One of the biggest slaps in the face of the European title came in December of 1997. With the champion, Shawn Michaels, running amok alongside Triple H in D-Generation X, Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter thought hed bring the trouble-makers into line by having them face of in a match against one anotherwith the title on the line. In keeping with their unruly ways though, Michaels and Helmsley pulled off the ultimate troll in a contest that can only be described as farcical. After much hesitation, Triple H eventually pushed HBK to the ground, ran the ropes a few times and then pinned his adversary after the worst running splash in WWE history. The theatrics that followedand admittedly the match itselfwere rather entertaining and so typical of D-Generation X. But in the wider scheme of things, their shenanigans did considerable damage to the reputation of the European title at a time when the company should have been protecting the belt, not rendering it worthless. A better course of action might have been to strip Triple H of the title in light of his win; that way DX still get to pull of one of the best trolls in history, while the respect for the title is still maintained. Instead though, the title was made to look like a joke. Laying down for someone in a championship match is the ultimate insult and, as WCW would later find out, makes for a booking decision that is very difficult to recover from.
