I just wanted to be a pro wrestler.
I saw those guys on TV, like, I bet they're really cool.
And I'm 55 now,
and the experiences and the journey
that I've taken have been absolutely unbelievable.
Things are good, Man. We've only just begun.
Hitting it all day. Hitting it all day.
[uplifting music]
- Fire.
- Good job.
♪ ♪
- Yeah!
♪ ♪
There are times where you have real effect on lives,
on people's lives, that you have no idea of.
People who have watched you again, grow up on TV,
have seen you.
- Have somehow connected to you in a way you had no idea.
- What makes it meaningful as you go in,
something that you could never do.
♪ ♪
I grew up in a military family.
You know, understand that I had a father, brothers,
nephews that had a deeper understanding
and appreciation for the freedom
and love they have for this country.
And so going over there,
it is us trying to do our little part.
To me, that always made me feel good.
- Shawn Michaels. - It's Shawn Michael.
- Yeah! - HBK.
[cheers and applause]
["Reveille" playing]
- Here we are at Randolph Air Force Base.
And certainly, for me, this is where so much
of my life started, here.
We moved to Randolph when I was 12 years old.
[inspiring music]
This was the last stop
on the Hickenbottom Worldwide Tour
of the military lifestyle.
♪ ♪
At the time we got to Randolph,
my father was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
And by this time, my dad wasn't flying anymore.
It was mostly administrative work and training.
♪ ♪
- His full name is Michael Shawn Hickenbottom.
His first name was taken from a man I worked for
who later became a general
in the air force--
a wonderful man named Mike McCarthy,
and I considered him to be
- I'm very proud of my father,
and I'm very proud of the fact
that he served his country.
♪ ♪
You know, before my father passed,
I knew he was proud of me.
♪ ♪
I was able to let my father know
everything that he meant to me
and how much I admired him as a man.
My dad was a man of honor,
and I think that's all I try to accomplish now
in my life.
I'll never be able to have it on my gravestone
like my father does,
but it doesn't mean I can't spend the rest of my life
aspiring to be that same man of honor,
'cause, you know, he was that man of honor, for sure.
♪ ♪