10 WWE Wrestlers Whose Second Run Eclipsed Their First

This inclusion, alluded to briefly in the introduction, may be a contentious one for some fans. After all, Shawn Michaels' first run - ending with that back injury in 1998 - saw him capture the WWE Title three times and headline WrestleMania twice.

In terms of accolades, the second run - between 2002 and 2010 - can't really compare. He only held the World Heavyweight Championship once (for about five minutes), and though he closed out the Show of Shows three times, one of them was in a triple threat, and another - or so we assume - because Triple H got injured.

But that is a crude way of measuring success. If you look to match quality instead, you're likely to reach the opposite view point, particularly when you take stock of the for-the-ages classics he would share with Triple H, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, John Cena and, of course, The Undertaker.

Though HBK had perhaps lost some of his athleticism after returning from four years on the sidelines, he also became a more polished and, importantly, selfless performer - something that helped him put over countless up-and-comers during his time in the upper mid-card.