10 Times WWE Successfully Recycled Its Own Storylines
6. Disputed
Shawn Michaels was f*cking livid to have failed a drug test in 1993, falling out of favour with WWE in the process and - for the second time in career full of such chicanery - managed to lose a belt without actually having to get pinned for it.
Returning from a suspension in November with a title in tow was extremely shrewd, not least because his real life friend and on-screen enemy Razor Ramon had since won the prize in his absence. A WrestleMania X Ladder Match for both belts was an elegant and exceptional solution to the problem - though the heat was even greater when WWE repeated the spot with a returning CM Punk in 2011.
The two-belts banter is the sort of thing that requires an oddly specific set of circumstances - in both cases here reflective of a title in flux. Ultimately, 'The Voice Of The Voiceless' returned too soon from a self-imposed exile after defeating John Cena at Money In The Bank, but the tension for their SummerSlam title decided was through the roof before Kevin Nash returned and sent Punk's trajectory through the floor with a single Jackknife.