Clique (wrestling)
The Clique was a backstage group in the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) of the mid-1990s, made up of the following members:
The five were best friends in real life; most of them remain close friends today. When all five were in the WWF together, they held virtually all the booking power (the power to make matches and determine storylines), and refused to put over (elevate, usually by losing a match) anyone outside the group. Other wrestlers were on the fringes of the Clique from time to time, but the core group remained the same. The five formed the nucleus of D-Generation X, which started out as a heel (villain) stable but became fan favorites over time.
One of the more talked-about actions involving the Clique was the so-called MSG Incident, which took place early in 1996 and involved all of the Clique except for Waltman. At the time of the incident, Hall and Nash were about to leave the WWF for WCW. At a major WWF house show in Madison Square Garden, Michaels and Helmsley worked a tag team match as faces (fan favorites). Immediately after the match, Hall and Nash, then heels in WWF storylines, ran into the ring. Typically, a run-in is the trigger for a (staged) fight, but this did not happen. Instead, all four shared a prolonged group hug.
Their actions scandalized WWF management, who at the time wanted to maintain the illusion that faces and heels were not friends outside the ring. Because Michaels was holding the WWF championship belt at the time and was one of the promotion's biggest drawing cards, the WWF feared that punishing him would hurt its business. Hall and Nash were beyond punishment, as they were soon to leave for WCW. The punishment fell on Levesque; he was demoted from championship contender to "jobber to the stars" for about a year.
This punishment turned out to have a major impact on the WWF's future. Before the MSG Incident, Levesque had been booked to win the federation's King of the Ring "tournament" late that spring. The winner of this "title" traditionally received a large push toward stardom. However, the incident led the WWF to change the booking for the tournament. The King of the Ring "title" would instead go to Stone Cold Steve Austin; his "win" started his meteoric rise toward mainstream superstardom and helped WWF defeat WCW in their business wars.
Pro wrestling fans should not confuse the Clique with the Kliq, which was a term that Shawn Michaels used for his fanbase at one period in the mid-90s. It is widely believed that "Kliq" was a nod to "smart" fans (those who try to follow the inside workings of the pro wrestling business) who knew of the existence of the Clique.
When Hall and Nash went to the WCW, they formed the "New World Order" stable, or NWO; when Waltman later jumped to WCW, he also joined the NWO. Then, blurring the fourth wall even further, rumours began to spread among smart fans that Shawn Michaels wanted to be fired from the WWF so he could join his friends in WCW, which was more popular at the time. These fans eagerly watched every new episode trying to see what Michaels would do to get himself fired. Michaels kept doing controversial acts, including things which were supposedly edited out. It was later revealed that the WWF itself had started this rumour to help attract the viewership of those "smarts".
Referenced By
Pro wrestler | Professional wrestling | Sean Waltman | Shawn Michaels | Stone Cold Steve Austin
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