving Kansas City, he returned to Texas to wrestle for Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW). During his time with TASW, Michaels replaced Nick Kiniski in
20972-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
21186-488: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
21400-518: The October 3 WWE Homecoming episode of Raw , he wrestled old rival Kurt Angle to a 2–2 draw in a 30-Minute Iron Man match . Afterwards, he challenged Angle to sudden-death overtime, but Angle refused and walked out. He was part of Team Raw at Survivor Series on November 27, but lost the match to Team SmackDown!. On the December 26 episode of Raw , Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in
21614-562: The October 8 episode of Raw , performing Sweet Chin Music to newly crowned WWE Champion Randy Orton during his title ceremony at the end of the show and then celebrating over the knocked-out champion as Vince McMahon watched. On October 28 at Cyber Sunday , Michaels was voted by the fans to face Orton for the WWE Championship, though he won via disqualification when Orton hit Michaels with a low blow , which resulted in Orton retaining
21828-773: The Reading Electric Supply Company Limited, then from 1933 by the Reading Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The dialling code for fixed-line telephones in Reading is 0118. BT provides fixed-line telephone coverage throughout the town and ADSL broadband internet connection to most areas. Parts of Reading are cabled by Virgin Media , supplying cable television, telephone and broadband internet connections. Hyperoptic also has
22042-651: The Royal Rumble match and eliminated Kurt Angle . In seeking revenge, Angle re-entered the ring and eliminated Michaels, and thus placed him in an ankle lock submission hold, outside the ring. Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21 , which Angle accepted when he appeared on Raw to attack Michaels. The following week on Raw , Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Résistance ( Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier ). Three days later on SmackDown! , Angle defeated Jannetty, after Angle made Jannetty submit to
22256-561: The Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative for the NXT brand itself. In WWF/WWE, Michaels headlined pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2018, main-eventing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, five times ( 12 , 14 , 20 , 23 and 26 ). He was the co-founder and original leader of the successful stable, D-Generation X . Michaels also wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he founded The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty in 1985. After winning
22470-486: The Spirit Squad in a no disqualification tag team match. On the May 22 episode of Raw , the Spirit Squad was scripted to injure Michaels's knee. This angle was written so Michaels could have surgery on his knee, which had been legitimately injured for some time. In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as DX. They began at WrestleMania 22, where both Michaels and Triple H performed
22684-538: The United Kingdom offices of foreign multinationals, as well as being a major retail centre. Whilst located close enough to London to be sometimes regarded as part of the London commuter belt , Reading is a net inward destination for commuters. During the morning peak period, there are some 30,000 inward arrivals in the town, compared to 24,000 departures. Major companies Microsoft , Oracle and Hibu (formerly Yell Group) have their headquarters in Reading. The insurance company Prudential has an administration centre in
22898-567: The WWE Championship against Michaels after making him submit to the STFU . The next night on Raw , Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the World Tag Team Championship in the second to The Hardys ( Matt and Jeff ) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. Michaels faced off with Cena, Edge and Randy Orton in a fatal four-way match on April 29 at Backlash for
23112-430: The WWE Championship, where Cena retained the title after Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Cena, causing him to fall on Orton for the pinfall. Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. The week before their scheduled match on May 20 at Judgment Day , after Michaels won a match against then- World Heavyweight Champion Edge, Orton attacked him by punting Michaels in
23326-604: The WWF Champion. Michaels now held both the WWF and European championships at the same time. Michaels dropped the European Championship to DX member Hunter Hearst Hemsley in a farcical match. On January 18, 1998, at the Royal Rumble , in a casket match against The Undertaker, Michaels took a back body drop to the outside of the ring and hit his lower back on the casket , causing him to herniate two discs and crush one completely. Michaels went on to win
23540-532: The WWF Tag Team Championship. In his autobiography, Michaels discusses his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Hart did interviews on live television claiming that Michaels was faking his whole injury. By the spring of 1997, the real-life backstage conflict between Michaels and Hart was reaching its height. Both men were going out on television and frequently making personal, true to heart remarks about one another. Michaels briefly left
23754-472: The WWF at the Royal Rumble match on January 21, 1996, winning for the second year in a row to receive a WWF Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania XII . Around this time, Jose Lothario became Michaels's on-screen manager. At WrestleMania XII on March 31, Michaels defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart in the overtime of their sixty-minute Iron Man match , which had ended in a scoreless tie. On May 19, Michaels and his fellow Kliq members were involved in
23968-409: The WWF in June of that year after a real backstage fight with Hart, just hours before a Raw Is War show, which allegedly resulted from Michaels making an on-air remark, known as the "Sunny Days" comment, implying that Hart (who was married at the time) was having an affair with Tammy Sytch , a manager and valet who was signed to the WWF as Sunny. Michaels and Austin were still WWF Tag Team Champions at
24182-743: The Warren. Reading has a local newspaper, the Reading Chronicle , published on Thursdays. The town's other local newspaper, the Reading Post , ceased publication on paper in December 2014, in order to transition to an online only format under the title getreading . As of 2018, getreading joined the InYourArea local news network. A local publishing company, the Two Rivers Press , has published over 70 book titles, many on
24396-633: The World Heavyweight Championship, which Benoit won. The night before this, Michaels inducted Tito Santana in the WWE Hall of Fame. A triple threat WrestleMania rematch for the title took place on April 18 at Backlash , where Benoit successfully retained it after forcing Michaels to submit to a Sharpshooter. Due to the "Montreal Screwjob" incident, the Edmonton crowd booed Michaels, with chants of "You screwed Bret!" being heard during his match at Backlash. At Bad Blood on June 13, Michaels lost to Triple H in
24610-491: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF, renamed in 2002), from 1988 until his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years, resuming his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 until ceremoniously retiring in 2010. He returned for a one-off final match in 2018. In 2016, he began working as a coach at the WWE Performance Center , and was a producer on NXT in 2018, before becoming
24824-466: The ankle lock. To send a "message" to Michaels, Angle also humiliated Michaels's former manager, Sensational Sherri, when he applied the ankle lock hold on her. At WrestleMania on April 3, Angle defeated Michaels by submission, again with an ankle lock. The next night on Raw , Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. On the April 11 episode of Raw , Michaels approached General Manager Eric Bischoff , in which he demanded
25038-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
25252-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
25466-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
25680-571: The borough boundaries in West Berkshire and Wokingham . These outer suburbs belong to civil parishes, in some cases with their own town status. Reading has elected at least one Member of Parliament to every Parliament since 1295. Since the 2024 general election , the borough of Reading has been divided between the parliamentary constituencies of Reading Central , Reading West and Mid Berkshire (which also covers part of West Berkshire), and Earley and Woodley (which also covers part of
25894-645: The borough of Reading in 1977. The borough council became a unitary authority in 1998, when the county council was abolished under the Banham Review , which saw the borough council take over county-level functions, effectively restoring the council to the powers it had held when Reading was a county borough prior to 1974. As part of those reforms, the Local Government Commission had initially recommended expanding Reading's boundaries to include Earley, Tilehurst parish, Purley on Thames and
26108-635: The borough of Wokingham). Reading is the site of venues for both the Crown Court , administering criminal justice, and the County Court , responsible for civil cases. Lesser matters are dealt with in a local magistrates' court . Reading was an ancient borough , being described as a borough by the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. The borough was initially controlled by Reading Abbey as its manorial owner. The town gradually gained
26322-466: The building". At WrestleMania VIII on April 5, 1992, Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first pay-per-view singles match after both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble . Michaels subsequently became a contender to the promotion's singles titles and failed to win the WWF Championship from champion Randy Savage in his first opportunity to compete for that title at British event UK Rampage , held on April 19 at
26536-550: The campaign. The 18th century saw the beginning of a major iron works in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous. Reading's trade benefited from better designed turnpike roads which helped it establish its location on the major coaching routes from London to Oxford and the West Country . In 1723, despite considerable local opposition, the Kennet Navigation opened
26750-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
26964-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
27178-448: The championship. Michaels got another opportunity at the WWE Championship, when he was granted his rematch against Orton on November 18 at Survivor Series . In their match, Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music upon request by Orton, referring to as Michaels superkicking Orton week after week. Michaels lost the match, when Orton performed an RKO for the win, which ended their feud. Michaels defeated and ended Ric Flair's career in
27392-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
27606-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
27820-544: The corner of Kings Road and High Street, just south of the Market Place. Reading has six Grade I listed buildings, 22 Grade II* and 853 Grade II buildings, in a wide variety of architectural styles that range from the medieval to the 21st century. The Grade I listed buildings are Reading Abbey , the Abbey Gateway , Greyfriars Church , St Laurence's Church , Reading Minster , and the barn at Chazey Farmhouse on
28034-498: The crotch chop during their matches. On Raw , the two continued to deliver chops, as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H went to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship , repeatedly butting heads with Vince McMahon in the process. On the June 12 episode of Raw , DX officially reunited. During Triple H's gauntlet match , which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. Michaels came in to help Triple H, and
28248-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
28462-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
28676-533: The execution of Charles Wooldridge , carried out in Reading Gaol whilst he was imprisoned there. In March 2021, street artist Banksy claimed responsibility for a painting on the wall of the jail. It depicted an inmate escaping with bedsheets and a typewriter, said to resemble Oscar Wilde . Reading was the location of the world's first commercial studio for photograph printing, which was set up by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1844. Ricky Gervais , who
28890-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
29104-403: The face. On the August 25 episode of Raw , Michaels renounced his retirement and challenged Jericho to an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven on September 7, which Jericho accepted. The next week, they had a contract signing for the match and were involved in a brawl, causing a legit small triceps tear for Michaels. He was medically cleared to compete at Unforgiven, and beat Jericho so severely that
29318-614: The first clear evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century, when the town came to be known as Readingas . The name probably comes from the Readingas , an Anglo-Saxon tribe whose name means Reada's People in Old English (the Anglo-Saxons often had the same name for a place and its inhabitants). In late 870, an army of Danes invaded the kingdom of Wessex and set up camp at Reading. On 4 January 871, in
29532-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
29746-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
29960-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
30174-500: The head. Orton assaulted Michaels again prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels's interview segment. Michaels collapsed during their match, causing Orton to win by referee stoppage. Orton continued the beating and performed an RKO to a fallen Michaels, who was removed out of the ring in a stretcher. During the feud, Michaels suffered a storyline concussion. This injury was used to keep Michaels out of action, as he required surgery for his knee. Michaels made his return on
30388-464: The inaugural (as part of The Rockers tag team) and first televised (at WrestleMania XII ) Iron Man matches , and Elimination Chamber at the 2002 Survivor Series . Michael Shawn Hickenbottom was born in Chandler, Arizona , on July 22, 1965. He has an older sister named Shari and two older brothers named Randy and Scott. He was raised in a military family and briefly spent some of his early years in
30602-470: The incident known as " Curtain Call ". Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. After Michaels won a match against Diesel, Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley came to the ring and joined Michaels and Diesel in a group-hug. As Diesel and Helmsley were seen as villains at the time, in contrast to Michaels and Ramon, this constituted a breach of " kayfabe ", as acting out of character, which
30816-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
31030-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
31244-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
31458-457: The longest Hell in a Cell match in history. Four months later, he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H, after Edge interfered on October 19 at Taboo Tuesday , when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Following this, Michaels was out of action for a few months with a legit torn meniscus . At the Royal Rumble on January 30, 2005, after losing to Edge, Michaels competed in
31672-539: The match but the injury rendered him unable to compete on the following month's No Way Out of Texas: In Your House as advertised, and forced him into retirement a night after losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin on March 29 at WrestleMania XIV . After being away for nearly four months, Michaels made a surprise return to the WWF as a guest commentator on the July 13 episode of Raw Is War . Michaels continued to make non-wrestling appearances on WWF programming and on November 23 he replaced Sgt. Slaughter as
31886-436: The match, only to be knocked out by Triple H in the middle of the match). However, Bischoff reversed the decision due to both men's shoulders being on the mat. Angered by this, Michaels attacked Ric Flair and Bischoff. He was subsequently fired by Bischoff but rehired by Steve Austin. As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event on March 14, 2004, at WrestleMania XX for
32100-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
32314-560: The mid-1980s. Reading College has provided further education in Reading since 1955, with over 8,500 local learners on over 900 courses. English language schools in Reading include Gateway Languages, the English Language Centre, ELC London Street and Eurospeak Language School . The University of Reading was established in 1892 as an affiliate of Oxford University . It moved to its London Road Campus in 1904 and to its new Whiteknights Campus in 1947. It took over
32528-516: The name of the local rugby team Redingensians , based in Sonning , and of former members of Reading School . Jane Austen attended Reading Ladies Boarding School , based in the Abbey Gateway , in 1784–1786. Mary Russell Mitford lived in Reading for a number of years and then spent the rest of her life just outside the town at Three Mile Cross and Swallowfield . The fictional Belford Regis of her eponymous novel, first published in 1835,
32742-566: The next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on Superstars . On August 28, Michaels and Diesel won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers ( Samu and Fatu ). The next day at SummerSlam , Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered
32956-497: The next two years. During this time, Michaels headlined his first pay-per-view for the WWF when The Rockers were involved in the 4-on-4 Survivor Series match main event of Survivor Series on November 23, 1989, which they won. On October 30, 1990, The Rockers unofficially won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation ( Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart ), as Neidhart, half of the championship team,
33170-540: The north bank of the Thames from Oxfordshire (except the Caversham Park area, which was transferred to the parish of Eye and Dunsden ), and most of the parish of Tilehurst (including the main village at Tilehurst Triangle and the area around the parish church at Churchend) to the west. Local government was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , which saw Reading redesignated as
33384-451: The north-western parts of Earley , and the eastern end of the parish of Tilehurst . When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 , Reading was considered large enough for its existing borough council to provide county-level services, and so Reading was made a county borough , independent from Berkshire County Council . The borough boundaries were enlarged again in 1911 to take in Caversham on
33598-655: The other four McIlroy Park , Blundells Copse , Lousehill Copse and Round Copse all in Tilehurst The principal National Health Service (NHS) hospital in Reading is the Royal Berkshire Hospital , founded in 1839 and much enlarged and rebuilt since. A second major NHS general hospital , the Battle Hospital , closed in 2005. Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust runs a NHS hospital, Prospect Park Hospital, which specialises in
33812-474: The parish of Theale . The government decided to make no change to Reading's boundaries, leaving them as they had been since last reviewed in 1911. Shortly after the 1974 reforms came into effect, a more limited review of the borough's boundaries north of the Thames was carried out, which saw the Caversham Park area and part of the parish of Mapledurham on the western side of Caversham transferred into
34026-658: The parishes of St Giles and St Mary . The part of St Giles' parish outside the borough was known as the hamlet of Whitley , and the part of St Mary's parish outside the borough was known as the tithing of Southcote . The borough was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. The borough boundaries, which had not been changed since 1560, were enlarged in 1887 to take in Southcote, Whitley,
34240-419: The parts of the parishes of Shinfield , Burghfield and Theale north of the M4 motorway , but it was ultimately decided to leave Reading's boundaries unchanged. Reading's boundaries south of the Thames therefore have not changed since 1911, despite the urban area having now expanded well beyond the borough boundaries. Cross-boundary working between the borough council and the neighbouring councils which cover
34454-427: The presence of a 2 megawatt (peak) Enercon wind turbine at Green Park Business Park , with the potential to produce 2.7 million kWh of electricity a year, enough to power over a thousand homes. Additionally, Reading Hydro runs a micro hydroelectric power station on the Thames. Reading had its own power station in Vastern Road from 1895 to the 1960s. The power station was initially owned and operated by
34668-625: The primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
34882-668: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
35096-438: The provision of care for people with mental health and learning disabilities. Reading has three private hospitals: the Berkshire Independent Hospital in Coley Park , the Dunedin Hospital situated on the main A4 Bath Road, and the Circle Hospital at Kennet Island. Mains water and sewerage services are provided by Thames Water Utilities Limited , a private sector water supply company, whilst water abstraction and disposal
35310-407: The referee called the match, making Michaels the winner. Later that night, Jericho replaced CM Punk in the World Heavyweight Championship scramble match, and won the title. On October 5 at No Mercy , Michaels was defeated by Jericho in a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship. In December 2008, having lost his family's savings due to the global recession, Michaels grudgingly accepted
35524-442: The role of Commissioner to Mick Foley , and after another appearance in October did not make any in-arena appearances until mid-2002. He appeared briefly on television to make a speech at WWF New York during Armageddon on December 10, 2000. On April 4, 2000, Michaels returned to wrestling for a one-night appearance defeating Paul Diamond in a bunkhouse brawl at Texas Wrestling Entertainment. Believing that his wrestling career
35738-414: The second Elimination Chamber match. He then lost to Randy Orton at Unforgiven . At Armageddon , Michaels defeated the groups enforcer Batista . On the December 29 episode of Raw , Michaels seemingly defeated Triple H after a Sweet Chin Music for the World Heavyweight Championship in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas , with Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee (Earl Hebner originally refereed
35952-426: The side of the 5-metre (15 ft) high structure through a table. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. In the fall, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H), Helmsley's then real-life girlfriend Chyna , and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). Michaels continued his rivalry with Bret Hart and his reformed Hart Foundation , which
36166-444: The sole county town of Berkshire, a decision that was officially approved by the privy council in 1869. The town became county borough under the Local Government Act 1888 . In the 19th and 20th centuries, the town's three largest industries were known as the Three Bs : beer (1785–2010, H & G Simonds ), bulbs (1837–1974, Suttons Seeds ), and biscuits (1822–1976, Huntley and Palmers ). The town continued to expand in
36380-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
36594-545: The story of Reading's two rivers. The Museum of Berkshire Aviation has a collection of aircraft and other artefacts relating to the aircraft industry in the town. Reading's location in the Thames Valley to the west of London has made the town a significant element in the nation's transport system. The town grew up as a river port at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Kennet . Both of these rivers are navigable, and Caversham Lock , Blake's Lock , County Lock , Fobney Lock and Southcote Lock are all within
36808-409: The suburban and adjoining rural areas is sometimes criticised, particularly over matters such as transport and school catchment areas. Prior to the 16th century, civic administration for the town of Reading was situated in the Yield Hall , a guild hall situated by the River Kennet near today's Yield Hall Lane. After a brief stay in what later became Greyfriars Church , the town council created
37022-447: The team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon . During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on the May 17, 1993, episode of Raw , but regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting " bodyguard " (and off-air friend) Diesel . In September 1993, Michaels was suspended for testing positive for steroid –
37236-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
37450-402: The time during an ongoing feud with the Hart Foundation and a tournament was made to decide new tag team champions. Michaels eventually returned that summer in July. At SummerSlam on August 3, Michaels officiated the WWF Championship match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended controversially, with Michaels hitting The Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he
37664-440: The title from The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI , which aired on November 14. He faced Hart for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series on November 25, but lost the match. Originally the secondary main event, Michaels and Hart became the primary main event after The Ultimate Warrior was unable to compete and was replaced by Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against
37878-550: The title was returned to the Hart Foundation). When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broken, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers continued their partnership, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991, aired January 11, 1992, on Wrestling Challenge, during an incident on Brutus Beefcake 's televised Barber Shop talk show promotional segment . Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through
38092-426: The topic of local history and art. Three local radio stations broadcast from Reading: BBC Radio Berkshire , Heart South and Greatest Hits Radio Berkshire and North Hampshire . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian , BBC London & ITV London can also be received. Reading has one local television station, That's Thames Valley , which broadcasts local news throughout
38306-422: The town. PepsiCo and Wrigley have offices. Global pharmaceutical giant Bayer Life Sciences relocated to Reading's Green Park Business Park in 2016. Reading has a significant historical involvement in the information technology industry, largely as a result of the early presence in the town of sites of International Computers Limited and Digital Equipment Corporation . Other technology companies with
38520-428: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
38734-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
38948-406: The two did the DX "crotch chops." On June 25 at Vengeance , DX defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5–on–2 handicap match . They also defeated the Spirit Squad on July 15 at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons on August 20 at SummerSlam . At Unforgiven on September 17, DX defeated the McMahons and ECW World Champion The Big Show in a Hell in
39162-405: The valleys containing the two rivers remain largely unimproved floodplain . Apart from the M4 curving to the south there is only one road across the Kennet flood plain. All other routes between the three built-up areas are in the central area. Like the rest of the United Kingdom, Reading has a maritime climate , with limited seasonal temperature ranges and generally moderate rainfall throughout
39376-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
39590-407: The west between the two rivers into the foothills of the Berkshire Downs as far as Calcot , Tilehurst and Purley ; to the south and south-east on the south side of the River Kennet as far as Whitley Wood and Lower Earley and as far north of the Thames into the Chiltern Hills as far as Caversham Heights , Emmer Green and Caversham Park Village . Outside the central area, the floors of
39804-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
40018-414: The year. The nearest official Met Office weather station is located at the Reading University Atmospheric Observatory on the Whiteknights Campus , which has recorded atmospheric measurements and meteorological observations since 1970. The local absolute maximum temperature of 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) was recorded on 19 July 2022 and the local absolute minimum temperature of −14.5 °C (5.9 °F)
40232-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
40446-448: Was aiming for Hart after he spat in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the championship to his nemesis, Bret Hart. The next night on Raw Is War , signs of a heel turn started to show as Michaels told the WWF fans what happened at SummerSlam was an accident and that he dealt with The Undertaker when the time came. At WWF One Night Only , held in Birmingham, England , on September 20, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture
40660-433: Was also a sportscaster for San Antonio 's local news for a short period during his retirement. On the June 3 episode of Raw , Michaels returned to WWE television after 18 months of absence when Kevin Nash announced him as a new member of the recently reformed New World Order (nWo). Michaels was the only nWo member to have never worked in WCW. After the nWo had disbanded, Triple H appeared to make amends with Michaels. This
40874-492: Was also known for its WOMAD Festival until it moved to Charlton Park in Malmesbury , Wiltshire . The Reading Beer Festival was first held in 1994 and has now grown to one of the largest beer festivals in the United Kingdom. It is held at King's Meadow for the five days immediately preceding the May Day bank holiday every year. Reading also holds Reading Pride , an annual LGBT festival in Kings Meadow. The Frank Matcham -designed Royal County Theatre, built in 1895,
41088-408: Was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a fan favorite . Michaels returned to the ring as a fan favorite in May 1995 and defeated Jeff Jarrett to win his third Intercontinental Championship on July 24 at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks . This led to a title defense against Razor Ramon on August 27 at SummerSlam in
41302-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
41516-462: Was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce , Keith and Owen . In 1994, Michaels entered a rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the vacant Intercontinental Championship during Michaels's absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in
41730-468: Was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the title, but soon after Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The championship was returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television (though The Rockers did have a successful title defense on November 3, 1990, against Power and Glory ( Hercules and Paul Roma ) before
41944-441: Was informed by doctors that he had suffered a knee injury. Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again", which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. After consulting with Dr. James Andrews , who concluded that he did not need surgery, Michaels underwent four weeks of physical therapy and returned to in-ring action a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win
42158-440: Was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Kliq". In October 1995, Michaels was the victim of a legit assault outside a bar in Syracuse, New York . Due to not being able to compete, Michaels was forced to forfeit the Intercontinental Championship to his original opponent Dean Douglas on October 22 at In Your House: Great White North , who in turn Douglas lost the championship to Razor Ramon, another member of
42372-416: Was located on the south side of Friar Street. It burned down in 1937. Within the town hall is a 700-seat concert hall that houses a Father Willis organ. Reading theatre venues include The Hexagon and South Street Arts Centre. Reading Repertory Theatre is based at Reading College : its Royal Patron is Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh . Amateur theatre venues in Reading include Progress Theatre ,
42586-421: Was low-blowed after hugging Jericho. At Backlash Michaels lost to the team of Jericho, Triple H and Ric Flair in a 6-man tag team. This led to a match between Michaels and Flair at Bad Blood , which Flair won. Following this, Michaels continued feuding with the members of Triple H's faction Evolution. He was unsuccessful in capturing the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam with Triple H retaining in
42800-417: Was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag . Michaels later claimed the flag desecration was Hart's idea. Michaels's feud with the Hart Foundation culminated in a WWF Championship match at Survivor Series on November 9 against Hart. Michaels came out of this match, dubbed by fans the " Montreal Screwjob ", as
43014-447: Was once again teamed with Marty Jannetty, billed as The Midnight Rockers . The Midnight Rockers won the AWA World Tag Team Championship , defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose . In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels's autobiography). They then returned to AWA, where they won
43228-514: Was one of the southern termini of the Hatfield and Reading Turnpike that allowed travellers from the north to continue their journey to the west without going through the congestion of London. During the 19th century, the town grew rapidly as a manufacturing centre. The Great Western Railway arrived in 1841, followed by the South Eastern Railway in 1849 and the London and South Western Railway in 1856. The Summer Assizes were moved from Abingdon to Reading in 1867, effectively making Reading
43442-427: Was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. He saw potential in using his name and opened the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy (later the Texas Wrestling Academy ) in 1999, after his lawyer Skip McCormick suggested the idea. Michaels left the academy in 2002, giving co-founder Rudy Boy Gonzalez sole responsibility due to Michaels's new contract with WWE. Michaels
43656-523: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
43870-404: Was put together with mirror-carrying manager , Sensational Sherri , who according to the storyline had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music , "Sexy Boy". During that period, after Michaels had wrestled his scheduled match at live events, his departure was announced with "Shawn Michaels has left the building", alluding to the phrase " Elvis has left
44084-426: Was ranked by WWE as the best match ever aired on the company's flagship television program, Raw . Michaels has been a participant in several first installments of a number of WWE's signature gimmick matches—namely the first Hell in a Cell at the Badd Blood: In Your House , the first Ladder match during a taping of WWF Wrestling Challenge (and subsequent first pay-per-view installment at WrestleMania X ), both
44298-435: Was rare and controversial at the time. As WCW gained momentum due to the signings of Hall and Nash, Michaels held the championship for most of the year. At Survivor Series on November 17, Michaels lost the WWF Championship to Sycho Sid but recaptured the title on January 19, 1997, at Royal Rumble . On a special episode of Raw dubbed Thursday Raw Thursday , Michaels vacated the WWF Championship. He explained to fans that he
44512-591: Was recorded in January 1982. In mid-2018, the area covered by the Borough of Reading had 174,820 inhabitants and a population density of 4,327 per square kilometre (11,207/sq mi). Meanwhile, the wider urban area had a population of 318,014 in the 2011 census , ranking 23rd in the United Kingdom. This grew to an estimated 337,108 by mid-2018. According to the 2011 census, 74.8% of the borough's population were described as White (65.3% White British ), 9.1% as South Asian , 6.7% as Black , 3.9% Mixed , 4.5% as Chinese and 0.9% as other ethnic group . In 2010, it
44726-421: Was reported that Reading had 150 different spoken languages within its population. Reading has a large Polish community, which dates back over 30 years, and in October 2006 the Reading Chronicle printed 5,000 copies of a Polish edition called the Kronika Reading . Reading is a commercial centre in the Thames Valley and Southern England . The town hosts the headquarters of several British companies and
44940-414: Was solidified when Michaels pleaded Triple H to return to Raw . Later on, they came down to the ring sporting their DX music and attire. When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. Continuing the angle, in his first WWE match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels defeated Triple H at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with
45154-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
45368-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
45582-419: Was the largest town in Berkshire, and tenth in England for taxable wealth. The town was seriously affected by the English Civil War , with a major siege and loss of trade, but played a pivotal role in the Glorious Revolution , whose only significant military action was fought on its streets. The 18th century saw the beginning of a major ironworks in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading
45796-411: Was to become famous. The 19th century saw the coming of the Great Western Railway and the development of the town's brewing, baking and seed growing businesses, and the town grew rapidly as a manufacturing centre. Reading is also the county town of Berkshire. Occupation at the site of Reading may date back to the Roman period , possibly in the form of a trading port for Calleva Atrebatum . However,
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