10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About The World Heavyweight Championship
5. Shawn Michaels Didn't Want To Win It
HBK has gone on record as saying he didn't want the WHC when he won it in 2002.
It was surreal enough to see one of WWE's most loyal Monday Night War stars come out of retirement, but having him raise the old WCW Championship belt was fantasy booking territory.
It's quite simple: HBK didn't want to spend 250+ days on the road every year. Being the face that runs the place meant having extra media responsibilities, travelling the world on the house show circuit, and not having time off. Shawn has said he wanted to do his second run differently, so he could devote as much time as possible to his wife and children. Proving he'd matured while retired, HBK was happy to lose the belt after a month and never win it again.
Good for Shawn, bad for WWE's brand new championship. The second ever holder didn't want it. What a glowing endorsement of the new top prize...
HBK has said that he was given the chance to hold the title numerous times before he retired, but every time he said no. He just wanted to wrestle without the pressure of carrying the company. To be fair, he had a lot issues when he was the face of WWE in the 1990s, so it sounds like a smart decision.