D-Generation X

Lore & Background

The group originated in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) at the dawn of the 'Attitude Era' in 1997 as a foil to another prominent faction, The Hart Foundation, and became one of the main driving forces behind the WWF competing with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the Monday Night War. In addition to two other founding members, Chyna and Rick Rude, the group later expanded with new additions X-Pac, The New Age Outlaws, and Tori until the group officially disbanded in late 2000 (around November/December) after X-Pac turned on the group. After a teased reunion in 2002, DX reformed in June 2006 as the duo of Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the remainder of the year and again in August 2009 until March 2010, shortly before Michaels' retirement. This incarnation was voted the greatest WWE Tag Team Champions of all time in a 2013 WWE viewer poll. On November 2, 2018, DX faced The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view. At Crown Jewel, Triple H and Michaels were victorious against The Undertaker and Kane. On February 18, 2019, it was announced that the group would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame later that year, with Triple H, Michaels, The New Age Outlaws, and X-Pac as the inducted members (Chyna was inducted individually in 2019, but was not included in the group induction).

In Their Own Story

The arena lights dimmed as the familiar guitar riff of 'D-Generation X' echoed through the crowd. Shawn Michaels stepped out first, mic in hand, flanked by Triple H and a sea of fans holding up 'DX' signs. They weren't just wrestlers tonight; they were revolutionaries, ready to dismantle the status quo one chaotic moment at a time.

Reader's Guide

The group's gimmick was best known as a gang of rebels who broke the rules, acted and spoke as they pleased, and wrestled whomever they wanted no matter how provocative and insulting. Noted for their crude, profane humor and sophomoric pranks, the stable has been dubbed multiple times as the 'most controversial group in WWF/E history'. The origin of the name is unclear; Michaels' autobiography suggests that it was WWF head writer Vince Russo who first conceived the moniker, while Bret Hart claims it originated from New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick. Triple H also claims that Shane McMahon coined the name when responding to Bret Hart's characterization of younger wrestlers as degenerates. The source does not mention any alliance between DX and the nWo; Shawn Michaels briefly joined the nWo's revival in 2002, but no group alliance is described.

Did You Know?

• DX was one of the three main contributing factors, along with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, to the onset of the WWF's Attitude Era.
• The group's name was taken from comments by Bret Hart, who on several occasions had labeled Shawn Michaels 'nothing more than a degenerate'.
• Today, most of its members are active in WWE operations: Paul Levesque (Triple H) serves as chief content officer and head of creative, Shawn Michaels serves as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative overse