The Biggest Joke Of WWE’s Attitude Era
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The Attitude Era is one of the most celebrated periods of professional wrestling, and certainly the most popular stretch in WWE history, with hugely passionate fans, an obscene amount of star power, and some of the greatest matches and moments of all time. However, not everything was perfect - far from it in fact - with there being a lot of questionable, ridiculous, and completely rubbish content at times. When it comes to titles, the European Championship is one which fans do look back fondly on, but when truly looking at its history, it is among the biggest jokes of the Attitude Era.
The Championship Wasn’t Very “European”, Making Its Name Meaningless
Back in 1997, the European Championship was introduced to WWE, adding another midcard title to the fold alongside the Intercontinental Championship. It had a promising start, as The British Bulldog became the inaugural champion in Germany, with the first champion and the setting of his win living up to the name of the title. However, the “European” aspect of the title died down over time, and in truth, there was very little reason for it to carry this name, and this was the first step in its downfall.
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Over the course of its five-year history and 36 title reigns, just two individuals who held the gold were actually from Europe - those being Bulldog and William Regal. Instead of being a title and division to showcase the best athletes from a certain continent, it just became another belt added to the mix, and was instead held by wrestlers who were from North America mostly. It didn’t help that at times, the belt was used to insult people from Europe too. During Al Snow’s time as champion, he would come out billed as from different parts of Europe and engage in performing stereotypes, which today would not be deemed as politically correct. Instead of encouraging a certain area of the fanbase to watch WWE, they were instead getting alienated.
The WWE European Championship Had Several Poor Reigns And Champions
When it comes to the title, some reigns were simply not good. For instance, one of the worst champions in the title’s history was Mideon, who is renowned for being one of the least talented workers of the Attitude Era, saddled with terrible gimmicks and pushed beyond his capabilities. It didn’t help that his “win” came when he simply found the belt in then-champion Shane McMahon’s bag. McMahon had previously “deactivated” the title due to wanting to retire as an undefeated champion, which of course did no favors for the prestige of the prize.
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Mideon wasn’t the only low-profile champion. With all due respect to their talents, others such as Spike Dudley, The Hurricane, and Val Venis were all champions at some stage. Being lower-card acts, it did often make the belt feel like a lower-card prize and a comedy prop, rather than something to rival the Intercontinental Championship. Sure, there were some high-profile names who are on the list of those to hold the belt, such as former WWE World Champions like Jeff Hardy, Mark Henry, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H, in addition to other talented names like Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett. However, it must be said that “great” European Title reigns came few and far between.
WWE Made A Joke Of The European Title With Terrible Booking Decisions
A big reason as to why this title became such a joke and an afterthought all came down to the booking, and with how WWE handled some title changes. Mideon’s title win was bad enough, but WWE managed to make it feel even more meaningless. For example, when Jeff Jarrett defeated D-Lo Brown to be crowned both European and Intercontinental Champion, he gifted the title to Mark Henry after the event. The fact that Jarrett didn’t care to keep hold of it made it feel unimportant. Also, Owen Hart’s title win came against Goldust, who was dressed as the actual champion, Triple H. Somehow this was deemed as an official defense. RELATED: 10 Amazing WWE Attitude Era Storylines (With One Massive Flaw)
Perhaps the worst point of the European Title’s time in existence was very close to its birth. Shawn Michaels was the second ever champion, and he held it in conjunction with the WWE World Championship. During Sgt Slaughter's time as Raw Commissioner and feud with DX, he booked Michael to defend the title against stablemate Triple H. Michaels simply lay down and allowed Triple H to win. For Michaels to disregard a brand-new title in this way damaged its prestige, setting up years and years worth of poor booking, terrible title changes, and a lack of importance. WWE may try to paint a picture of this being a beloved and important retired title, but it was instead treated as a joke most of the time.
