10 Wrestlers Who DOUBLED DOWN On Legendary Title Reigns

There is an endless supply of wrestlers who've embarked on remarkable runs as champions.

Roman Reigns' current stint as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion has delivered a series of melodramatic title conquests, all while elevating those around him. AJ Styles' second go-around as WWE Champion saw 'The Phenomenal One' back as 'The Phenomenal One' in the same year as his celestial battles over the lesser United States Championship vs. Kevin Owens. Sasha Banks and Bayley's epics over the NXT Women's Championship in 2016 put the title on the map as WWE's premier female title.

On the other side of the fence, in AEW, few title runs have been categorically terrible. Jon Moxley's first World Championship reign was the very definition of legendary, helping maintain AEW's relevancy during the most strenuous of times. Cody Rhodes' inaugural TNT Championship run from the same year embodied a similar quality, his weekly open challenges being a Dynamite highlight. More recently, Jamie Hayter's time as AEW Women's World Champion was killer in spite of her questionable second-place booking to The Outcasts' storyline.

The point is, legendary title runs happen every week in every promotion in every country - and it's been happening for years...

Disputably a better chaser than he was a champion, Shawn Michaels' glut of title victories reads well, his first outing as WWE Champion and third as Intercontinental Champion being of exceptional prestige.

It was as Intercontinental Champion that he passed the threshold into illustriousness. An In Your House classic to lift the title vs. Jeff Jarrett set the tone immediately, while a further epic came at the '95 SummerSlam as, echoing their legendary WrestleMania X outing, Michaels and Razor Ramon contested a Ladder match over the title, reiterating the Intercontinental Championship as WWE's workhorse belt.

Its mediocre length was hampered by Shawn's legitimate injuries, but this freed him up for 'Mania XII, toppling Bret Hart in a most divisive Iron Man match that left you feeling one of two ways:-

1. Like you've just witnessed the greatest pro wrestling spectacle on the pro wrestling spectacle.

2. Bored.

The match that started the reign wasn't for everyone, but the reign itself delighted hardcore wrestling fans (without drawing much). Consummate mini-classics vs. Vader and Sycho Sid are both worth applying modern eyes to. Shawn Michaels took both to their finest match on the WWE stage, all while steering WWE through its most desolate state, re-establishing the WWE Championship as one of the most reputable, and proving himself ultra-special in-ring.

For a few months, the WWE Championship was the workhorse strap, not its Intercontinental cousin.