10 Triple H Orchestrated Championship Screwjobs

Not that ’99 was the first time that Triple H had colluded with Shawn Michaels. Back during that aforementioned DX run, he and his buddy Michaels had worked together to fool Sgt. Slaughter in December of 1997.

Slaughter wasn’t involved in the match per sé, but he was acting as the on-screen commissioner and one who was concerned at Michaels’ lack of defenses as European Champion. So, on the Christmas edition of Raw, Slaughter announced that Michaels would defend his European title against Triple H in a bid to throw a spanner in the works of their budding partnership.

Slaughter had bargained that they’d have to fight one another if booked in a match on national television. What he hadn’t bargained for was Michaels simply laying down for the challenger.

Though the pair had teased a rift earlier in the night, the match itself quickly degenerated, pun fully intended, into something of a shambles. Some pre-match theatrics gave way to Triple H comically running the ropes, before hitting the tamest splash you’ll ever see on Michaels to score the pin. Triple H was crowned the new European Champion while a mockery had been made of Slaughter.