10 WWE Champions That Completely Buried Their Challengers
8. Shawn Michaels (Challenger: Vader)
Poor Vader.
Stripped of his aura a year earlier by Hulk Hogan in WCW, the former sh*tkicker was left swimming through more of the brown stuff after his surprising switch north quickly went south in 1996.
Destined for a run at Vince McMahon's top title following a spirited debut at that year's Royal Rumble and a series of dominant displays in his feud with former company behemoth Yokozuna, Vader was primed to steamroll over WWE Champion Shawn Michaels in a feud following a surprising pinfall victory at July's 'International Incident' In Your House.
His SummerSlam loss the following month was always on the cards, but a couple of ugly mid-match tantrums from Michaels on the August supercard foreshadowed an early end to their conflict and the 'Mastodon's spot eventually being lost to Sycho Sid instead.
Whilst excellent on the night, their bout lacked a touch of the chemistry Michaels' had exhibited with others that year and played into rumoured issues between the pair following some unpleasantness around their house show tune-ups. After 'HBK' threatened Vader's very employment with the organisation following a stiff shot/blown spot too many, the neutered monster's rage simmered substantially. An November shoulder injury wrote him out of any future main events with Michaels - only The Undertaker and Bret Hart from the upper echelon were overly gracious to his cause upon his return.