10 Best WWE Title Runs Ever
7. Shawn Michaels - March 31, 1996 To November 17, 1996
The boyhood dream manifested as a nightmarish box office run for Shawn Michaels, who, comprehensively and consistently out-drawn by WCW, failed to dent the company's nWo-assisted dominance in the (cosmetic) context of the Monday Night Wars. This deeply affected Michaels on a personal level; the pressure of carrying the company exacerbated his toxic mentality.
On a professional level, the match quality element of the criteria remains unparalleled to this day. Though the Iron Man match in which he captured the crown might as well have been a Submission match, given how many fans in the Arrowhead Pond tapped out, what followed was an eclectic, innovative and influential body of work massive in quality and consistency. He defeated Diesel in an awesome David Vs. Goliath story far more dynamic and urgent than the genre typically dictates before battling the British Bulldog in a brilliant match at the brilliant King Of The Ring '96 pay-per-view. A match veering from fantastic to fascinating with Vader followed at SummerSlam '96. Michaels followed that with a gory and glorious bout with Mankind at In Your House: Mind Games, during which he acknowledged the pr*ck within and progressed the very style of the company, unlocking the chaotic environment surrounding the ring like a subversive frontiersman. Capping the reign by carrying Sid to his greatest ever match, Michaels was booed by the MSG crowd.
You suspect time has drastically altered their opinion on his work.