Ranking EVERY WWE Champion From Worst To Best

13. Shawn Michaels

WWE Champions Ranked
WWE.com

As WWE Champion right as the company was about to glow white hot without him, Shawn Michaels was the man to hand the gold over to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV in one of the only times in his WWE career he’d actually lost a title in the ring. It was a result written in the stars from the moment Michaels controversially recaptured the belt from Bret Hart as result of the Montreal Screwjob the prior November then picked up a serious back injury just two months later, even if wrestling lore has it that Undertaker needed to menacingly tape up his fists backstage to ensure he did the right thing by the new top star.

He’d infamously lost his smile when his second run came to a premature conclusion in 1997. Despite two of his three runs dogged by injuries and politics, he ranks this high thanks to the unbelievable quality of that first one.

Perhaps you had to be there, and not enough people were thanks to a rampaging WCW now powered by the unstoppable force of the New World Order. Taking pride in his position and presumably looking to throw it back in the faces of those that doubted his ability due to middling box offices, Michaels tore it up bell-to-bell. Matches against Davey Boy Smith, Jerry Lawler, Owen Hart, Vader, Steve Austin and Goldust were stellar at a minimum, tags with and matches against Sycho Sid were an unmitigated success, and his defences against Diesel and Mankind at In Your House 7 and 10 respectively were easy Match Of The Year contenders and on a level almost nobody in North America was operating at.

There were countless stones to be thrown at Michaels by the time he actually achieved his “Boyhood Dream”, but none related to just how incredible he was when the bell rang. Like Bret Hart, gate receipts just didn’t support him being the company’s chosen one, but the matches easily, easily stood up for themselves.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett