10 Best WWE Championship Reigns Of The 1990s
3. Shawn Michaels (November 1997-March 1998)
If you don't know what happened during the main event of Survivor Series 1997 by now, then sorry, but you'll have to find that out for yourself.
One of the many consequences of that particular incident in Montreal was that Shawn Michaels was the new WWE Champion, having made Bret Hart tap out fair and square to the Sharpshooter.
This was Michaels in full DX mode, a brash, loud-mouthed miscreant who didn't play by the rules and didn't care what anybody thought of him. He served as the perfect spearhead for WWE's new "Attitude" and had great matches with the likes of Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock too.
He also fought The Undertaker at Royal Rumble 1998, a match that cost him four years of his career through a gnarly back injury. Thankfully, Michaels was physically and mentally well enough to drop the title at WrestleMania XXIV to some fella called Stone Cold Steve Austin? Wonder what happened to him...
From start to finish, HBK's third World title reign was a mile-a-minute, drenched in history, and vitally important to the long-term success of WWE.