10 Wrestlers Who Didn't Know What To Do With Title Belts

6. Shawn Michaels (European Championship)

Ken Shamrock Triple H
WWE

If you're of a certain age, thinking of Shawn Michaels' relatively brief stint with the European Championship in late-1997 is enough to make you seethe for longer than it took for 'HBK' himself to get bored of the belt.

Michaels was calling the tertiary title a "piece of tin" on television just days removed from talking Vince McMahon into going over Davey Boy Smith in England long after the British Bulldog had dedicated the match to his terminally ill sister. Convincing the Chairman that it'd get great heat and tee up a rematch in Manchester the following April, Michaels got what he wanted yet again before predictably moving right past that old toy and onto the next one.

Handing it off to Chyna half the time before almost literally doing the same in a pantomime job to best friend Triple H in December, Michaels' disdain for the strap completely devalued a prize that was still in its infancy. This was irrelevant to 'The Heartbreak Kid' - he'd avoided getting pinned once again, and that's all that mattered.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett