10 WWE Champions Who Hated Their World Title Reigns
5. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels carried WWE as the Champion from 1996-1998, while WWE found itself in the throws of the Monday Night Wars against WCW.
While Michaels remained true to WWE throughout the wars, his time as Champion was marred by personal issues and demons which Michaels later admitted contributed to him "losing his smile." By the end of his title run in 1998, Shawn Michaels needed to step away from the ring so he could tend to personal issues, lingering injuries, and the possibility of retirement.
In Shawn Michaels' book, he admits to being miserable most of the time during his WWE Title reign, revealing that he would travel to Raw already wondering how he could get to the next thing, and the next thing, etc. By his own admission, Shawn Michaels was just going through the motions during his WWE Title run, until he finally left the company for an extended hiatus.