title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In May 2004, following the release of Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy" the previous month, a sequel was announced by Revolution Studios with del Toro returning to direct and Ron Perlman reprising his lead role as the title character. The director sought to create a film trilogy with the first sequel anticipated for release in 2006. Revolution Studios planned to produce the film and distribute it through a deal with Columbia Pictures, but by 2006, their distribution deal wasn't renewed and Revolution began refocusing on exploiting their film library. In August 2006, Universal Pictures acquired the project with the intent to finance and distribute the sequel, which was newly scheduled to be released in summer of 2008. Production was scheduled to begin in April 2007 in Etyek, Hungary (near Budapest) and London, England.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Director Guillermo del Toro explored several concepts for the sequel, initially planning to recreate the classic versions of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolf Man. He and comic book creator Mike Mignola also spent a few days adapting the "Almost Colossus" story, featuring Roger the Homunculus. They then found it easier to create an original story based on folklore, because del Toro was planning "Pan's Labyrinth", and Mignola's comics were becoming increasingly based on mythology. Later, del Toro pitched a premise to Revolution Studios that involved four Titans from the four corners of Earth—Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth—before he replaced the Titans with a Golden Army. Mignola described the theme of the sequel, "The focus is more on the folklore and fairy tale aspect of "Hellboy". It's not Nazis, machines and mad scientists but the old gods and characters who have been kind of shoved out of our world."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Del Toro released "Pan's Labyrinth" in 2006, and the film earned multiple Academy Awards, providing the director enough clout to begin production on the film. Guillermo del Toro began filming the film in June 2007 in Budapest and concluded in December 2007. The film was the first American production to shoot at Korda Studios in Hungary, then newly built outside Budapest. The creature shop was led by the company Spectral Motion, and Filmefex contributed work in makeup and prosthetics. The latter company designed a creature for the troll market scene and built several statues and full-sized replicas of the Golden Army.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" opened on July 11, 2008, in 3,204 theaters in the United States and Canada. The film ranked first at the box office, grossing an estimated $35.9 million over the weekend, outperforming the opening of its predecessor, which had opened with $23.2 million. The opening was the biggest of Guillermo del Toro's directing career until 2013, when it was surpassed by "Pacific Rim."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Audiences polled by CinemaScore, during the opening weekend, gave the film a 'B' grade. The demographic for the film was mostly male, and the age distribution for moviegoers below and above 25 years old was evenly split. Outside of the United States and Canada, the film had a limited release on 533 screens in Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, grossing $4.6 million.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In its second weekend in the United States and Canada, the film's box office performance dropped 71% to gross $10.1 million, a larger drop than its predecessor, which dropped 53% in comparison. The sequel's larger drop was attributed to the significant opening of the Batman film "The Dark Knight". As of September 9, 2008 the film has grossed $75,986,503 in the United States and Canada. The film came top in the UK and Ireland box office charts upon its release on August 22 and earned an additional international gross of $84,401,560 bringing its worldwide total to $160,388,063.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In addition to television spots showing scenes from the film, humorous adverts were also aired depicting Hellboy appearing on "Ghost Hunters"; being interviewed by James Lipton on "Inside the Actors Studio"; playing video games with Chuck Bartowski from "Chuck"; visiting the set of "American Gladiators"; auditioning for a high school event; and hosting a public service announcement with a cat.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 11, 2008. For the DVD, there is both a single-disc and a 3-disc special edition (not available in the UK).


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: The single-disc edition includes the movie and a very limited selection of special features. Available on the one-disc edition is a "Director's Notebook" section, in which pages of Del Toro's notebook are reproduced, showcasing design sketches and annotations by the director, as well as "video pod" segments in which he explains these designs and concepts further. The segment is available in the three-disc edition in the "pre-production vault", which also includes other galleries. The three-disc special edition includes two audio commentaries (one by Del Toro and another by members of the cast), six deleted scenes, several featurettes, a full-length documentary, and image galleries. Though not added into the movie after credits due to budget cuts, a comic style of the Zinco Sequel is added to the special features, serving as a prologue to the third Hellboy movie. The third disc contains a digital copy. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" was released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on May 7, 2019.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Rotten Tomatoes reported that of critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average rating of , based on reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Guillermo del Toro crafts a stellar comic book sequel, boasting visuals that are as imaginative as the characters are endearing." On "Metacritic" the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film three and a half stars out of four, the same rating he gave the first film, writing: "In every way the equal of del Toro's original "Hellboy", although perhaps a little noisier, it's another celebration of his love for bizarre fantasy and diabolical machines." Michael Rechtshaffen writing in "The Hollywood Reporter" said "Hellboy II" was an uncompromised vision of del Toro's imagination. He said that with the director given free rein, the film came across as an amalgam of the best moments from his previous films, only with better visual effects. John Anderson of "Variety" wrote of a rococo precision to the visuals that exceeded that of the first film. He cited del Toro's "clockmaker's preoccupation with detail" and ability to blend state-of-the-art technology with more classical visuals as the reasons for the film's success. Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" said that the plot did not often deviate from its comic-book traditions, but that del Toro staged the action "brilliantly". He said that while the visual effects deserved recognition, what made the film so exciting was the personality they were imbued with. Chuck Wilson of "The Village Voice" said that del Toro was on autopilot, but that he and his "Pan's Labyrinth" crew, cinematographer Guillermo Navarro in particular, staged the steady stream of action set-pieces expertly. Mike Goodridge of "Screen International" wrote that del Toro had retained the B movie tone of the first film, saying the film managed to avoid the self-importance of "The Incredible Hulk" and the "Batman" film series and that del Toro was simply a "great storyteller" providing a "good time". Stuart Levine in "Premiere" praised the visuals and "beautiful" set-pieces, but said del Toro's script fell a little short of his direction. Alonso Duralde writing for "msnbc.com" said it represented a backwards step for del Toro, saying that despite several creepy sequences, the film was a return to the muddled storytelling and pretty visuals of his pre-"Pan's Labyrinth" films. He said del Toro's screenplay lacked energy or momentum. However, Peter Bradshaw, of "The Guardian", said almost the opposite was the case, as he thinks "it is a crackingly enjoyable and exciting sequel, with something that the memory of Pan's Labyrinth might have entirely erased: a sense of humour." Noting that "this spectacular movie seethes and fizzes with wit and energy, absorbing and transforming influences such as Ghostbusters and even Harry Potter and the secret world of Diagon Alley."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: John Anderson said the film would be "almost unthinkable" without Ron Perlman in the lead role, saying the film was more successful than its predecessor mainly due to the more deliberately amusing tone and the "drily ironic" title character. He said the only weak link was Luke Goss's "unimposing" villain. While praising the general banter between Perlman and Blair, Stuart Levine said the nonchalant Hellboy exhibited insufficient growth as a character, and that Jeffrey Tambor was largely wasted in his role. He agreed that Goss's villain was weak as written, with no tangible menace. Helen O'Hara of "Empire" said the character was only let down by a lack of screentime in which to give him enough dramatic weight, and that Goss did "a perfectly good job". Owen Gleiberman said Perlman was more assured than in the first "Hellboy", funnier and more cantankerous. He said the entire ensemble had "an appealing, outsize grandeur" about it. Mike Goodridge said the film carefully developed the character relationships, and Chuck Wilson said that other than the title character's penchant for chewing cigars, he was otherwise "uninteresting". Alonso Duralde wrote that the "sitcom-ish" character dilemmas were uninteresting, saying that Perlman and Tambor's performances were regularly let down by the script. He said that Blair's performance was possibly the first bad one he'd seen by the actress, and that while Jones was "brilliant" physically, his vocal performance was inferior to David Hyde Pierce's in the first "Hellboy" film. Michael Rechtshaffen called Perlman "terrific" and said Blair's brooding portrayal was effective.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Michael Rechtshaffen concluded that "Hellboy II" was less focused than the first film, but that it played "faster and looser" and mostly a "wild ride". In a positive review, John Anderson's main criticism was a sequence set in Northern Ireland, which he called the least interesting and most conventional segment of the film. Chuck Wilson said the film "didn't have much on its mind", but that it would amaze children and amuse adults, Stuart Levine said the film was worth viewers' time, and Alonso Duralde said "Hellboy II" was "limp and unengaging". Owen Gleiberman surmised that the film was "derivative yet... dazzling", and Mike Goodridge concluded by praising the filmmakers' skill at creating a film that, despite featuring "stunning" action sequences and creature effects, still found time for character development and a fulfilling story that expanded the franchise's wider mythology. Peter Bradshaw suggested that "'Visionary' is a word too easily applied to fantasy movies, but it sticks easily here."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: The film appeared on some critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. Rene Rodriguez of the "Miami Herald" named it the fifth-best film of 2008 (along with "The Dark Knight"), and Stephanie Zacharek of "Salon" named it the tenth-best film of 2008 (along with "Iron Man").


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins co-authored the short story, "Tasty Teeth", which was published in the 2004 anthology "Hellboy: Odder Jobs" by Dark Horse Comics. In the story, Hellboy encounters tooth fairies in a tomb in Romania, featuring elements that were later incorporated into the auction house sequence in the film.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: This story by Mike Mignola and Guillermo del Toro with art by Francisco Ruiz Velasco was published as a special promotion for the film by Dark Horse Comics in one-shot comic book "Hellboy: The Golden Army" (January 2008) with three variant covers:


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In his introduction film director del Toro affirms his and Mignola's admiration of Velasco's "clean, propulsive narrative, draftsmanship, and artistic skills" and states that the intention of this title is to treat the film's opening narrative as a mini-epic and give the artist the opportunity to tell it with unlimited budget and shooting time.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In the story Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, caring for the young Hellboy at Douglas Air Force Base, New Mexico, on Christmas Eve 1944, relates the story of the Golden Army from the film's opening prologue, which he describes as the first tale ever told, as a bedtime story that he ends by saying one day Hellboy may find out if it is true.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: "Hellboy II: The Art of the Movie" (June 18, 2008, ) by Guillermo del Toro and Mike Mignola with art by Sergio Sandoval and Francisco Ruiz Velasco looks into the film's evolution, from early concept art and diary sketches to photos of the final props, sets, and includes:


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (June 18, 2008, ) by Robert Greenberger is the official novelization of the film.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: During its initial theatrical release in North America, a video game set within the Hellboy universe was released around the time that of the film entitled "" for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360, released on June 24 in North America and August 15 in Europe. Despite its close release date, promotion alongside the film and featuring voices of the same actors, the game is not a direct movie tie-in with the plot not being related to that of the film but instead follows an original story where Hellboy investigates Nazi operations in Romania under Herman von Klempt, an antagonist from the comics.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Included as a special feature on the DVD is an animated comic that foreshadows the events of the next film. In the Zinco Epilogue, a group of men go into Rasputin's tomb and find Kroenen's body. After bringing Kroenen to a doctor along with instructions to revive him with an alchemical manual, Zinco and his party travel to an arctic cave with Zinco as the only survivor. Upon entering the cavern, Zinco opens a container he has with him containing the preserved head of Kroenen and attaches it to a giant robot. As soon as it is attached, the cyborg awakens and the spirit of Rasputin appears, stating that he has one more job for him.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: Del Toro had expressed interest in a sequel, saying, "I think we would all come back to do a third "Hellboy", if they can wait for me to get out of Middle-Earth, but we don't know. Ron may want to do it sooner, but I certainly know where we're going with the movie on the third one." On May 30, 2010, Guillermo del Toro dropped out of directing "The Hobbit".


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In June 2010, Del Toro speculated that "Hellboy III" might happen after his next project, but said that the screenplay had yet to be written.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: On July 14, 2012, after being inspired by a recent Make-A-Wish function in which Ron Perlman appeared in full Hellboy makeup for a terminally ill boy, Del Toro stated, "I can say publicly that now we are together in trying [to do "Hellboy 3"]".


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: On April 5, 2013, in an interview with Comic Book Resources, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola commented that the possibility of a third "Hellboy" film seemed unlikely, stating "The biggest problem I see as far as PR for the next billion years is explaining endlessly ... that there's no "Hellboy 3" movie".


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: On June 30, 2013, del Toro discussed the possibility of developing "Hellboy 3" at Legendary Pictures. He stated: "I hate giving pieces about it, but last night, we were at dinner and Ron said, 'I would be very happy to do "Hellboy" again, when are we doing "Hellboy 3"? Thomas Tull said, 'I would love to see "Hellboy 3".' He didn't say he would love to do it he just said he'd like to see it, but today, I'll ask him." Ron Perlman added his support for the idea, stating: "Not just anybody can make this movie. I loved working for Legendary and I know for Guillermo working on "Pacific Rim" was one of his greatest experiences. The reason I loved working for them is because Guillermo was so happy. I came in six months into the shoot and he seemed as fresh as a daisy, simply because he was working for someone who appreciated and supported his outlandish visions of what he wanted to put on the screen. My immediate, silent wish was, wouldn't it be great if these guys came in and helped resolve the "Hellboy" series."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: On June 30, 2013, in an interview, Ron Perlman spoke about "Hellboy 3" saying, "["Hellboy 3"] needs to be twice as big as "Hellboy 1" or "Hellboy 2". It's all of these oracles coming home to roost with these apocalyptic things taking place, Guillermo's version of this resolve in the trilogy is epic in scope. Not just anybody can make this movie. It has to be somebody who's no stranger to this sense of scope. For me to do "Hellboy 3", it could kill me—in terms of physically demanding, for a guy my age, but it's worth it because anyone who sits and listens to Guillermo's version of how this thing ends is completely seduced. It's so theatrical and compelling and if you liked the first two movies in any way, shape or form, this is the ultimate one-two punch."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: On July 11, 2014, in a Reddit AMA, Del Toro said, "Well, you know, we don't have that movie on the horizon, but the idea for it was to have Hellboy finally come to terms with the fact that his destiny, his inevitable destiny, is to become the beast of the Apocalypse, and having him and Liz face the sort of, that part of his nature, and he has to do it, in order to be able to ironically vanquish the foe that he has to face in the 3rd film. He has to become the beast of the Apocalypse to be able to defend humanity, but at the same time he becomes a much darker being. It's a very interesting ending to the series, but I don't think it will happen. ... We have gone through basically every studio and asked for financing, and they are not interested. I think that the first movie made its budget back, and a little bit of profit, but then it was very very big on video and DVD. The story repeated itself with the second already, it made its money back at the box office, but a small margin of profit in the release of the theatrical print, but was very very big on DVD and video. Sadly now from a business point of view all the studios know is that you don't have that safety net of the DVD and video, so they view the project as dangerous."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In July 2015, del Toro said that Legendary Pictures might fund "Hellboy 3" if "" does well at the box office: "The hard fact is that the movie's going to need about $120 million and there's nobody knocking down our doors to give it to us. It's a little beyond Kickstarter." After del Toro left the director's chair for "Pacific Rim: Uprising", the deal fell through.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In February 2017, Del Toro announced via Twitter, "Must report that 100% ["Hellboy 3"] will not happen."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In July 2019, Perlman said that he would still love to finish the trilogy with del Toro, ignoring the reboot, and that he thought it could happen if financing could be found. In January 2022, Perlman encouraged Del Toro to proceed with the sequel, saying that they owed it to the fans to get it done and that "it would be an epic conclusion."


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In 2010, "Hellboy" screenwriter Peter Briggs was asked by Universal to script a spin-off centring on Prince Nuada, and provisionally agreed that Briggs could direct the film in New Zealand. Briggs began work on an outline with co-writer Aaron Mason. Titled "Hellboy: Silverlance", the script was a B.P.R.D. story featuring Abe Sapien as the main character with Hellboy in a supporting role. Moving into the new B.P.R.D. headquarters in Colorado, Abe is troubled by his psychic connection with Princess Nuala, and begins researching the elves' history. The film would have shown Nuada's adventures throughout history, including his rivalry with a fairy courtier who orchestrates Nuada's exile in hopes of marrying Nuala and seizing control of the fairy kingdom; Nuada first meeting Mister Wink by saving him from a troupe of soldiers during the Spanish Inquisition; and Nuada in Nazi Germany, engineering a pact to keep various supernatural entities safe during World War II (with Nuada and Kroenen fighting in a "friendly" match for Project Ragnarok men.) Doug Jones would have played both Abe and the Angel of Death, who strikes a bargain with Nuada. Rupert Evans's Agent Myers would also have returned. The story climaxed at the new B.P.R.D. headquarters, with the return of Rasputin's summoning gauntlet. Universal wanted to proceed with the project, but it emerged that del Toro's "Hellboy 3" was still a possibility, so "Silverlance" was shelved.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In 2015, Briggs received another call from Universal, saying that "Hellboy 3" had been cancelled and asking him and Mason to return for a reworked "Silverlance", with producer Lawrence Gordon involved. The caveat was that Hellboy could not appear, but the writers managed to get the character a cameo appearance at the climax. If successful, the film would have launched a "From the Files of the B.P.R.D." spin-off series.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: In May 2017, Briggs affirmed that, with the announcement of the "Hellboy" reboot, the "Silverlance" project was dead.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: About 2014, Mignola, writer Andrew Cosby, and the producers began work on the story for a new film. The project was initially intended as a sequel to del Toro's films, but Perlman was unwilling to star without del Toro involved. When Neil Marshall joined, it was decided that the new film would be a reboot.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: On May 8, 2017, it was announced that Millennium Films was in negotiations with producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin for a film with the working title "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen", with Marshall is in talks to direct and "Stranger Things" star David Harbour expected to play Hellboy. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola will co-write the script with Cosby and Christopher Golden. Mignola said the reboot would be R-rated.


title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

text: On August 8, 2017, Lionsgate confirmed that the project would finally only be known as "Hellboy". The film was released on April 12, 2019 to negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Hans Otto Georg Hermann Fegelein (30 October 1906 – 28 April 1945) was a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany. He was a member of Adolf Hitler's entourage and brother-in-law to Eva Braun through his marriage to her sister Gretl.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein joined a cavalry regiment of the "Reichswehr" in 1925 and transferred to the SS on 10 April 1933. He became a leader of an SS equestrian group, and was in charge of preparation for the equestrian events of the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936. He tried out for the Olympic equestrian team himself but was eliminated in the qualifying rounds.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: In September 1939, after the Invasion of Poland, Fegelein commanded the SS "Totenkopf Reiterstandarte" (Death's-Head Horse Regiment). They were garrisoned in Warsaw until December. In May and June 1940, he participated in the Battle of Belgium and France as a member of the "SS-Verfügungstruppe" (later renamed the Waffen-SS). For his service in these campaigns he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 15 December 1940. Units under his command on the Eastern Front in 1941 were responsible for the deaths of over 17,000 civilians during the Pripyat swamps punitive operation in the Byelorussian SSR. As commander of the 8th SS Cavalry Division "Florian Geyer" in 1943, he was involved in operations against partisans as well as defensive operations against the Red Army, for which he was awarded the Close Combat Clasp in bronze.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: After being seriously wounded in September 1943, Fegelein was reassigned by Heinrich Himmler to Hitler's headquarters staff as his liaison officer and representative of the SS. Fegelein was present at the failed attempt on Hitler's life on 20 July 1944. He was on duty at Hitler's "Führerbunker" in Berlin in the closing months of the war, and was shot for desertion on 28 April 1945, two days before Hitler's suicide. Historian Michael D. Miller describes Fegelein as an opportunist and careerist who ingratiated himself with Himmler, who granted him the best assignments and rapid promotions. Journalist William L. Shirer and historian Sir Ian Kershaw characterise him as cynical and disreputable. Albert Speer called him "one of the most disgusting people in Hitler's circle".


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein was born in Ansbach, Bavaria, to the retired "Oberleutnant" Hans Fegelein. As a boy working at his father's equestrian school in Munich, he became a proficient rider and participated in jumping events. During this period he met Christian Weber, an original member of the Nazi Party. Weber later sponsored Fegelein's entry into the "Schutzstaffel" (SS).


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: In 1925, after studying for two terms at Munich University, Fegelein joined the "Reiter-Regiment" 17 (Cavalry Regiment 17). On 20 April 1927, he joined the Bavarian State Police in Munich as an officer cadet. In 1929 he left the police service when he was caught stealing examination solutions from a teaching superior's office. The official communication at the time was that he resigned for "family reasons". Fegelein later stated that he had left the police on "his own account" to better serve the Nazi Party and SS. His father had started the "Reitinstitut Fegelein" (Riding Institute Fegelein) in 1926. In Munich, Fegelein came into contact with Nazism and the SS. His father had made the institute available to the SS as a meeting place, and the training facilities and horses were used by equestrian units of the "Sturmabteilung" (SA) and SS.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein joined the Nazi Party (membership number 1,200,158) and the SA in 1930. He transferred to the SS on 10 April 1933, with membership number 66,680. He worked as an instructor at the "Reitinstitut Fegelein" and became the leader of the "SS-Reitersturm", the SS equestrian group based at the facility. By the mid-1930s he took over administration of the school from his father. He was promoted to the "Allgemeine-SS" rank of "SS-Untersturmführer" that year and to "SS-Obersturmführer" on 20 April 1934 and to "SS-Hauptsturmführer" on 9 November 1934. Beginning in November 1935, Fegelein oversaw the preparation of the courses and facilities for the equestrian events of the Berlin Olympic Games. He was promoted to the rank of "SS-Sturmbannführer" on 30 January 1936. He tried out for the German equestrian team, but was unable to prevail against the strong competition from the (cavalry school Hanover), who went on to win all the equestrian gold medals.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein won the "" international tournament in 1937, as did his brother Waldemar, in 1939. He was promoted to the rank of "SS-Obersturmbannführer" on 30 January. On 25 July 1937, "Reichsführer-SS" Himmler, by special order of the "SS-Oberabschnitt Süd", created the "Haupt-Reitschule München" (SS Main Riding School) in Munich. The school was started from his father's stud farm. Fegelein was named its commander and promoted to "SS-Standartenführer" the same day. Funding for the very expensive horses came in part from then "SS-Brigadeführer" Weber, who supported the school with more than annually. Fegelein won the """" (Brown Ribbon of Germany), an annual horse race which in 1938 was held on the premises of the riding school in Munich. Fegelein at the time had strong ambitions to participate in the 1940 Summer Olympics. With the help of his friend (HSSPF; Higher SS and Police Leader) Karl von Eberstein, he arranged the transfer of all the Bavarian State Police horses to the SS riding school in case of mobilization. His fear was that the horses would be handed to the "Wehrmacht".


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: In September 1939, Fegelein commanded the SS "Totenkopf Reiterstandarte" (Death's-Head Horse Regiment), which arrived in Poland shortly after the end of the Polish Campaign. The unit was placed under the command of the "Ordnungspolizei" (Orpo; order police) and was split into small groups assigned to support police activities at posts throughout the Poznan district. On 15 November, Himmler ordered the expansion of the regiment from four to thirteen squadrons and renamed it as "1. SS-Totenkopf-Reiterstandarte" (1st Death's Head Cavalry Regiment). Additional men were recruited from ethnic Germans living in the General Government and further afield. As many of the officers, including Fegelein, had never attended officer training school, much of the training provided to new recruits was rudimentary. However, it was rigorous, and the men developed a strong camaraderie. Fegelein's unit was involved alongside the Orpo in the extermination, ordered by Hitler, of members of the Polish elite such as intellectuals, aristocrats, and clergy, in an action called "Intelligenzaktion". On 7 December 1939, Fegelein's unit was involved in the mass shooting of 1,700 such people in the Kampinos Forest.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: On 15 December, the unit was split into two "Standarten" (regiments), with Fegelein commanding the "1. Standarte" under the overall command of "Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer-Ost" Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger. The unit was short of basic supplies such as weapons, food, and uniforms, which led to deteriorating morale and ill health. Incidents of corruption and theft took place, particularly among members of the regimental staff in Warsaw. On 23 April 1941, Fegelein faced court-martial charges for an incident in 1940 where he and his unit had been caught stealing money and luxury goods for transportation back to Germany. Fegelein's court-martial was quashed by direct order of Himmler. The allegations brought forward against Fegelein had included "murder motivated by greed". Apparently he had ordered arrests and executions in the Gestapo prison in Warsaw. In addition to this, Fegelein was charged with having had an unlawful sexual relationship with a Polish woman. The woman had become pregnant and Fegelein forced her to have an abortion. Reinhard Heydrich tried several times to investigate the accusations against Fegelein, but each time Himmler quashed the attempt.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein's unit took part in anti-partisan fighting against a group of about 100 former Polish soldiers in the area of Kammienna–Konsky–Kielce in March and April 1940. They killed about half the partisans and the remainder escaped. On 8 April, Fegelein's unit killed 250 Polish men in villages in the area. While in his report he described the behaviour of his troops as "clean and decent", there were many incidents in this period where his men behaved in an undisciplined way, killing and robbing civilians without being ordered to do so.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: In May and June 1940, Fegelein, who had been promoted to "SS-Obersturmbannführer" of the Reserves in the Waffen-SS on 1 March 1940, participated in the Battle of Belgium and France as a member of the "SS-Verfügungstruppe". For his service in these campaigns, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 15 December 1940. In March 1941, the SS "Totenkopf Reiterstandarte" 1 was renamed to 1st SS Cavalry Regiment.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: With the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on 22 June 1941, Fegelein saw active service on the Eastern Front. His unit was assigned on the 87th Infantry Division on 23 June to cover a gap in the lines of the 9th Army near Białystok. The motorized elements of the 1st SS Cavalry reached the right flank of the operational area on 24 June, but the mounted elements were unable to keep up. The exhausted horses had to be left behind and the men transported to the combat zone in lorries, while the horse-drawn artillery pieces were towed using any available vehicles. The first units to arrive crossed the Narew near Wizna and engaged the Soviets but were unable to break through. They were ordered to retreat and move further north. Infantry elements of the 87th Division captured Osowiec Fortress on 26 June, and Fegelein's cavalry was sent on a reconnaissance mission to the south-east. Himmler, unwilling to have his SS units under Wehrmacht control or used in combat other than as reserves, withdrew the SS cavalry from control of the 87th Division on 27 June. The ambitious Fegelein stressed in his reports that he believed his unit was combat ready and exaggerated its contribution to the operation. Ten of his men received the Iron Cross, Second Class for their efforts, and Fegelein was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: The engagement demonstrated the shortcomings of the cavalry units in modern mobile warfare, which requires quick redeployments in ever-changing conditions. Fegelein sought to improve this by asking Himmler to combine the 1st and 2nd SS cavalry regiments into a brigade, with additional support units. As a temporary measure, Himmler assigned Fegelein to be in charge of both regiments. Fegelein's unit was one of several that undertook field training and political indoctrination in the coming weeks. Himmler addressed the 1st Cavalry on 5 July, offering the opportunity for any men unwilling to participate in the upcoming "special tasks" to transfer to another unit. Nobody took advantage of this offer, at least partly because Himmler did not say that the upcoming assignment included the mass shooting of unarmed civilians.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: On 19 July 1941, Himmler assigned Fegelein's regiments to the general command of HSSPF Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski for the "systematic combing" of the Pripyat swamps, an operation designed to round up and exterminate Jews, partisans and civilians in that area of Byelorussian SSR. Himmler's orders for the operation were passed to Fegelein via "SS-Brigadefuhrer" Kurt Knoblauch, who met with him and Bach-Zelewski on 28 July in their new quarters at Liakhovichi in Byelorussia. General instructions were given to "cleanse" the area of partisans and Jewish collaborators. Jewish women and children were to be driven away. Fegelein interpreted these orders as follows: Enemy soldiers in uniform were to be taken prisoner, and those found out of uniform were to be shot. Jewish males, with the exception of a few skilled workers such as doctors and leather workers, would be shot. Fegelein split the territory to be covered into two sections divided by the Pripyat River, with the 1st Regiment taking the northern half and the 2nd Regiment the south. The regiments worked their way from east to west through their assigned territory, and filed daily reports on the number of people killed and taken prisoner. In a meeting with Bach-Zelewski on 31 July, Himmler announced the amalgamation of the two regiments into the SS Cavalry Brigade. Additional units such as a bicycle reconnaissance detachment were formed and added to the brigade's complement. On 5 August Himmler assigned leadership of the brigade to Fegelein.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Himmler notified Fegelein by telegram on 1 August that the numbers killed were far too low. A few days later, Himmler issued regimental order no. 42, which called for all male Jews over the age of 14 to be killed. The women and children were to be driven into the swamps and drowned. Thus Fegelein's units were among the first in the Holocaust to wipe out entire Jewish communities. As the water in the swamps was too shallow and some areas had no swamps, it proved impractical to drown the women and children, so they were shot. Fegelein's final report on the operation, dated 18 September 1941, states that they killed 14,178 Jews, 1,001 partisans, 699 Red Army soldiers, with 830 prisoners taken and losses of 17 dead, 36 wounded, and 3 missing. The historian Henning Pieper estimates the actual number of Jews killed was closer to 23,700.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein received the Infantry Assault Badge on 2 October. Four days later, he was again brought before a court for of captured goods. Again the prosecution was halted by Himmler. In mid-October 1941, the brigade left Byelorussia and moved first to Toropets and then on to Rogachev by train, where they were subordinated to Army Group Centre. The new operational area had more partisan activity than the Pripyat swamps, with guerrillas who were well organised and difficult to find. Fegelein's report for the period between 18 October and 18 November 1941 shows 3,018 partisans and Red Army soldiers killed and 122 taken prisoner. However, as fewer than 200 weapons were captured, historians Martin Cüppers and Henning Pieper conclude that the majority of those killed must have been unarmed civilians. Brigade losses were seven dead and nine wounded.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Army Group Centre renewed their offensive on Moscow in mid-November. Fegelein and the SS Cavalry Brigade were held back as an operational reserve in the rearward area of the 9th Army. Massive counter-attacks by the Red Army led to a weakening of the entire German line, and the brigade was called in to fight at the front on 28 December. While Fegelein reported that his forces were the equivalent to one or two divisions, in reality he had only 4,428 men in total at this point, of which 1,800 were ready for action. The brigade was deployed at the south-eastern sector of the XXIII Army Corps, where it defended against attacks in the rearward area of the 206th Infantry Division in the Battles of Rzhev. The SS Cavalry Brigade took serious losses, with casualties of up to 60 per cent in some squadrons.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: On 1 February 1942, Fegelein was promoted to "SS-Standartenführer" in the "Waffen-SS" and transferred from the reserve force to active service. Four days later, on 5 February, Fegelein on his own initiative led an attack on a strong enemy group northwest of Chertolino. The attack, carried out in difficult weather conditions, secured an important road junction and the railway station at Chertolino. In a nocturnal attack on 9 February, the brigade encircled and destroyed enemy forces at Chertolino, killing 1,800 Red Army soldiers. Yershovo was captured on 14 February, leading to the annihilation of the enemy units in Rzhevsky District. For his leadership in these battles, Fegelein was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 2 March 1942. Fegelein was then granted home leave and was appointed Inspector of Cavalry and Transportation () in the "SS-Führungshauptamt" on 1 May 1942. In this position he was awarded the Eastern Front Medal and the War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords, both on 1 September 1942. The SS Cavalry Brigade was disbanded in March 1942 and the remaining men and equipment were formed into a battalion-strength unit called "Kampfgruppe Zehender", commanded by "SS-Sturmbannführer" August Zehender.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein returned to the front line on 1 December 1942 and on the same day promoted to "SS-Oberführer". He was given command of "Kampfgruppe" "Fegelein", based in the great bend of the Don. He was wounded in action by Soviet snipers on 21 and 22 December 1942.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: On 20 April 1943, he was appointed commander of the 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer. Fegelein and his division were involved in operations against partisans in May to July 1943, which included Operation Weichsel, Operation Zeithen, and Operation Seydlitz. On 17 May, they annihilated a partisan group south west of Novoselki. He personally blew up a bunker in the attack. A week later, on 24 May, the division attacked another partisan strongpoint, and no prisoners were taken. During "Weichsel" (27 May – 10 June 1943) he reported the unit had killed 4,018 persons and deported 18,860, confiscated 21,000 cattle, and destroyed 61 villages southwest of Gomel. During "Zeithen" (13–16 June 1943) they destroyed a further 63 villages and (under direct orders from Hitler) killed all suspected partisans. During "Seydlitz" (26 June – 27 July 1943) he reported the destruction of 96 additional villages, with 5,016 killed and 9,166 deported and 19,941 cattle confiscated.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: The division was then deployed in defensive operations against massed Soviet attacks. From 26 August to 15 September, the division repulsed five attacks of divisional strength and a further 85 attacks of battalion strength. The heaviest combat occurred on 26 August near Bespalovka and on 28 August, when the division halted a Soviet breakthrough at Bol'shaya Gomol'sha. Fegelein led a counterattack on 8 September, recapturing the height 199,0 at Verkhniy Bishkin. On 11 September 1943, during these defensive battles, he was awarded the Close Combat Clasp in bronze. Fegelein was severely wounded on 30 September 1943 and was hospitalised for a few weeks. He received the German Cross in gold on 1 November 1943. Following his convalescence he was appointed chief of "Amt" VI—Office for Rider and Driver Training—in the "SS-Führungshauptamt" on 1 January 1944.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: At the same time, Himmler assigned him to Hitler's headquarters staff as his liaison officer and representative of the SS. He was promoted to the rank of "SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS" on 10 June 1944. On 20 July 1944, Fegelein was present at the failed attempt on Hitler's life at the Wolf's Lair headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia and received a minor wound to his left thigh from the bomb blast. Fegelein often showed around the photographs of the hanged men who had been executed as a result of this failed assassination attempt.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein's politically motivated marriage to Gretl Braun, Eva Braun's sister, took place on 3 June 1944 in Salzburg. Historian Kershaw and journalist Shirer believe he courted Braun as a way to advance his career. Hitler, Himmler, and Martin Bormann acted as witnesses at the ceremony. A two-day celebration was then held at Hitler's and Bormann's Obersalzberg mountain homes and the Eagle's Nest. Fegelein was a known playboy and had many extramarital affairs. Hitler's secretaries, Christa Schroeder and Traudl Junge, state Fegelein was popular socially, particularly with women. He could be funny, amusing, and charming. Eva was glad to have someone in the entourage with whom she could dance and flirt, as Hitler was distant in social situations and refrained from publicly showing affection. Fegelein worked hard to develop a friendship with Hitler's powerful private secretary, Martin Bormann. Fegelein consistently attended Bormann's drinking parties and told Junge that the only things that mattered were "his career and a life full of fun."


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: By early 1945, Germany's military situation was on the verge of total collapse. Hitler, presiding over a rapidly disintegrating Third Reich, retreated to his "Führerbunker" in Berlin on 16 January 1945. To the Nazi leadership, it was clear that the Battle of Berlin would be the final battle of the war. Berlin was bombarded by Soviet artillery for the first time on 20 April 1945 (Hitler's birthday). By the evening of 21 April, Red Army tanks reached the outskirts of the city. By 27 April, Berlin was cut off from the rest of Germany.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: On 27 April 1945, "Reichssicherheitsdienst" (RSD) deputy commander "SS-Obersturmbannführer" Peter Högl was sent out from the Reich Chancellery to find Fegelein, who had abandoned his post at the "Führerbunker" after deciding he did not want to "join a suicide pact". Fegelein was located by the RSD squad in his Berlin apartment, wearing civilian clothes and preparing to flee to Sweden or Switzerland. He was carrying cash—German and foreign—and jewellery, some of which belonged to Braun. Högl found a briefcase containing documents with evidence of Himmler's attempted peace negotiations with the Western Allies. According to most accounts, Fegelein was intoxicated when arrested and taken back to the "Führerbunker". He was kept in a makeshift cell until the evening of 28 April. That night, Hitler was informed of the BBC broadcast of a Reuters news report about Himmler's attempted negotiations with the western Allies via Count Bernadotte. Hitler flew into a rage on this betrayal and ordered Himmler's arrest. Sensing a connection between Fegelein's disappearance and Himmler's betrayal, Hitler ordered "SS-Gruppenführer" Heinrich Müller to interrogate Fegelein as to what he knew of Himmler's plans. Thereafter, according to Otto Günsche (Hitler's personal adjutant), Hitler ordered that Fegelein be stripped of all rank and to be transferred to "Kampfgruppe" "Mohnke" to prove his loyalty in combat. Günsche and Bormann expressed their concern to Hitler that Fegelein would only desert again. Hitler then ordered Fegelein court-martialed. Fegelein's wife was then in the late stages of pregnancy (the baby was born on 5 May). Hitler considered releasing him without punishment or assigning him to Mohnke's troops. Junge—an eye-witness to bunker events—stated that Braun pleaded with Hitler to spare her brother-in-law and tried to justify Fegelein's actions. Junge said Fegelein was taken to the garden of the Reich Chancellery on 28 April, and was "shot like a dog". Rochus Misch, who was the last survivor from the "Führerbunker", disputed aspects of this account in a 2007 interview with "Der Spiegel". According to Misch, Hitler did not order Fegelein's execution, only his demotion. Misch claimed to know the identity of Fegelein's killer, but refused to reveal his name.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Journalist James P. O'Donnell, who conducted extensive interviews in the 1970s, provides one account of Fegelein's court martial. "SS-Brigadeführer" Wilhelm Mohnke, who presided over the court martial for desertion, told O'Donnell that Hitler ordered him to set up a tribunal. Mohnke arranged for a court martial panel, which consisted of generals Wilhelm Burgdorf, Hans Krebs, "SS-Gruppenführer" Johann Rattenhuber, and himself. Fegelein, still drunk, refused to accept that he had to answer to Hitler, and stated that he was responsible only to Himmler. Fegelein was so drunk that he was crying and vomiting; he was unable to stand up, and even urinated on the floor. Mohnke was in a quandary, as German military and civilian law both require a defendant to be of sound mind and to understand the charges against them. Although Mohnke was certain Fegelein was "guilty of flagrant desertion", it was the opinion of the judges that he was in no condition to stand trial, so Mohnke closed the proceedings and turned the defendant over to General Rattenhuber's security squad. Mohnke never saw Fegelein again.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: An alternative scenario of Fegelein's death is based on the 1948/49 Soviet NKVD dossier of Hitler written for Joseph Stalin. The dossier is based on the interrogation reports of Günsche and Heinz Linge (Hitler's valet). This dossier differs in part from the accounts given by Mohnke and Rattenhuber. After the intoxicated Fegelein was arrested and taken back to the "Führerbunker", Hitler at first ordered Fegelein to be transferred to "Kampfgruppe" "Mohnke" to prove his loyalty in combat. Günsche and Bormann expressed their concern to Hitler that Fegelein would desert again. Hitler then ordered Fegelein to be demoted and court-martialed by a court led by Mohnke. At this point the accounts differ, as the NKVD dossier states that Fegelein was court-martialed on the evening of 28 April, by a court headed by Mohnke, "SS-Obersturmbannführer" Alfred Krause, and "SS-Sturmbannführer" Herbert Kaschula. Mohnke and his fellow officers sentenced Fegelein to death. That same evening, Fegelein was shot from behind by a member of the "Sicherheitsdienst". Based on this stated chain of events, author Veit Scherzer concluded that Fegelein, according to German law, was deprived of all honours and honorary signs and must therefore be considered a "de facto" but not "de jure" recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Journalist William L. Shirer and historian Ian Kershaw characterise Fegelein as cynical and disreputable; Albert Speer called him "one of the most disgusting people in Hitler's circle". Historian Michael D. Miller describes Fegelein as an opportunist who ingratiated himself with Himmler, who in return granted him the best assignments—mostly related to cavalry—and rapid promotion through the ranks. The historian Henning Pieper, who studied the period up until March 1942, notes Fegelein's lack of formal training as an officer led to deficiencies in the way the SS Cavalry Brigade was prepared for active service. Fegelein repeatedly over-stated the combat readiness of his troops and exaggerated their accomplishments, in Pieper's opinion in order to be seen as a leader worthy of promotion and honours. Fegelein's faulty analysis of his brigade's readiness led to their use in December 1941 through March 1942 in combat situations for which they were unsuitable and untrained; however, as the military situation was deteriorating, they would eventually have received front-line assignments regardless of their readiness. By the end of March 1942, the brigade had suffered casualties of 50 per cent, much higher than army units deployed in the same area.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein's parents and his brother Waldemar survived the war. Gretl, who inherited some of Eva's valuable jewellery, also survived the war. She gave birth to a daughter (named Eva Barbara Fegelein, after her late aunt) on 5 May 1945. Eva Fegelein killed herself in April 1971 after her boyfriend died in a car accident. Gretl Braun-Fegelein moved to Munich and remarried in 1954. She died in 1987, aged 72.


title: Hermann Fegelein

text: Fegelein held various ranks in both the "Allgemeine-SS" and "Waffen-SS". The following table shows that progression was not synchronous.


title: D-Generation X

text: D-Generation X (DX) is an American professional wrestling stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of Triple H and Shawn Michaels.


title: D-Generation X

text: The group originated in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) in the midst 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 Wars. In addition to two other founding members Chyna and Rick Rude aside from Michaels and Triple H, the group expanded with new additions X-Pac, The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn), and Tori until it disbanded in August 2000. 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.


title: D-Generation X

text: On October 8, 2018 it was announced that D-Generation X would face The Brothers of Destruction at the Crown Jewel pay-per view. At the event, Triple H and Michaels were victorious against 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, Chyna, The New Age Outlaws, and X-Pac as the inducted members.


title: D-Generation X

text: 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". Michaels' autobiography suggests that it was WWF head writer Vince Russo who first conceived the moniker for the faction, while Bret Hart claims it originated from New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick, a frequent critic of the WWF. Triple H claims that Shane McMahon coined the name of D-Generation X when responding to Bret Hart's characterization of younger wrestlers as degenerates.


title: D-Generation X

text: 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. WWF/E Chairman Vince McMahon has repeatedly denied that DX was inspired or heavily influenced by World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) New World Order (nWo), though the core members of both on-screen factions included members of professional wrestling's Kliq; (Sean Waltman even served as a member of both groups; as did Michaels, briefly, during the nWo's revival in the WWF/E in 2002). On October 6, 1997, in one of the earliest DX promos — in fact the week before the group was officially named — Michaels alluded to this off-screen connection. After Bret Hart claimed to have destroyed the Kliq and to have "run [Scott Hall and Kevin Nash] outta town" (that is, from the WWF to the rival WCW/nWo), Michaels declared, "The Kliq owns this [professional wrestling] business", and said that it had really undergone "expansion" rather than "destruction".


title: D-Generation X

text: According to Triple H, WWF management wanted to keep apart The Kliq, of which he and Michaels were members, so they were hesitant to pair the duo together at first. Despite this, the group began to collude on the August 11, 1997 main event of "Raw Is War". During Michaels' match with Mankind, Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) and Chyna both interfered as they were feuding with Mankind; towards the end of the match Rick Rude returned to the WWF revealing himself as Michaels' insurance policy and helped him win the match by attacking Mankind with a chair. The following week on "Raw", Michaels and Triple H teamed up to take on Mankind and The Undertaker, only to lose the match by disqualification after Michaels used a chair on Undertaker. Michaels would eventually face the Undertaker at on September 7 with Triple H, Chyna and Rude all interfering on Michaels' behalf to make the match end in a no contest. They were often shown on television practicing sophomoric/crude humor and rebelling against authority figures in the company, primarily Vince McMahon (then an on-air color commentator) and then Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter, the latter of which D-X made a particular habit of humiliating by giving him the nickname Sgt. Slobber.


title: D-Generation X

text: D-Generation X's first feud was against the Hart Foundation, who was led by Michaels' nemesis Bret Hart. At WWF One Night Only, the group helped Michaels beat Foundation member British Bulldog for the WWF European Championship, making Michaels the WWF's first Grand Slam Champion. On-screen, the name was taken from comments by Hart, who on several occasions, including the October 6, 1997 episode of "Raw Is War", had labelled Michaels "nothing more than a degenerate". The following week, on October 13, 1997, Michaels made "D-Generation X" the group's official name, mockingly citing Hart's insults as his inspiration and how Generation X (with both members being part of Generation X) is always stereotyped as apathetic and cynical.


title: D-Generation X

text: Although DX and the members of the Hart Foundation continued to battle on-screen in some fashion through the end of 1997, the Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels feud ended abruptly at Survivor Series when Michaels won his third WWF World Heavyweight Championship via the Montreal Screwjob, whereby Hart was lied to about the match's pre-determined outcome after Hart had signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and refused to drop the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in Canada and instead agreed to drop the title one month later in Springfield, Massachusetts. Rude was also legitimately upset over the Montreal Screwjob, and he subsequently left the WWF to return to WCW. On the November 24 episode of "Raw Is War", Michaels invited Neidhart to join DX which he accepted prior to a match between Vader and Michaels. Michaels, Chyna and Triple H assaulted Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart at the end of the show after Michaels defeated Vader showing that Neidhart's invitation to the group was a ruse. The following week on the December 1 episode of "Raw Is War", Triple H defeated Neidhart. After the match, D-Generation X assaulted Neidhart once again, before Michaels spray-painted "WCW" on Neidhart's back, and signifying him following Bret Hart and The British Bulldog to WCW. Sgt. Slaughter and Ken Shamrock saved Neidhart, before Slaughter and Shamrock attacked D-Generation X at the end of the show.


title: D-Generation X

text: D-Generation X was used as the title for a WWF pay-per-view telecast on December 7, 1997. By this point, with Michaels holding the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and WWF European Championship, and DX's victory in the feud with the Hart Foundation, their status as the lead stable in the company was solidified. Michaels headlined the event and was disqualified in a WWF World Heavyweight Championship title defense against Ken Shamrock when Owen Hart interfered, having been off-screen since Survivor Series. Earlier that night, Triple H defeated Sgt. Slaughter with the help of Chyna in a Boot Camp match. On the December 22 episode of "Raw is War" however, the two were forced to wrestle each other for the European Championship. In a mock match Michaels laid down while Triple H ran around the ring and eventually pinned him for the European Championship.


title: D-Generation X

text: In the beginning of 1998, Triple H exchanged the European Championship with Owen Hart. At WrestleMania XIV, Shawn Michaels was the reigning WWF World Heavyweight Champion and Triple H was the reigning WWF European Champion. They recruited boxer Mike Tyson to act as the "special enforcer" in the main event of the night featuring Michaels against Stone Cold Steve Austin. At the end of the match, Tyson turned on D-Generation X and cost Michaels the match and the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.


title: D-Generation X

text: The night after WrestleMania, Triple H ejected the absent Michaels for "dropping the ball" over the Tyson incident (In reality, Michaels had suffered a back injury during his Casket Match with The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble, and started a four-year hiatus from wrestling to recuperate). Triple H assumed full leadership of DX and recruited X-Pac, who had been recently fired from WCW, and the WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws ("Bad Ass" Billy Gunn and "The Road Dogg" Jesse James) into the stable. While the intent was for the stable to remain heels, they became hugely popular and were eventually pushed as faces. During this time, they feuded with the heel gimmick of The Rock and his group the Nation of Domination and then later, Vince McMahon's Corporation. The group remained united and hugely popular throughout 1998 and into early 1999.


title: D-Generation X

text: On episodes of "Raw Is War" in April and May DX went to war with WCW, with whom the WWF were in direct competition at the time, through a series of legitimate visits to WCW headquarters and live events. On April 27, 1998 "Raw Is War" and "Nitro" both took place in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, a mere 19 miles apart. D-Generation X traveled from the WWF show in Hampton to The Scope in Norfolk and shouted insults against WCW through a bullhorn, as well as accusing WCW of giving out free tickets to fill up arenas for television while sporting black armbands with the acronym POWCW (Prisoner of WCW), which referenced Kliq members Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. They then tried to enter the arena via a loading dock, in their army jeep before being stopped by someone closing the door. They also attempted to forcibly secure meetings with Nitro's executive producer Eric Bischoff and WCW owner Ted Turner at WCW headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Another segment used computer graphics to make it appear as if Triple H had flown over the arena where WCW Nitro was taking place and wrote "WCW Sucks" and "DX Says Suck It" in the sky.


title: D-Generation X

text: The group also feuded with the new Corporate Commissioner, former DX leader Shawn Michaels, who turned on the group after costing X-Pac a WWF Championship match against The Rock. The faction would continue to feud with Michaels throughout late 1998, with Michaels reversing Billy Gunn's Intercontinental Championship victory against Ken Shamrock, costing The Outlaws the Tag Team Titles and even managing to lure the New Age Outlaws to The Corporation on the December 7 episode of "Raw Is War". However, the Outlaws quickly revealed this to have been a ruse, turning on The Corporation that same night. When The Corporation turned on Michaels in January 1999, he was taken in by DX once more. This too was short lived as later that night D-X were instrumental in Michaels being ambushed by The Corporation, with X-Pac commenting "What goes around, comes around".


title: D-Generation X

text: Some of the group's most memorable promos were their parodies of their rivals. On July 6, 1998, DX carried out the first of these segments. On December 14, 1998, they would turn their attention to The Corporation with Triple H again appearing as "The Crock", Road Dogg playing Mr McMahon (with two midgets representing Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson kissing his behind throughout); Billy Gunn, playing Shane McMahon wearing an adult diaper; X-Pac playing Ken Shamrock; Chyna as The Big Boss Man; and Sensation returning to play Michaels. These parodies would be resurrected during the fourth incarnation. X-Pac's parody of Mark Henry was controversial due to him being in blackface (unlike the rest of DX); X-Pac would admit on his podcast in 2018 that it was one of his biggest career regrets despite having Henry's blessing to be in blackface.


title: D-Generation X

text: Throughout 1999, the members gradually turned on one another. Initially, Chyna turned on Triple H and joined the Corporation on January 25. At WrestleMania XV Chyna turned on then fellow Corporation member Kane, helping Triple H to defeat him. Later that night, Triple H and Chyna interfered in X-Pac's European Championship match with Shane McMahon. Initially, it appeared they were there to help X-Pac, but Triple H quickly turned on him, delivering a Pedigree to his former stablemate, costing him the match. Chyna and Triple H would then join The Corporation, with Kane being ousted. As a result, X-Pac began to share a bond with Kane, which resulted in Kane becoming associated with the faction and the duo holding the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.


title: D-Generation X

text: Though the group maintained a united front against The Corporation, Billy Gunn became frustrated at Kane's presence and The New Age Outlaws' inability to win the Tag Team Championships from X-Pac and Kane. Following one such defeat on the April 29 episode of "SmackDown!", Gunn became angry at X-Pac. The following week on "Sunday Night Heat", he apologized to X-Pac, but attacked him when X-Pac's back was turned, citing his frustration at being "held back" and departing from D-Generation X, therefore reducing the members to just Road Dogg and X-Pac. Over the following weeks, Gunn would continue to attack X-Pac and Road Dogg, often being chased away by Kane. In July, Triple H and Chyna told Billy Gunn that Road Dogg and X-Pac were making a lot more money from D-Generation X's royalties than the other three (due to them still using the name as a tag team). This led to a tag match at Fully Loaded whereby the winners would get the rights to use the D-Generation X name, which Road Dogg and X-Pac won. Though not officially a member, upon winning the Tag Team titles from The Acolytes on August 9, Kane, under encouragement from partner X-Pac, uttered his first words without help from a voice box, said words being "suck it".


title: D-Generation X

text: On October 25, the group reformed as villains when Triple H and X-Pac helped the New Age Outlaws – who had reunited a month previously – defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. On that week's "Smackdown", X-Pac suggested that D-X would get "bigger", hinting that Kane would finally become an official member. However, later that night, he turned on Kane following a match with The Dudley Boyz, stating there would be no additional members and starting a feud between the two. That same night, D-X were "hunted" by Austin, with Stone Cold catching Road Dogg in a bear trap, Billy Gunn in a snare trap, having a portion of the backstage ceiling fall on X-Pac and finally catching the whole group in a net. Despite this, The Outlaws won their fifth Tag Team Championship soon afterward, defeating Mankind and Al Snow on the November 8 edition of "Raw".


title: D-Generation X

text: Triple H, meanwhile, would escalate an ongoing feud with Vince McMahon on the November 29 episode of "Raw", when he interrupted the wedding of Stephanie McMahon and Test to reveal that he had already married Stephanie at a Las Vegas drive-through wedding chapel while she was supposedly drugged unconscious. Triple H would defeat Vince in a street fight at Armageddon after Stephanie turned on her father and embraced her then-storyline "husband", with the two revealing the next night on "Raw" that the ceremony under the influence was a ruse as part of a revenge plot for Vince orchestrating Stephanie's abduction by the Ministry. This officially marked the beginning of the McMahon-Helmsley Era, with Stephanie becoming a member of D-X through her ties to Triple H.


title: D-Generation X

text: When Kane's storyline "girlfriend" Tori began to get involved in the feud between Kane and X-Pac, Triple H and Stephanie punished her by setting her up to fight X-Pac on the December 14 episode of "SmackDown", then giving Kane a WWF Championship match against The Big Show on the December 20 episode of "Raw" where if he lost, Tori would have to spend Christmas with X-Pac. The New Age Outlaws distracted Kane, costing him the match, and when Tori returned, she insisted the X-Pac had been a perfect gentleman.


title: D-Generation X

text: By January 2000, Triple H had dubbed himself "The Game", after stating he was above the top of the wrestling world (as in not merely the "best in the game", but in fact "the game" itself) and was nicknamed "The Cerebral Assassin" by Jim Ross. On the January 3 episode of "Raw Is War", Triple H defeated Big Show to win his third WWF Championship.


title: D-Generation X

text: Meanwhile, storylines implied that X-Pac had truly done something harmful to Tori when she started appearing as neurotic and paranoid, with many WWF superstars using Tori's mental state to provoke Kane to attack their enemies over the ensuing month. X-Pac also gave Tori an apparently forced kiss during his match with Kane on the January 24 episode of "Raw". This storyline culminated on the January 27 episode of "SmackDown", when D-X jumped Kane during another match against Big Show, leading to a promo where X-Pac recounted his Christmas rendez-vous with Tori; Tori then kissed X-Pac, turning on Kane and joining D-X in the process. Throughout this period, the heel DX would feud with the likes of Austin, The Rock, Shane McMahon, Mankind/Cactus Jack, and Chris Jericho, in addition to Kane and the other McMahons, primarily securing and protecting Triple H's WWF Championship as well as The Outlaws' WWF Tag Team Championship. They would arrive at arenas in a tour bus called "The D-X Express".


title: D-Generation X

text: During a match at No Way Out where The Outlaws lost the Tag Team Championship to The Dudley Boyz, Gunn suffered a torn rotator cuff which would place him out of action for several months. On-screen, to explain his impending absence to recover from his injury, Gunn's storyline involved him getting thrown out of DX because "he lost his cool" when Triple H had X-Pac take his place in the rematch. X-Pac teamed with Road Dogg once again but the two never reached the heights the New Age Outlaws had. On March 30, X-Pac and Tori assisted Stephanie McMahon in winning the Women's Championship from Jacqueline. At WrestleMania 2000, Triple H defended his title in a fatal four-way match against The Rock, Mick Foley, and Big Show, with a separate McMahon appearing in every superstar's corner. Vince McMahon turned on The Rock and aided Triple H in retaining his title. DX would then unite with Vince and Shane's Corporation stable, and the resulting group was officially dubbed The McMahon-Helmsley Faction (or Regime). On April 27, Stone Cold Steve Austin used a crane to drop a steel beam on the DX Express tour bus, causing the bus to explode in the parking lot.


title: D-Generation X

text: The Rock defeated Triple H at Backlash in a match which featured Stone Cold Steve Austin's brief return to the WWF. Though Triple H regained the title the following month at Judgment Day, the group gradually broke apart. Road Dogg and X-Pac became frustrated by their lack of success as a tag team and turned on each other, culminating in a match at SummerSlam, which X-Pac won. By late 2000, Triple H had become a solo star, and even briefly turned face during a love triangle storyline involving Stephanie and Kurt Angle. Billy Gunn, meanwhile, had returned to action and struck a partnership with Chyna following the dissolution of her storyline relationship with Eddie Guerrero.


title: D-Generation X

text: On the November 6, 2000 episode of "Raw Is War", Chyna, Dogg, Gunn, and Triple H briefly reunited DX to take on The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn) in an eight-person tag team match, which DX won. The match included the group doing their old DX entrance, as well as telling the crowd to "suck it!" It was a symbolic end to D-Generation X. On that very same episode, Triple H turned heel when he attacked Stone Cold Steve Austin and revealed himself as the mastermind behind Austin's hit and run at the Survivor Series the year before. Chyna and Gunn, along with Road Dogg and his new tag team partner K-Kwik, continued to feud with The Radicalz that month, leading to a match at Survivor Series. The Radicalz won the match.


title: D-Generation X

text: After that, DX remained unseen and largely unmentioned until Shawn Michaels returned to WWE in 2002. With the acquisition of Triple H being persuaded by Michaels, and then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff to sign a contract to join "Raw" as part of the "Brand Extension" at Vengeance. The following night on the July 22 episode of "Raw" at Shawn Michaels' 37th birthday, a week after the breakup of the nWo, Triple H handed Michaels a DX T-shirt and stated he "had an idea", suggesting that the two reform the group and make Eric Bischoff's life a living hell. The duo later came out that night to their old music and crotch chops, and pyro to the delight of the crowd. However, Triple H turned on Michaels that same night; he had teased the reunion as a ploy to appease Michaels and lure him to the ring before giving him a Pedigree, making Triple H a heel once again. This act led to the in-ring return of Michaels at SummerSlam in 2002 and was the genesis of a long feud between the two that ended with a Triple H victory during a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood in 2004.


title: D-Generation X

text: In 2006, a series of events occurred which hinted at a DX reunion. At WrestleMania 22, former members Shawn Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop during their respective matches (the former against Mr. McMahon and the latter against John Cena for the WWE Championship), which was met with loud cheering from the fans in attendance. The two continued to deliver chops in the following episodes of "Raw" as Michaels feuded with Vince and Shane McMahon and Triple H focused on the WWE Championship, repeatedly running into McMahon in the process.


title: D-Generation X

text: On the June 12 episode of "Raw", the events came to a head, when, during Triple H's gauntlet match against The Spirit Squad, Shawn Michaels came in to help his former friend. After the duo had laid out the entire Spirit Squad, the two men began to perform their crotch chops. DX continued their brash antics at the expense of the Spirit Squad, the McMahons, and Jonathan Coachman for several weeks and repeatedly took part in blatantly camp product placement during "Raw" promos. D-X would defeat the Spirit Squad in a 5-on-2 handicap match at Vengeance, with Michaels forcing Mitch’s face into Triple H’s buttocks after the match concluded. Most of their antics now involved practical jokes on Vince.


title: D-Generation X

text: On the June 26 episode of "Raw", they added to the list of parodies with Triple H impersonating Vince McMahon, talking about his love of "Dicks" (a double entendre referring to Dick Ebersol, Dick Clark, and Dick Cheney, as well as the male member; this was also used again repeatedly with roosters, saying that Vince loved "cocks"), while Michaels impersonated Shane McMahon, dancing around the ring until "Vince" screamed at him to "STOP IT!" When Vince, Shane, and the Spirit Squad came to confront them, the contents of a port-a-potty were promptly dumped on them.


title: D-Generation X

text: On the July 3 episode of "Raw", as a result of their actions on June 26, Vince banned DX from the arena; DX responded by infiltrating inside the production truck and performing a series of pranks on Mr. McMahon (including focusing a camera on McMahon in a public restroom [which was shown on the "Raw" Titantron], as well as tampering with his microphone). At the end of the episode, as Vince tried to leave in his limousine, fireworks were activated inside the limousine, shooting out of the moon roof, causing a dazed Vince to crawl out covered in soot, at which point DX greeted him with sparklers, wishing him a "Happy 4th of July".


title: D-Generation X

text: On the August 21 episode of "Raw", D-X repeatedly vandalized Vince's property by tagging "DX" on first Vince's $30 million private jet, then the front of the WWE World Headquarters building, and finally Vince's limousine (as well as tying a chain to the back axle of the limousine, causing the axle to be violently pulled off when Vince and Shane tried to leave).


title: D-Generation X

text: During their feud, DX defeated the Spirit Squad at Vengeance and on the July 15, 2006 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event", as well as The McMahons (Vince and Shane) at SummerSlam. At Unforgiven in a handicap Hell in a Cell match that featured Big Show on The McMahons' side, DX again came out victorious.


title: D-Generation X

text: DX's next feud was with Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). At Cyber Sunday, the fans selected Eric Bischoff over Vince McMahon and Jonathan Coachman to be the special guest referee for the match. Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the win, marking DX's first defeat as a tag team since their reunion in June 2006. At Survivor Series, Michaels and Triple H got back at Edge and Orton by leading Team D-X (Triple H, Michaels, Matt and Jeff Hardy, and CM Punk) to a 5–0 sweep over Team Rated-RKO (Edge, Orton, Gregory Helms, Johnny Nitro, and Mike Knox). In 2007, D-X challenged for the World Tag Team Championship against Edge and Orton at New Year's Revolution. The fight ended in a no contest after Michaels hit the referee. During the match, Triple H suffered a legitimate torn quadriceps. After the match, DX beat down Rated-RKO with steel chairs and on the announce tables.


title: D-Generation X

text: After Triple H's injury, Shawn Michaels continued to uphold the DX image by himself leading into WrestleMania 23. Michaels would still come to the ring with the DX music and attire even though Triple H was not joining him during this period. During this time, he captured the World Tag Team Championship with John Cena as well as went on to face Cena at WrestleMania 23 for the WWE Championship. Michaels would continue to use the D-Generation X motif until Backlash, at which point he reverted to his traditional entrance music and attire, thus ending this incarnation of D-Generation X. Michaels and Triple H teamed up again under the D-Generation X on the January 28, 2008 episode of "Raw" defeating Umaga and Snitsky. Despite DX reforming for one night only occasions, both Triple H and Shawn Michaels have used the "crotch chop" since the one night only returns.


title: D-Generation X

text: On the September 29, 2008 episode of "Raw", Triple H and Shawn Michaels reunited as DX to take on Chris Jericho and Lance Cade. They won by disqualification, due to Cade and Jericho's two-on-one assault of Michaels. After being mocked by John Morrison and the Miz for two weeks, on the 800th episode celebration of "Raw", DX defeated the duo. During the Christmas season, D-X appeared in numerous vignettes to promote DX clothing and other WWE merchandise; one such commercial also featured Kelly Kelly. In the 2009 WWE draft on April 13, 2009, Triple H was drafted back to the "Raw" brand.


title: D-Generation X

text: In April 2009, Michaels took a hiatus from WWE after losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Meanwhile, Triple H was embroiled in a rivalry with Randy Orton and The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase). The feud continued from the spring through the summer with Triple H mainly combating with Orton over the WWE Championship. Eventually, Triple H would begin to target The Legacy because they were responsible for his losses against Orton during matches. After losing a handicap match to The Legacy, Triple H stated that he would search for Michaels in order to reunite DX. On the August 10, 2009 episode of "Raw", video segments aired in which Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H would try to convince Michaels return to WWE from hiatus. After several incidents during the segments (including a grease fire and Shawn getting shouted at by a little girl), Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy at SummerSlam, superkicking the girl, and quitting from his chef job in the process.


title: D-Generation X

text: On the August 17 episode of "Raw", in St. Louis, MO, Michaels and Triple H officially reunited as DX, but as they were in the process of their in-ring promo, Legacy attacked them both. Their first match after reuniting was against Legacy at SummerSlam, which they won. At Breaking Point, however, they lost to Legacy in the first ever Submissions Count Anywhere match in WWE history. At the October pay-per-view Hell in Cell, DX defeated Legacy in a Hell in a Cell match. DX would challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship in a triple threat match at Survivor Series with both men failing to win the title, although they were able to retain their friendship and tag team partnership. On December 13 at , DX defeated Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and Big Show) to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match; the first tag team championship reign for Michaels and Triple H as a tag team.


title: D-Generation X

text: On December 21, 2009, Triple H announced that Hornswoggle was the new DX little mascot. This came about after Hornswoggle sued D-X for emotional and physical distress due to them not allowing him to join DX. After being taken to court where they were ruled guilty by a jury and judge consisting of dwarves, Michaels told Triple H that Hornswoggle could be the mascot. Triple H agreed to it only if the charges were dropped, which Hornswoggle agreed to. On the January 11, 2010 episode of "Raw", Mike Tyson, who was the "Raw" guest host for the night, teamed with Jericho to face DX; however, at the end of the bout, Tyson turned on Jericho and aligned himself with Michaels and Triple H. On the February 8, 2010 episode of "Raw", DX lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship to ShoMiz (The Miz and Big Show) in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team match also featuring The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows.) On the March 1 episode of "Raw", they lost their rematch for the titles which would be their last televised match. Due to Michaels' ongoing obsession with ending the Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, Triple H and Michaels quietly separated heading into WrestleMania XXVI, but remained on good terms.


title: D-Generation X

text: Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac have gone under the team names of D-Generates of Wrestling and Team Suck It while wrestling together on the indy scene before returning to WWE.


title: D-Generation X

text: On the September 3, 2018 episode of "Raw", Shawn Michaels made a special appearance to promote the match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down, during which he was confronted by The Undertaker himself. At Super Show-Down, Michaels assisted Triple H in defeating The Undertaker, after which, he was attacked by Undertaker and Kane.


title: D-Generation X

text: On October 8, Triple H and Shawn Michaels announced that they were officially reforming D-Generation X to take on The Brothers of Destruction at Crown Jewel. On the October 29 episode of "Raw", both Undertaker and Kane declared that they would take the souls of Triple H and Shawn Michaels and stated they would never "Rest in Peace". This then led to Triple H distracting Kane and Shawn Michaels delivering a Sweet Chin Music to the Undertaker. At Crown Jewel, the Brothers of Destruction dominated DX for most of the match, however, DX were eventually able to pick up the win despite Triple H tearing his pec.


title: D-Generation X

text: Shawn Michaels and Triple H reunited in a non-wrestling capacity for the 2010 "Tribute to the Troops", after "SmackDown" events in 2011 and 2012 and during the 2012 Hall of Fame ceremony when they inducted Mike Tyson.


title: D-Generation X

text: On July 23, 2012 at the 1000th episode of "Raw" Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H appeared together for the second time with all five male members present. The group were interrupted by Damien Sandow, who accused them of displaying sophomoric and disgusting behaviour which he believed had brainwashed society, which resulted in D-X attacking Sandow.


title: D-Generation X

text: Michaels, Triple H, X-Pac, and Billy Gunn would make another reunion alongside Kevin Nash, who was made an honorary member of the stable, at the January 10, 2013 taping of "NXT". Upset at his previous attack, Sandow interrupted the reunion, only to receive an "X-Mark" from Michaels and Triple H. In March 2013, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg reformed the New Age Outlaws multiple times until Brock Lesnar took out the team with F-5s during his feud with Triple H.


title: D-Generation X

text: During Triple H's heel Authority storyline which began later in the year, both Shawn Michaels (in a non-wrestling capacity) and the New Age Outlaws returned as babyfaces only to eventually turn heel against anti-authority faces on Hunter's behalf, becoming occasional allies of the Authority in the process. During this period, the New Age Outlaws won the WWE Tag Team Championship against the Rhodes Brothers (Cody Rhodes and Goldust), and teamed with Kane to wrestle The Shield at WrestleMania 30. The last of these appearances, during Triple H's match against Sting at WrestleMania 31, was also the first legitimate major confrontation between DX and the nWo: Michaels and The Outlaws, joined by X-Pac, all interfered on Triple H's behalf, only to be fought off by Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hollywood Hogan, who interfered on Sting's behalf. Triple H ultimately won the match after attacking Sting with a sledgehammer that was handed to him by Billy Gunn.


title: D-Generation X

text: WWE announced that DX would make a one-time appearance on "Raw 25 Years", the 25th anniversary episode of "Raw" held on January 22, 2018. The reunion began with Michaels and Triple H, who would soon be joined by The New Age Outlaws and X-Pac, as well as Scott Hall, representing The Kliq's association in the nWo. DX and The Kliq would be interrupted by Bálor Club (Finn Bálor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson), who joined them in a Too Sweet wolf salute. At the "Raw Reunion" episode on July 25, 2019, DX and The Kliq, this time also including Kevin Nash, appeared during Seth Rollins' match with AJ Styles, who was accompanied by Anderson and Gallows. Unlike the year before, they rejected The O.C.'s offer of solidarity, rescuing Rollins from a 3-on-1 assault.


title: D-Generation X

text: On the October 10, 2022 episode of "Raw", DX reunited once again in the celebration of the group's 25th anniversary, this time without Billy Gunn.


title: D-Generation X

text: In December 2015, Billy Gunn and X-Pac reformed DX, in an event for Big Time Wrestling, where they defeated Bam Shaw and The Punisher Don Vega. They returned as D-Generation X during the MCW event, "Spring Fever In Maryland" on April 23, along with Lio Rush and Brandon Scott. They fought in the Empire State Wrestling on May 21, and they are set to compete in the Elite Pro Wrestling, where they will face the New Age Kliq on July 22.


title: D-Generation X

text: On September 4, 2016, Gunn and X-Pac represented DX in a tag team gauntlet match at a Chikara event. The two entered the match as the final team and scored the win over Prakash Sabar and The Proletariat Boar of Moldova.


title: D-Generation X

text: D-X promos always include a signature move whereby the wrestler points his hands towards his own crotch, making the shape of a "V", and in the later, more popular variant with hands crossed, an "X". The implication is that the viewer or listener should "suck it".


title: D-Generation X

text: The crotch chop was first used in the WWF by Shawn Michaels several months before the formation of D-X, at least as early as July 21, 1997, while he stood in-ring for an interview segment on "Raw Is War" filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Although Michaels had not yet made his heel-turn (which would follow a few weeks later, after the events of SummerSlam), his feud with the Canadian-born Bret Hart made Michaels a de facto heel to the Canadian crowd. Months later, at the October 6, 1997 episode of "Raw Is War", both Michaels and Triple H repeatedly directed the crotch chop at both Hart and hostile members of the audience.


title: D-Generation X

text: According to Triple H, Vince McMahon was hesitant to let D-X members perform the "X" at first, but he was later talked into it. When D-X enters the ring they do a pyro routine. Green X pyrotechnics go off three times, with D-X crotch-chopping at each firing. They then pause for a second, then chop once more as the pyrotechnics fire for the fourth time.


title: D-Generation X

text: The crotch chop is used in the 2008 film "Slumdog Millionaire" by Jamal (Dev Patel) after getting away from pursuing security guards and by a character in the opening scenes of the 2007 movie "Knocked Up". Fidel Edwards, the West Indian fast bowler has on occasions used the crotch chop after taking a wicket. It has also been used by Professional Bowler Pete Weber after getting a strike, Weber himself is a fan of wrestling. The character Kenny Powers, in the HBO series "Eastbound & Down", also uses the gesture in a fantasy sequence where he walks through the halls of the school where he works. In a 2010 episode of "Family Guy", titled "Extra Large Medium", a cutaway shows Spock doing the crotch chop after he wins the lottery. In the 2012 film, "Pitch Perfect", Becca does the crotch chop at the end of the Barden Bellas' rap in the riff off. It's also featured in Nintendo's Super Mario strikers in a taunt that Waluigi does after scoring a goal. Jon Jones performed the "X" crotch chop after defeating Daniel Cormier at UFC 197


title: D-Generation X

text: The crotch chop and the words "suck it" actually originated with the nWo, while Syxx/X-Pac was still a member of the faction, Later on D-X would use a cross armed x-chop. The signature D-X slogan originated on the October 6, 1997 episode of "Raw Is War", with Shawn Michaels stating, "I've got two words for 'The Hitman' Bret Hart: suck it!", before doing a one-armed crotch-chop (while holding the microphone with his other hand). Later in the episode, both Michaels and Triple H (separately) proceeded to the ring for the Bret Hart-Triple H match, each of them directing the slogan and crotch-chops at fans seated along the entry ramp.


title: D-Generation X

text: The slogan is also used in the D-X Army's popular "Let's get ready to suck it!" promos, conceived as a parody of Michael Buffer's "Let's get ready to rumble!" match introduction that was routinely featured at contemporary WCW events. The routine originated in the "D-X Army" era with X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Billy Gunn and starts when Triple H asks the audience, "Are you ready?". He then shouts, "No, [city name], I said, are you ready?!", or "I thought this was [city name], I said, are you ready?!", to elicit a louder reaction from the crowd. He would continue on, in a similar voice to Buffer, "Then, for the thousands in attendance, and to the millions watching at home: let's get ready to suck it!". Following this, Road Dogg would announce a variation of "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages: D-Generation X proudly brings to you its WWF Tag Team Champions of the World! The Road Dogg Jesse James, The Bad Ass Billy Gunn: The New Age Outlaws!" In which, the variation is, they would call themselves the "soon-to-be WWF Tag Team Champions of the world" only if they weren't holding the championship at the time. The group would then talk or posture in relation to the people they were feuding with at the time. Billy Gunn would then end the routine with "And if you're not down with that, we got two words for yah!" to which the crowd shouts "suck it!" back at them.


title: D-Generation X

text: During the tag team revival of the group the routine was truncated so that Triple H would say his part while Michaels would take Billy Gunn's lines to conclude it. They often would just say these two parts, with brief ad libbing, rather than lengthy speeches each time.


title: Cascade Range

text: The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades. The small part of the range in British Columbia is referred to as the Canadian Cascades or, locally, as the Cascade Mountains. The latter term is also sometimes used by Washington residents to refer to the Washington section of the Cascades in addition to North Cascades, the more usual U.S. term, as in North Cascades National Park. The highest peak in the range is Mount Rainier in Washington at .


title: Cascade Range

text: The Cascades extend northward from Lassen Peak (also known as Mount Lassen) in northern California to the confluence of the Nicola and Thompson rivers in British Columbia. The Fraser River separates the Cascades from the Coast Mountains in Canada, as does the Willamette Valley from the upper portion of the Oregon Coast Range. The highest volcanoes of the Cascades, known as the High Cascades, dominate their surroundings, often standing twice the height of the nearby mountains. They often have a visual height (height above nearby crestlines) of one mile or more. The highest peaks, such as the Mount Rainier, dominate their surroundings for .


title: Cascade Range

text: The northern part of the range, north of Mount Rainier, is known as the North Cascades in the United States but is formally named the Cascade Mountains north of the Canada–United States border, reaching to the northern extremity of the Cascades at Lytton Mountain. Overall, the North Cascades and Canadian Cascades are extremely rugged; even the lesser peaks are steep and glaciated, and valleys are quite low relative to peaks and ridges, so there is great local relief. The southern part of the Canadian Cascades, particularly the Skagit Range, is geologically and topographically similar to the North Cascades, while the northern and northeastern parts are less glaciated and more plateau-like, resembling nearby areas of the Thompson Plateau.


title: Cascade Range

text: Because the range is near the Pacific Ocean and in the region's prevailing westerly winds, there is much rain and snow there, especially on the western slopes due to orographic lift, with annual snow accumulations of up to (= ) in some areas. Mount Baker in Washington recorded a national record single-season snowfall in the winter of 1998–99 with (= ). Before that year, Mount Rainier held the American record for snow accumulation at Paradise in 1978. It is not uncommon for some places in the Cascades to have over of annual snow accumulation, such as at Lake Helen, near Lassen Peak. Most of the High Cascades are therefore white with snow and ice year-round. The western slopes are densely covered with Douglas-fir ("Pseudotsuga menziesii"), western hemlock ("Tsuga heterophylla") and red alder ("Alnus rubra"), while the drier eastern slopes feature mostly ponderosa pine ("Pinus ponderosa"), with some western larch ("Larix occidentalis"), mountain hemlock ("Tsuga mertensiana") and subalpine fir ("Abies lasiocarpa") and subalpine larch ("Larix lyallii") at higher elevations. Annual rainfall is as low as on the eastern foothills due to a rain shadow effect.


title: Cascade Range

text: Beyond the eastern foothills is an arid plateau that was largely created 17 to 14 million years ago by the many flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group. Together, these sequences of fluid volcanic rock form the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington, Oregon, and parts of western Idaho.


title: Cascade Range

text: The Columbia River Gorge is the only major break of the range in the United States. When the Cascades began to rise 7 million years ago in the late Miocene, the Columbia River drained the relatively low Columbia Plateau. As the range grew, erosion from the Columbia River was able to keep pace, creating the gorge and major pass seen today. The gorge also exposes uplifted and warped layers of basalt from the plateau.


title: Cascade Range

text: Indigenous peoples have inhabited the area for thousands of years and developed their own myths and legends about the Cascades. In these legends, St. Helens with its graceful, pre-1980 appearance was regarded as a beautiful maiden for whom Hood and Adams feuded.


title: Cascade Range

text: Native tribes also developed their own names for the High Cascades and many of the smaller peaks, including "Wy'east" for Mount Hood, "Seekseekqua" for Mount Jefferson (Oregon), "M'laiksini Yaina" for Mount McLoughlin, "Tahoma", the Lushootseed name for Mount Rainier, "Koma Kulshan" or simply "Kulshan" for Mount Baker, and "Louwala-Clough", meaning "smoking mountain" for Mount St. Helens.


title: Cascade Range

text: In early 1792, British navigator George Vancouver explored Puget Sound and gave English names to the high mountains he saw. Mount Baker was named for Vancouver's third lieutenant, Joseph Baker, although the first European to see it was Manuel Quimper, who named it "la gran montaña del Carmelo" ("Great Mount Carmel") in 1790. Mount Rainier was named after Admiral Peter Rainier. Later in 1792, Vancouver had his lieutenant William Robert Broughton explore the lower Columbia River. He named Mount Hood after Lord Samuel Hood, an admiral of the Royal Navy. Mount St. Helens was sighted by Vancouver in May 1792, from near the mouth of the Columbia River. It was named for Alleyne FitzHerbert, 1st Baron St Helens, a British diplomat. Vancouver's expedition did not, however, name the mountain range which contained these peaks. He referred to it simply as the "eastern snowy range". Earlier Spanish explorers called it "Sierra Nevada", meaning "snowy mountains".


title: Cascade Range

text: In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the Cascades on the Columbia River, which for many years was the only practical way to pass that part of the range. They were the first non-indigenous people to see Mount Adams, but they thought it was Mount St. Helens. When they later saw Mount St. Helens they thought it was Mount Rainier. On their return trip, Lewis and Clark spotted a high but distant snowy pinnacle that they named for the sponsor of the expedition, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. Lewis and Clark called the Cascade Range the "Western Mountains".


title: Cascade Range

text: The Lewis and Clark expedition, and the many settlers and traders that followed, met their last obstacle to their journey at the Cascades Rapids in the Columbia River Gorge, a feature on the river now submerged beneath the Bonneville Reservoir. Before long, the great white-capped mountains that loomed above the rapids were called the "mountains by the cascades" and later simply as the "Cascades". The earliest attested use of the name "Cascade Range" is in the writings of botanist David Douglas in 1825.


title: Cascade Range

text: In 1814, Alexander Ross, a fur trader with the North West Company, seeking a viable route across the mountains, explored and crossed the northern Cascades between Fort Okanogan and Puget Sound. His report of the journey is vague about the route taken. He followed the lower Methow River into the mountains. He might have used Cascade Pass to reach the Skagit River. Ross was the first European-American to explore the Methow River area and likely the first to explore the Stehekin River and Bridge Creek region. Due to the difficulty of crossing the northern Cascades and the paucity of beaver, fur-trading companies made only a few explorations into the mountains north of the Columbia River after Ross.