The History Of The WWE European Championship

X-Pac carried the strap into 1999, by which time he was embroiled in a surprisingly captivating feud with non-wrestler Shane McMahon. Unfortunately, the WWF took it a step too far. In a piece of booking that would eventually set the title back to square one, Shane pinned X-Pac in a Raw tag match which meant that as per pre-match stipulations he became the European Champion. For the next month, Pac and McMahon waged war, with the European Title the focus of their rivalry. As had been the case with D-Lo, the seemingly unworthy champion had actually been a positive for the belt. That all ended on Sunday Night Heat on March 30, 1999, when Shane retired the title, declaring that he wanted to go down in history as an unbeaten champion.

If that had been the end for the European Championship it may not have been so bad; the title probably would have been looked back on with relatively fond memories, despite the brevity of its existence. Alas, that was not how the story ended. In June 1999, lowly Corporate Ministry scrub Mideon––formerly the hapless Phineas Godwinn––found the discarded title in Shane’s duffel bag. Now that he no longer had a use for the Euro strap, Shane was more than happy to gift it to Mideon. It was another nail in the title’s coffin.

Step forward D-Lo Brown again, who returned to the fore at Fully Loaded ’99, defeating Mideon in a horrible match to begin his third run with the gold. Alas, even he was unable to restore the title to its former glories. The floundering belt was further damaged when Brown captured the Intercontinental Title, becoming the first ‘Eurocontinental’ Champion. Grouping the European belt with the far more prestigious IC strap further highlighted that it was an afterthought, a stepping stone title to another stepping stone title.

Jeff Jarrett’s one-day reign––he beat D-Lo to win both titles at SummerSlam––hardly helped. Nor did Jarrett giving away the European belt to Mark Henry the next night on Raw as a thank you for helping him win the IC title. For those keeping score, that was now the fourth time the title had been awarded to someone who had not beaten the champion. It sent a very clear message: the European Title was so worthless that its holders would rather give it away than carry it around.

Henry’s run was also brief, typical of the era, as he lost to Brown at Unforgiven the following month. When the WWF returned to the UK for Rebellion in October 1999, Brown faced IC champ Jeff Jarrett. Logic would dictate that Brown defend the European Title but a coin toss determined that only Jarrett’s IC strap was up for grabs and ‘Double J’ retained.

Then came a sliver of hope. Davey Boy Smith––who had settled his differences with the WWF and returned in late 1999––was thrust into the European Title picture, defeating Brown on SmackDown to become two-time champion. With the British Bulldog back at the helm, things were looking up. Unfortunately, Smith was a shadow of the performer he had been only two years earlier, thanks to an errant landing on a gimmicked WCW ring (a trapdoor had been inserted into the ring to allow The Warrior to magically appear from nowhere) that had briefly left him paralyzed. Bafflingly, the WWF decided to turn Bulldog heel. He was given an Attitude Era makeover, casting off his classic tights and iconic ‘Rule Britannia’ entrance theme in favour of jeans and a generic rock dirge.

The my-turn-your-turn booking of the European Title continued at Armageddon on December 12, 1999, when Val Venis defeated Bulldog and Brown in a triple threat match, the eighth changing of the guard that year. Val enjoyed the longest reign since X-Pac (a heady 58 days), though did not defend the gold on pay-per-view prior to his SmackDown title loss to newcomer Kurt Angle in February. Angle celebrated his win with such gusto that it briefly restored the battered championship’s credibility.

• European championship
• history
• UK championship
• wwe

Share this article with friends