10 Most Essential WWE European Title Matches

6. Triple H vs. Owen Hart (WWE Raw 1998)

Despite being active for over a year, the Owen Hart/Triple H match at WrestleMania 14 marked the first contested appearance of the European Championship at a WrestleMania.

During the previous year’s event, the European Championship was awkwardly tied up in the Tag Title bout of Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart vs. Vader and Mankind; with the British Bulldog being a dual champion at the time. As such it wasn’t until the 1998 edition of “the show of shows” that the European Championship would get its first official outing under the bright lights of WrestleMania.

With the ’98 edition of the show being dubbed “DX Raided”, the show centred around Steve Austin’s pursuit of Shawn Michaels’ WWF Championship and the ever-present threat of DX’s most dangerous member, “Iron” Mike Tyson. As such, D-Generation X were a key ingredient of the event and the European Championship match between Hart and Triple H was a notable fixture on the card, despite the title’s dip in status since the previous year.

The match itself also marked Triple H’s first real European Championship defence due to a knee injury suffered almost immediately after claiming the strap from Michaels the previous December. During Hunter’s initial title run with the title, Owen had won the strap from Goldust in a bizarre turn of events, whereby Goldust (dressed as Triple H) had served as a substitute and lost the title on Triple H’s behalf.

Ironically enough, Owen himself would soon suffer a leg injury of his own, allowing “The Game” to reclaim the strap once he himself had recovered. Targeting Owen’s weakened ankle, Trips would recapture the Euro gold through referee stoppage in a short, impromptu beating just two weeks before WrestleMania.

Despite being only Triple H’s fifth televised match that year, the title bout that took place was a classic mid-card Mania match. With Chyna handcuffed to Commissioner Slaughter at ringside throughout, the action outside of the ring added another element of intrigue to the action inside; with the threat of outside interference constantly looming.

Despite some great high flying offense from “The King of Harts”, it would not be Owen’s night. Triple H would once again target the injured leg of Owen, slowing down the fast-paced style of the youngest Hart brother. Inevitably, Chyna worked her way free of Slaughter’s restraint by throwing powder in his eyes; allowing her to finally get involved in the match. Thanks to a strong assist from Chyna in the form of a low blow, Triple H walked away the victor, which would prove a pivotal factor in the events of the following night on RAW.

Triple H would lambast Michaels for “dropping the ball” in defeat and subsequently take the reigns as new leader of D-Generation X; immediately recruiting his very own “DX Army” in the form of the returning Sean “X-Pac” Waltman and the New Age Outlaws. Helmsley would continue his reign as champ until July, where he would lose the strap to perennial European Champion, D’Lo Brown.

Owen would continue his feud with WWE’s future COO throughout the first half of 1998, eventually carrying the rivalry over into the subsequent DX/Nation of Domination programme that would follow. However, Owen’s 55 day stint with the title from January to March would prove to be his last singles title; instead opting to once again focus his attention on tag team gold before his untimely death in May of 1999.