History Wrestling / TheKliq

* TrueCompanions: One of wrestling's best examples. Shawn, Hunter, Kevin, Scott, and Kid have been friends for almost eighteen years.

** [=DX=] beat up Shawn on the January 4, 1999 ''Raw.''

In 1993, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall (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}}'s show, ''WCW Saturday Night'', one night, and found what he was looking for -- Kevin Nash, who was playing a comedic character named "Vinnie Vegas".

[[caption-width-right:350:From left in 1995: Paul "Wrestling/{{Triple H}}" Levesque, Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/ScottHall, and Wrestling/SeanWaltman. And [[http://i0.wp.com/www.wrestlingdom.com/wp-content/images/2015/06/The_Kliq_WWE.jpg?resize=642%2C361%7D 2015]].]]

* MentorArchetype: Curt Hennig. Hennig was never a member of the Kliq, but had a lot of influence on their philosophy. He also mentored Hall and Michaels early in their careers.

TheOtherWiki has an excellent page on The Kliq [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kliq here]].

* BashBrothers: Shawn and Hunter in DX. Kevin and Scott as the Outsiders in the NWO. 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.

** Hall turned on Nash to side with Hogan's NWO Hollywood as opposed to Nash's red-and-black wearing NWO Wolfpac. This was an apparent move by Bischoff to split up Hall and Nash and keep them in line.

In WCW, Hall and Nash formed the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] with Wrestling/HulkHogan, a move that for 84 weeks gave WCW control over the Wrestling/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 was fired in early 1998 and went back to WWE to become [=X-Pac=], making him the second person, after Wrestling/RickRude, to have been a member of DX and the original NWO. Michaels and 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.

* FiveManBand:
** TheLeader: Shawn Michaels
** TheLancer: Triple H
** TheSmartGuy: Kevin Nash
** TheBigGuy: Scott Hall
** TagalongKid: Sean Waltman

[[caption-width-right:350:From left in 1995: Paul "{{Triple H}}" Levesque, Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/ScottHall, and Wrestling/SeanWaltman. And [[http://i0.wp.com/www.wrestlingdom.com/wp-content/images/2015/06/The_Kliq_WWE.jpg?resize=642%2C361%7D 2015]].]]

** Can also apply to Hunter. Wrestling/JimRoss stated that uf he ever had something to address with to the Kliq, he'd always go through Hunter and it would get done.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: D-Generation X's crotch chops and the [=nWo=]'s "Wolfpac" handsigns were originally used by the members in real life.
** Supposedly, the "Wolfpac" handsign was started by Wrestling/CurtHennig and his best friend[[note]] MLB Hall-of-Famer Wade Boggs[[/note]] 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 Attitude Era, and the establishment of the New World Order.

[[caption-width-right:350:From left in 1995: Paul "{{Triple H}}" Levesque, Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/ScottHall, and Wrestling/SeanWaltman. And [[http://i0.wp.com/www.wrestlingdom.com/wp-content/images/2015/06/The_Kliq_WWE.jpg?resize=642%2C361} 2015]].]]

* CommonKnowledge: That iconic hand signal[[note]]also known outside of wrestling as the Wolf Howl, the Wolf Kiss, the Kissing Diablos, etc.[[/note]] is obviously called the "Too Sweet", guys. That's what Wrestling/KevinNash used to say when he threw it up in the [=nWo=].

* InsistentTerminology: Wanna know what the Kliq ''actually'' called the iconic hand signal? The name they chose for it, the name Kid introduced it to them with? Here goes. They call it the ''Turkish Wolf'', and it is the direct inspiration for Nash, Hall, and Syxx calling themselves the Wolfpac. Discussed [[http://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-too-sweet-hand-gesture-meaning?sf29572314=1 here]].

* InsistentTerminology: That iconic hand signal[[note]]also known outside of wrestling as the Wolf Howl, the Wolf Kiss, the Kissing Diablos, etc.[[/note]] that everybody calls the "Too Sweet" because of what Wrestling/KevinNash used to say when he threw it up in the [=nWo=]? That's not its name. The name that was chosen by the Kliq, the name X-Pac introduced it to them with, was a much "stronger" name than the call-sign everybody knows. They call it the ''Turkish Wolf'', and it is the direct inspiration for Nash, Hall, and Syxx calling themselves the Wolfpac. Discussed [[http://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-too-sweet-hand-gesture-meaning?sf29572314=1 here]].

* InsistentTerminology: That iconic hand signal[[note]]also known outside of wrestling as the Wolf Howl, the Wolf Kiss, the Kissing Diablos, etc.[[/note]] that everybody calls the "Too Sweet" because of what Wrestling/KevinNash used to say when he threw it up in the [=nWo=]? That's not the name of it. The name that was chosen by the Kliq, the name X-Pac introduced it to them with, was a much stronger name than the common one everybody knows. They call it the ''Turkish Wolf'', and it is the direct inspiration for Nash, Hall, and Syxx calling themselves the Wolfpac. Discussed [[http://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-too-sweet-hand-gesture-meaning?sf29572314=1 here]].

** As far as Triple H goes, if Wrestling/ScottSteiner is to be believed, let's remember that back when he was in WWE, he claimed that 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.

* ArchEnemy: Bret Hart ''really'' disliked The Kliq, especially Shawn Michaels.[[Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob Not that he doesn't have ample reason, though]]. Although he did seem to get along with X-Pac and, for the most part, Kevin Nash.

In WCW, Hall and Nash formed the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] with Wrestling/HulkHogan, a move that for 84 weeks, gave WCW control over the Wrestling/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 was fired in early 1998 and went back to WWE to become [=X-Pac=], making him the second person, after Wrestling/RickRude, to have been a member of DX and the original NWO. Michaels and 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. [[Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob Not that he doesn't have ample reason, though]].

** Hall turned on Nash to side with Hogan's NWO Hollywood as opposed to Nash's red-and-black wearing NWO Wolfpac.

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

* MentorArchetype: Curt Hennig. Hennig was never a member of the kliq but had a lot of influence in their philosophy(he also mentored Hall and Michaels early in their careers).

* WeCanRuleTogether: According to Bret Hart, Michaels approached him about joining the Kliq a few years before the Screw Job.