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The WWE European Championship may have been short-lived but got remembered in high regard. Some fans and critics alike have wished WWE would resurrect the European Championship. Like the Hardcore Championship, there's a level of nostalgia with the European Championship as it was a prominently featured title belt during the Attitude Era. An overwhelming number of superstars held the European Championship at some point. With that said, some may be asking why WWE did away with the European Championship during the early years of the Ruthless Aggression Era and why it never got brought back.
The Importance Of The European Championship
1997 became a monumental year for WWE as changes needed to get made regarding their TV. One of those changes was WWE introducing a new championship belt, the European Championship. Established in February 1997, the British Bulldog went to capture the European Championship in an Inaugural tournament, defeating Owen Hart in the finals. Considering the title belt is named after Europe, the Inaugural tournament got held in Germany.
Much like the United States Championship, WWE has championships representing different parts of the globe. It makes sense considering the WWE is a global company that doesn't get exclusively promoted in the United States.
The European Championship also became an effective way to build up-and-coming superstars for many years. One of the most appealing aspects of the European Championship is that main-event and mid-card level superstars have held the belt. For instance, Shawn Michaels became the first WWE superstar to carry both the WWE Heavyweight Championship and the European Championship, giving it more prestige.
The European Championship may not be on the same level as the Intercontinental Championship. However, it allowed superstars in the Attitude Era to thrive in front of the audience and get taken more seriously.
Superstars Who've Represented The European Championship
So many WWE superstars have a reputation for bringing prestige to the European Championship. For instance, when discussing which superstars have had the most European Championship title reigns, it's a tie between William Regal and D-Lo Brown. D-Lo Brown was a mid-card act, but the European Championship helped him get featured on WWE TV more often. William Regal also became a featured performer on WWE TV when he first won the European Championship in October 2000. Winning the European Championship also added to William Regal's decorated accomplishments in WWE.
Regarding the longest reigning European Champion, The British Bulldog is not only the first superstar to ever hold the European Championship but has the longest reign of 205 days. Being the first European Champion helped The British Bulldog get taken seriously as a singles competitor and The Hart Foundation unit in 1997 that he associated with at the time.
Triple H is another superstar that benefited greatly from winning the European Championship, as it helped him come off as a potential threat. Winning the European Championship on two occasions, as he became the third superstar to win the title, further helped Triple H regarding his credibility as a singles star as he was one of the hottest acts of the Attitude Era not long after.
The Final Days Of The European Championship
There was a time when the European Championship became deactivated after Shane McMahon won it on a February 1999 episode of Raw Is War, only to be revised later that year. On a March 1999 episode of Sunday Night Heat, Shane McMahon retired the belt, only for it to return after he awarded the European Championship to Mideon months later. From that point, it seemed that the European Championship wasn't going anywhere. And for the next three years, WWE continued to utilize the belt by having different superstars hold the European Championship for the next three years.
It wasn't until the launch of the Ruthless Aggression Era that WWE decided to do away with the European Championship permanently. Initially one of the championship belts on the Raw brand, reigning European Champion Jeff Hardy battled Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam in a classic Ladder match on a July 2002 episode of Monday Night Raw. Both belts were on the line as Rob Vam became victorious in that match, unifying the Intercontinental and European Champion. Rob Van Dam became the last superstar to hold the European Championship, as the belt retired again after it unified with the Intercontinental Championship.
The European Championship Made Its Mark
Some have speculated whether or not the European Championship could make a return in modern-day WWE. Whether or not the European Championship makes a comeback, the title made its mark during one of the hottest times in the wrestling industry. The European Championship may never appear on WWE TV again, but its prestige helped create the legends of the past that still get praised to this very day.
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