D-GENERATION X TO BE INDUCTED INTO WWE HALL OF FAME

Six members of D-Generation X (clockwise from top left) will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019: X-Pac, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Chyna. WWE

D-Generation X, one of the cornerstones of the WWE's Attitude Era and the formative period that led into it, will be inducted April 6 into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2019.

Both key versions of DX will be recognized as a collective group of six, including Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chyna, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac.

D-Generation X -- a group of wrestlers who collectively helped bring crotch chops and "suck it" into the pop culture mainstream during the peak of its powers -- was initially formed in 1997 as a trio featuring Triple H, Michaels and Chyna. To Levesque's recollection, it was an idea that had been swirling around for some time before a few key events and decisions allowed everything to slide into place.

WWE icon Shawn Michaels is giving back to the world of professional wrestling in his role with NXT and the WWE Performance Center. Now training the next generation of stars, he loves having a hand in shaping the future of the business.

Historically speaking, when a wrestler wanted to bring in a big, bruising enforcer, the role was always filled by a man. Chyna, a bodybuilder, broke the mold and subverted conventional wisdom within the wrestling world.

As a trio, Michaels, Triple H and Chyna helped push the envelope as to what was accepted on TV. Their antics, catchphrases and personas made them three of the most recognizable WWE stars of the mid-to-late 1990s. Toward the tail end of their run as a trio, they were all involved in the WrestleMania XIV main event between Michaels and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in 1998 that famously included Mike Tyson in an enforcer role.

"For me, it was the break of a lifetime, right? My career was on the upswing, and then it had its downswing, due to a lot of [different] reasons. That was an opportunity for me to kind of get back on the right path, get out there and show what I could do. Being next to Shawn, the experience was so great, to be around that level of performer. From [The Undertaker], to Bret [Hart], to everybody else -- the learning experience was massive. "

Among this group of six entering the WWE Hall of Fame together, Chyna's inclusion in the Hall of Fame class is likely to garner the most attention. Joanie "Chyna" Laurer left the WWE in 2001 under tense circumstances and never returned. Her post-WWE career included acting, time in the reality television world and several forays into the adult entertainment industry. She died in April 2016.

With the recent push toward expanding the spotlight on women's wrestling, fans have clamored for Chyna's role in WWE history to be better recognized, and her inclusion as part of DX's induction into the Hall of Fame is a major step forward in that regard.

"Look, people believe what they want to believe. When I said a few years ago on the Austin podcast, or show, or whatever you want to call it, there's complexities around it," Levesque said. "But absolutely, definitely deserves to be in there. It'd be tough to pick a female that was more impactful on the business. She did something that was completely so out of left field that it wasn't even being considered when we first brought it up for her to come in. It wasn't even a consideration ... it wasn't an easy thing, and against all odds she did all of that. She earned everybody's trust. She won over the fans. She won over the boys. She did all of it.

Chyna was also part of the second version of D-Generation X. After Michaels stepped away from the WWE the night after WrestleMania XIV, Triple H brought together his own vision for DX. He introduced Sean Waltman, who had previously been known as 1-2-3 Kid in WWE and then went to WCW and joined the nWo as Syxx, and had just re-signed with WWE; eventually he'd be known as X-Pac. Later that night, X-Pac, Triple H and Chyna helped the New Age Outlaws win the tag-team championship, and the group was official.

The New Age Outlaws -- Road Dogg and Billy Gunn -- had been a part of the DX discussion in the early days of the group.

As a quintet, DX executed one of the most famous moments in the "Monday Night War" between WWE and WCW when they "invaded" a WCW show that was happening a short distance from that Monday's edition of Raw. Over the next few years the group shifted and changed shape, before ultimately beginning to fade away. Triple H teased a reunion with Michaels in 2002, only to turn on him, but the pair ultimately reformed under the D-Generation X name in 2006 and teamed up a number of times over the next few years. The last time Michaels and Triple H teamed as DX was on Nov. 2, 2018, as Michaels came out of retirement to take on the team of Kane and The Undertaker at WWE's Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.

When the WWE recognizes a group to go into its Hall of Fame, sometimes it specifies a version of a group -- as was the case when the Four Horsemen were inducted in 2011. When it comes to DX, both versions of the group are linked together in the minds of fans, and while either version could make a case for Hall of Fame candidacy, each legacy is intertwined.

Still, each fan has his or her own concept of what comes to mind when they hear "D-Generation X" -- and it's typically consistent to when they started watching the WWE.

Tickets for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at Barclays Center, which takes place the night before WrestleMania 35, go on sale Friday.