Hayley took a deep breath as she slowly walked through the doors of the WWE Performance Center for her very first day of training. This was it. This is the day the young woman had dreamed of ever since she was a little girl. The day that she would finally set foot in a ring. And she was going to make a name for herself the way that her father did back on that day in October of 1984. She knew she had big shoes to fill given her name, but, she knew in her heart that this was her calling. Like many other second and third generation Superstars, it was her mission to carry out a legacy, and she was ready for the whole world to know her name...

Her name is Hayley Isabella Hickenbottom. Yup. Hickenbottom. As in...the Heartbreak Kid. Mr. WrestleMania. Or, to billions of fans young and old, Shawn Michaels. No one really knew about his oldest daughter, the only daughter he had with his ex-wife, Theresa. Hayley was born on July 22nd, 1988, the day of her father's 23rd birthday. Shawn was unable to be with Theresa on the day that Hayley was born, due to him being on the road at the time, but, Shawn treasured her more than anything in the world, even with the problems he had going on at the time. Hayley had always admired Shawn, and she will always be reminded of the stories her mother used to tell everyone who would listen. Whether it was on television or in person, she was always mesmerized when she watched her daddy wrestle. Her eyes would always be glued to the television, laughing whenever he won, and crying whenever he lost or got hurt. When she hit the tender age of six, that's when she decided she wanted to be just like her daddy, and Shawn promised that as soon as she was old enough, he would train her. He made good on his promise, and the young woman began to accompany her father on the road when she turned thirteen years old, that way she could not only train, but also get a feel of the business. She thought she was finally on the right track, but on that day in July 2009, her life changed...and not for the better.

That night, she had met the man who she thought she would be spending the rest of her life with, a man who she thought she was head over heels in love with. That man was named Nicholas Theodore Nemeth, or, to the fans, Dolph Ziggler. Oh, yes. The Show Off. Mr. Perfection. The minute she laid her eyes on him, she was hooked. It had taken her a bit to work up the courage to go over and talk to him, but when she finally did, it was like something had sparked. The way he looked at her made her heart flutter, and all she could do was blush and giggle. It didn't take long for him to sweep her off her feet and charm his way into her heart, but her dad didn't see the man she saw. From the beginning, Shawn made it no secret that he disapproved his daughter's new squeeze. He didn't see the charming twenty eight year old man with the blond curls and blue eyes she did. He saw someone who was using his daughter because of not only her name, but her beauty. He sensed that Nick didn't truly love her, and the disagreeing had put a massive strain on the once strong bond they shared. Hayley and Shawn argued constantly, and it got to the point where Hayley had given up her training. She decided to run off with her man, thinking she was Cinderella with her Prince Charming. She had spent six years of her life, internally planning her Happily Ever After...but that soon came to a head back in May, shortly before she was originally set to sign a contract with NXT.

Hayley had returned to the hotel room she was sharing with Dolph after spending a night out with Natalya, and she was prepared to crawl into bed next to him, but she heard strange noises coming from where their bed was. She slowly crept around the corner, and the sight in front of her was still very much imprinted in her mind. There was Dolph, completely naked...on top of two women. Yup. Two. And those women were Lana and Summer Rae. All she could do for a few moments was stare in horror, her heart shattering as she listened to their intermingling moans. But, once the shock and horror had passed, she started seeing red...something Shawn had warned Nick about since the beginning. And, when Hayley blacks out, she never remembers what happened. Witnesses to the event had told her that she had chased Dolph out of the room, screaming over and over again that he was a pig. Once she caught up with him, she had knocked him to the ground and began to beat him in a blind, vicious rage.

Though Dolph had declined to press charges, Hayley still didn't get to sign her contract. Instead, she chose to take some time off and make up for lost time with her father, as well as taking the time to get over her heartbreak. Shawn decided to train Hayley some more during her time off, and when she felt like she was ready, Hayley finally signed her life over to her second father, Triple H. This was the beginning of a new chapter in the young woman's life, and she would show the man who broke her heart that he won't win. He won't get the best of her. She will live her life, work her ass off, and make sure that the Michaels name lives on in the foundation of WWE.