History Wrestling / TheKliq

* WagTheDirector[=/=]ExecutiveMeddling: Because of their successes, The Kliq (especially Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Triple H) had a lot of input on their characters/gimmicks, as well as significant influence on their bookings.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: They're extremely well-known for doing this to others (in both real life and kayfabe), but never amongst themselves.

The five men would amass a staggering amount of backstage power as a group. All five were close to Wrestling/{{Vince McMahon}} and had input on booking decisions (including which wrestlers they believed deserved a push). Victims of The Kliq's influence include Wrestling/ShaneDouglas, Wrestling/BamBamBigelow, Wrestling/ChrisCandido, and Carl Oullet; [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was also supposed to be one of The Kliq's victims, but managed to secure his own place in history even with their objections. Wrestling/BretHart, who would have his career and life changed by the Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob (which Michaels, Levesque, and [=McMahon=] were in on), was perhaps the biggest victim of The Kliq's backstage politicking.

[[caption-width-right:350:From left: Paul "{{Triple H}}" Levesque, Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/ScottHall, and Wrestling/SeanWaltman]]

* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: The legacy of the Kliq? Well, wrestlers have more control over their residuals and work rates than they did in the bad old days. The genius of HBK (Sensei Hogan's greatest pupil) and Nash was to, basically, unionize and put pressure on the likes of [=McMahon=], [[Wrestling/EricBischoff Bischoff]], and [[{{Wrestling/TNA}} Carter]] to accept their terms or else. No-cut contracts, guaranteed appearances, creative control: These are the weapons of a modern athlete. Nash would perfect Kliq politics with its sister group, the [=nWo=].

* SpotlightStealingSquad: Both in the ring and in RealLife.

* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: The legacy of the Kliq? Well, wrestlers have more control over their residuals and work rates than they did in the bad old days. The genius of HBK (Sensei Hogan's greatest pupil) and Nash was to, basically, unionize and put pressure on the likes [=McMahon=], [[Wrestling/EricBischoff Bischoff]], and [[{{Wrestling/TNA}} Carter]] to accept their terms or else. No-cut contracts, guaranteed appearances, creative control: These are the weapons of a modern athlete. Nash would perfect Kliq politics with its sister group, the [=nWo=].

* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: The legacy of the Kliq? Well, wrestlers have more control over their residuals and work rates than they did in the bad old days. The genius of HBK (Sensei Hogan's greatest pupil) and Nash was to, basically, unionize and put pressure on the likes [=McMahon=], Bischoff, and Carter to accept their terms or else. No-cut contracts, guaranteed appearances, creative control: These are the weapons of a modern athlete. Nash would perfect Kliq politics with its sister group, the [=nWo=].

-->''"When you [[Wrestling/{{DGenerationX}} recruit for an army]], you look to your [[TrueCompanions family]]. You look to [[BloodBrothers your blood]]. You look to the Kliq."'' - Triple H

* FiveManBand[=/=]FiveBadBand:
** TheHero[=/=]TheBigBad: Shawn Michaels.
** TheLancer[=/=]TheEvilGenius: Triple H.
** TheBigGuy[=/=]TheDragon: Kevin Nash.
** TheSmartGuy[=/=]TheBrute: Scott Hall.
** TagalongKid: Sean Waltman, whose nickname in the Kliq is even "Kid".

* WagTheDirector[=/=]ExecutiveMeddling: Because of their successes, The Kliq (especially Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Triple H) had a lot of input on their characters/gimmicks, as well as significant influence on their bookings.

[[caption-width-right:350:From left: Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/ScottHall, and Wrestling/SeanWaltman]]

** Supposedly, the "Wolfpac" handsign was started by Wrestling/CurtHennig and his best friend according to Hennig's WWE DVD.

The five men would amass a staggering amount of backstage power as a group. All five were close to Wrestling/{{Vince McMahon}} and had input on booking decisions (including which wrestlers they believed deserved a push). Victims of The Kliq's influence include Shane Douglas, Wrestling/BamBamBigelow, Wrestling/ChrisCandido, and Carl Oullet; [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was also supposed to be one of The Kliq's victims, but managed to secure his own place in history even with their objections. Wrestling/BretHart, who would have his career and life changed by the Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob (which Michaels, Levesque, and [=McMahon=] were in on), was perhaps the biggest victim of The Kliq's backstage politicking.

The vast majority of the wrestling industry were calling for The Kliq's heads, since they'd broken [=kayfabe=] in front of the cameras (by showing that faces and heels were actually friends outside the ring, rather than mortal enemies). Vince [=McMahon=] had few options for punishment, however: Hall and Nash were leaving for WCW, Waltman wasn't in on it, and Michaels was (at the time) the WWF Champion and a big name headliner. [[TheScapegoat The punishment ultimately fell on Levesque]], who [[DemotedToExtra languished for well over a year in the midcard]], jobbing to wrestlers such as The Ultimate Warrior. He was eventually allowed to shine as one of the founding members of [=DeGeneration=] X (which happened due to Michaels' influence).

[[caption-width-right:350:From left: Paul "TripleH" Levesque, KevinNash, ShawnMichaels, ScottHall, and Wrestling/SeanWaltman]]

-->''"When you [[DGenerationX recruit for an army]], you look to your [[TrueCompanions family]]. You look to [[BloodBrothers your blood]]. You look to the Kliq."'' - TripleH

In 1993, ShawnMichaels, ScottHall (Razor Ramon) and Sean Waltman (The 1-2-3 Kid, later known as Syxx or [[XPacHeat X-Pac]]) were working for the then-[[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]]. Michaels was a rising star, and Hall and Waltman were solid midcard wrestlers. All three were notorious hellraisers known for drinking and abusing drugs, and they all had ego to spare. Michaels was looking for a way to get himself even more over with the crowd, having just made an infamous [[FaceHeelTurn heel turn]] by [[BreakupBreakout kicking ex-partner Marty Jannetty through the Barbershop window]]. He turned on [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} WCW]]'s show, ''WCW Saturday Night'', one night, and found what he was looking for -- KevinNash, who was playing a comedic character named "Vinnie Vegas".

The five men would amass a staggering amount of backstage power as a group. All five were close to [[VinceMcMahon Vince McMahon]] and had input on booking decisions (including which wrestlers they believed deserved a push). Victims of The Kliq's influence include Shane Douglas, Wrestling/BamBamBigelow, Wrestling/ChrisCandido, and Carl Oullet; [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was also supposed to be one of The Kliq's victims, but managed to secure his own place in history even with their objections. Wrestling/BretHart, who would have his career and life changed by the Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob (which Michaels, Levesque, and [=McMahon=] were in on), was perhaps the biggest victim of The Kliq's backstage politicking.

On May 19, 1996, the WWF put on a house show at Madison Square Garden in New York; this show was Kevin Nash and Scott Hall's last show with the company before they jumped ship to WCW. Levesque and Nash were working as {{heel}}s at the time, and Michaels and Hall were {{face}}s. At the end of Michaels and Nash's steel cage match, Hall and Levesque came out to hug them goodbye in the middle of the ring.

The vast majority of the wrestling industry were calling for The Kliq's heads, since they'd broken {{kayfabe}} in front of the cameras (by showing that faces and heels were actually friends outside the ring, rather than mortal enemies). Vince [=McMahon=] had few options for punishment, however: Hall and Nash were leaving for WCW, Waltman wasn't in on it, and Michaels was (at the time) the WWF Champion and a big name headliner. [[TheScapegoat The punishment ultimately fell on Levesque]], who [[DemotedToExtra languished for well over a year in the midcard]], jobbing to wrestlers such as The Ultimate Warrior. He was eventually allowed to shine as one of the founding members of DGenerationX (which happened due to Michaels' influence).

Levesque's punishment for the Curtain Call, ironically enough, was directly responsible for the meteoric rise in popularity of StoneColdSteveAustin. Austin won the 1996 King of the Ring tournament -- which Levesque was scheduled to win before the Curtain Call -- and delivered his infamous "Austin 3:16" speech after the tournament winning match. Austin's incredible popularity following his victory launched the AttitudeEra, which was arguably the most prosperous period in professional wrestling (and WWE) history.

In WCW, Hall and Nash formed the [[NewWorldOrder nWo]] with HulkHogan, a move that kickstarted the MondayNightWars. The Hall/Hogan/Nash triumvirate wielded tremendous booking power (even moreso than in the WWF), and it was their decisions that either made or sank the careers of many a WCW performer. Waltman would join them a few months later, but he eventually jumped ship back to the WWF to join [=DX=] (making him the only person to be a part of both DX and the original [=nWo=]). [[ShawnMichaels Michaels]] and [[TripleH Levesque]] went on to become two of WWE's most successful and celebrated stars, and their behind-the-scenes clout has become both the wrestling business's worst kept secret and a point of contention for both fans and fellow performers when considering the merits of their careers.

* ArchEnemy: Bret Hart ''really'' dislikes all of them. [[MontrealScrewjob Not that he doesn't have ample reason, though]].
** There are also rumors that TheUndertaker did a lot to try and keep them from using too much of their backstage power to make themselves look good at the expense of newer guys on the roster. This is unconfirmed, however.

* BashBrothers: [[DGenerationX Shawn and Hunter]]. [[NewWorldOrder Kevin and Scott]]. Shawn and Kevin. Scott and Kid. It's pretty safe to say that they've all teamed with each other at one time or another.

* NotSoDifferent: From Hulk Hogan's clique of friends (Hogan, RandySavage, Roddy Piper, and Bob Orton), which Michaels uses as justification for some of their backstage clout:

* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: A few times, after the mid 1990s. Kevin and Scott resurrected the nWo in 2002, and when Shawn came back from his back injury, he joined as well. Kevin, Shawn, and Hunter feuded mainly with each other throughout 2002-2003. In 2006, Shawn and Hunter reformed DGenerationX. And in 2010, Kevin, Scott, and Kid formed a faction in TNA [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin actually called "The Band"]].

** Supposedly, the "Wolfpac" handsign was started by Curt Hennig and his best friend according to Hennig's WWE DVD.
** Their real life friendship and public acknowledgment of that friendship with the Curtain Call led to the first real break in kayfabe, the [[DemotedToExtra de-pushing of Triple H]] and rise of Austin and the AttitudeEra, and the establishment of the NewWorldOrder.

* WagTheDirector: Because of their successes, The Kliq (especially Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Triple H) had a lot of input on their characters/gimmicks, as well as significant influence on their bookings.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Bret Hart was invited to join the Kliq before his relationship with Shawn went bad. Obviously Bret declined, but the history of ProfessionalWrestling [[ForWantofANail could have been very different]] if he had accepted the offer.

[[caption-width-right:350:From left: Paul "TripleH" Levesque, KevinNash, ShawnMichaels, ScottHall, and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Sean Waltman]]]]

Nash, who was unhappy over at WCW, asked to be let out of his contract. He signed with the WWF the next week and became Diesel, who served as Michaels' bodyguard (Nash and Michaels also became offscreen friends during this time). For two years, the group of Hall, Michaels, Nash, and Waltman slowly built their careers up; in 1995, the four men were some of the WWF's highest profile stars. Michaels and Nash traded the WWF Championship between them, and Hall had several runs with the Intercontinental Championship (including two revolutionary Ladder Matches with Michaels for that title). The last man to enter the picture was a young Paul Levesque, who -- after his own failed stint with WCW -- signed with the WWF and became Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later shortened to simply TripleH).

The five men would amass a staggering amount of backstage power as a group. All five were close to [[VinceMcMahon Vince McMahon]] and had input on booking decisions (including which wrestlers they believed deserved a push). Victims of The Kliq's influence include Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido, and Carl Oullet; [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was also supposed to be one of The Kliq's victims, but managed to secure his own place in history even with their objections. BretHart, who would have his career and life changed by the MontrealScrewjob (which Michaels, Levesque, and [=McMahon=] were in on), was perhaps the biggest victim of The Kliq's backstage politicking.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Shawn an.d Hunter. Scott and Kevin, at times. Scott and Kid, at others.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Bret Hart was invited to join the Kliq before his relationship with Shawn went bad. Obviously Bret declined, but the history of ProfessionalWrestling [[ForWantofANail could have been very different]] if he had accepted he offer.

* BadassLonghair

** As far as Triple H goes, let's remember that back when ScottSteiner was in WWE, he was asked to take a steroid test, and said he'd only take one if Triple H took it with him... and WWE promptly dropped the subject altogether. That is, if Steiner's shoot interview is to be believed.

** As far as Triple H goes, let's remember that back when ScottSteiner was in WWE, he was asked to take a steroid test, and said he'd only take one if Triple H took it with him... and WWE promptly dropped the subject altogether.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Bret Hart was invited to join the Kliq before his relationship with Shawn went bad. Obviously Bret declined, but ProfessionalWrestling itself [[ForWantofANail could have looked very different today]] if he had accepted he offer.

* WagTheDirector: Because of their successes, The Kliq (especially Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Triple H) had a lot of input on their characters/gimmicks, as well as significant influence on their bookings.

In 1993, ShawnMichaels, ScottHall (Razor Ramon) and Sean Waltman (The 1-2-3 Kid, later known as Syxx or [[XPacHeat X-Pac]]) were working for the then-[[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]]. Michaels was a rising star, and Hall and Waltman were solid mid-card workers. All three were notorious hellraisers known for drinking and abusing drugs, and they all had ego to spare. Michaels was looking for a way to get himself even more over with the crowd, having just made an infamous [[FaceHeelTurn heel turn]] by [[BreakupBreakout kicking ex-partner Marty Jannetty through the Barbershop window]]. He turned on {{WCW}}'s show, WCW Saturday Night, one night, and found what he was looking for -- KevinNash, who was playing a comedic character called "Vinnie Vegas".

Nash, who was unhappy over at WCW, asked to be let out of his contract. He signed with the WWF the next week and became Diesel, who served as Michaels' bodyguard (Nash Michaels also became offscreen friends during this time). For two years, the group of Hall, Michaels, Nash, and Waltman slowly built their careers up; in 1995, the four men were some of the WWF's highest-profile stars. Michaels and Nash traded the WWF Championship between them, and Hall had several runs with the Intercontinental Championship (including two revolutionary Ladder Matches with Michaels for that title). The last man to enter the picture was a young Paul Levesque, who -- after his own failed stint with WCW -- signed with the WWF and became Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later shortened to simply TripleH).

The five men would amass a staggering amount of backstage power as a group. All five were close to VinceMcMahon and had input on booking decisions (including which wrestlers they believed deserved a push). Victims of The Kliq's influence include Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido, and Carl Oullet; [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was also supposed to be one of The Kliq's victims, but managed to secure his own place in history even with their objections. BretHart, who would have his career and life changed by the MontrealScrewjob (which Michaels, Levesque, and [=McMahon=] were in on), was perhaps the biggest victim of The Kliq's backstage politicking.

On May 19th 1996, the WWF put on a house show at Madison Square Garden in New York; this show was Kevin Nash and Scott Hall's last show with the company before they jumped ship to WCW. Levesque and Nash were working as {{heel}}s at the time, and Michaels and Hall were {{face}}s. At the end of Michaels and Nash's steel cage match, Hall and Levesque came out to hug them goodbye in the middle of the ring.

The vast majority of the wrestling industry were calling for The Kliq's heads, since they'd broken {{kayfabe}} in front of the cameras (by showing that faces and heels were actually friends outside the ring, rather than mortal enemies). VinceMcMahon had few options for punishment, however: Hall and Nash were leaving for WCW, Waltman wasn't in on it, and Michaels was (at the time) the WWF Champion and a big-name headliner. [[TheScapegoat The punishment ultimately fell on Paul Levesque]], who [[DemotedToExtra languished for well over a year in the midcard]], jobbing to wrestlers such as the Ultimate Warrior. He was eventually allowed to shine as one of the founding members of DGenerationX (which happened due to Michaels' influence).

Levesque's punishment for the Curtain Call, ironically enough, was directly responsible for the meteoric rise in popularity of StoneColdSteveAustin. Austin won the 1996 King of the Ring tournament -- which Levesque was scheduled to win before the Curtain Call -- and delivered his infamous "Austin 3:16" speech after the tournament-winning match. Austin's incredible popularity following his victory launched the AttitudeEra, which was arguably the most prosperous period in professional wrestling (and WWE) history.

In WCW, Hall and Nash formed the [[NewWorldOrder nWo]] with HulkHogan, a move that kickstarted the MondayNightWars. The Hall/Hogan/Nash triumvirate wielded tremendous booking power (even moreso than in the WWF), and it was their decisions that either made or sank the careers of many a WCW performer. Waltman would join them a few months later, but he eventually jumped ship back to the WWF to join DX (making him the only person to be a part of both DX and the original [=nWo=]). [[ShawnMichaels Michaels]] and [[TripleH Levesque]] went on to become two of WWE's most successful and celebrated stars, and their behind-the-scenes clout has become both the wrestling business's worst-kept secret and a point of contention for both fans and fellow performers when considering the merits of their careers.

** However, in RealLife and onscreen, Shawn and Bret seem to have buried the hatchet, and Undertaker has stated that after The Kliq broke Kayfabe, he gained respect for Levesque when, after being DemotedToExtra, he took his punishment without complaining.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: They're extremely well-known for doing this to others (in both RealLife and {{Kayfabe}}), but never amongst themselves.

** TheHero[=/=]TheBigBad: Shawn Michaels
** TheLancer[=/=]TheEvilGenius: Triple H
** TheBigGuy[=/=]TheDragon: Kevin Nash
** TheSmartGuy[=/=]TheBrute: Scott Hall

** ''The Cynic'' - Triple H
** ''The Optimist'' - Shawn Michaels (especially so in later years)
** ''The Realist'' - Kevin Nash
** ''The Apathetic'' - Sean Waltman

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Shawn and Hunter. Scott and Kevin, at times. Scott and Kid, at others.

* NotSoDifferent: From HulkHogan's clique of friends (Hogan, RandySavage, Roddy Piper, and Bob Orton), which Michaels uses as justification for some of their backstage clout:
-->''"If you're on top, you want to make sure you stay on top. The difference between us and Hogan's crew was that we actually liked each other . . . We didn't resent each other's success."''
* OddFriendship: Initially. Scott, Kid, Kevin and Shawn were all trouble-making, partying drug addicts, while Hunter was and still is known as being a pretty calm, collected, sober guy. Shawn mentions in his book that the main reason Hunter hung with them was social-climbing, but eventually became Shawn's caretaker and driver. Nowadays, Shawn's gotten sober and he seems like the odd one out.
* PowerStable: A RealLife example.
* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: A few times, after the mid-90's. Kevin and Scott resurrected the nWo in 2002, and when Shawn came back from his back injury, he joined as well. Kevin, Shawn, and Hunter feuded mainly with each other throughout 2002-2003. In 2006, Shawn and Hunter reformed DGenerationX. And in 2010, Kevin, Scott, and Kid formed a faction in TNA [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin actually called "The Band"]].
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: D-Generation X's crotch chops and the NWO's "Wolfpac" handsigns were originally used by the members in real life.

** Their real-life friendship and public acknowledgment of that friendship with the Curtain Call led to the first real break in {{kayfabe}}, the [[DemotedToExtra de-pushing of Triple H]] and rise of Austin and the AttitudeEra, and the establishment of the NewWorldOrder.

** Post-conversion to Christianity, Shawn only drinks at never.