Best Of WWE European Title

Degenerate Champions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFFyMvw0100 At a time when Degeneration X just loved messing with the fans, it was Shawn Michaels who took the European title from British Bulldog on his home turf in the UK. The event, "One Night Only" took place in Birmingham, England and remains one of the better shows the WWE have ever done in the country. Michaels put in the heel performance of a lifetime winding up the patriotic crowd into a frenzy as he put the boots to their hero in the evening's main event. After a hard fought battle that lasted over 20 minutes, the interference of DX proved to be decisive. Shawn locked in a Figure Four on the Bulldog, and gained some unfair advantage from his partners on the outside. Bulldog passed out in the hold, giving the win and the European Title to the ever controversial HBK. With the win, Shawn became the first ever Grand Slam Champion, and celebrated his win by putting Bulldog back in the hold, while being pelted with rubbish by the Birmingham crowd. The European title was now attached to the biggest star in the company in Shawn Michaels, who would also go on to win the WWF title from Bret Hart at Survivor Series. Being showcased by the WWF champion gave extra prestige to the European belt; yet again the belt was only sporadically defended. It understandably took a back seat to the world title, but its credibility was dealt another blow when it next changed hands. DX had become public enemy number one in the eyes of then commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. On a Christmassy episode of Raw in December 1997, Slaughter forced the stable mates to face EACH OTHER with Shawn's European title on the line. The degenerates reacted angrily, and fans thought they were finally going to see the two partners fall apart. Instead, DX stuck it to everyone once again, turning the match into a farce. Michaels basically lay down and let HHH pin him, after they theatrically pretended to put on a match. Triple H was the new European champion, profiting from the fact that HBK seemingly didn't care about the belt at all. The belt had been disrespected, but was nonetheless in the hands of a capable wrestler, whose own reign did a fair bit to build the belt up again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVPe5VPLCac After the Montreal Screwjob, Owen was the last remaining member of the Hart Foundation in the WWE and continued on his feud with Triple H. A month into his reign, Triple H was unable to compete in a scheduled match with Owen Hart and was forced to trust a representative. On January 20th, Goldust replaced HHH in a match against Hart, competing in full Triple H gear, with Terri at ringside posing as Chyna. Hart won, and Sgt Slaughter awarded him the European Title, considering Goldust a stand in for Triple H. Two months later, HHH won his title back on Raw, after taking advantage of an ankle injury sustained by Hart. After trading the title back and forth, the stage was set for Wrestlemania 14 for the most high profile European Title match yet. Getting involved again, Sgt. Slaughter insisted on fulfilling his deepest desires and handcuffed himself to Chyna at ringside. She and the Sarge played tug of war the whole match, which was thankfully the only thing they tugged. To further stack the deck against Owen in his seventh Wrestlemania, he was still carrying his ankle injury. Despite Slaughter's best interests, Chyna was still the difference maker. After a decent ten minutes of action, Chyna somehow got away from Sarge to help Triple H into the ropes off a sharpshooter. Then, somehow Slaughter didn't notice her taking out a handful of powder, which he deservedly got in the eyes for being so oblivious. One low blow later and Owen fell to a Pedigree, saving the European Title for Triple H and leaving with Sarge with flour on his face. Wouldn't be the first time someone was left with a face full in a scenario with Chyna and some handcuffs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8pWh0dpxGQ