18 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Shawn Michaels

In February of 1997, WWE created a brand-new championship - the European Title. The belt was up for grabs in a tournament, and it was "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith - one of the most beloved European stars in company history - who became the inaugural champion.

Even though Smith was a heel, his position in the anti-American Hart Foundation ensured that outside of the country, he was treated like a hero. In September of 1997, WWE ran its first-ever UK-exclusive Pay-Per-View, with a main event of Smith defending the European Championship against Shawn Michaels. Naturally, as the hometown hero, Smith was the huge favorite. He dedicated the match to his sister, who was suffering from cancer.

Clearly, Smith thought he was meant to win the bout, but when he was actually at the show, he was told that Michaels was going over. Many suspect that HBK pulled a last-minute political maneuver to avoid doing the job, and in his autobiography, Bret Hart detailed just how crushed Smith and his sister were after the bout.

Michaels, for his part, has always defended "the company's" decision to have him go over, claiming that they were planning on building to an even larger rematch on UK soil. Since Smith left WWE along with Bret in November, that bout never happened.