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Post by hijuko on Aug 6, 2022 10:35:24 GMT -5
Only 4 times World Champion of which only 1 month between his return in 2002 and his retirement when he was at his peak. It's little for the greatest legend in wrestling history compared to Randy Orton, 14 times world champion or Goldberg who in all did not even wrestle 2 years at the federation who was 3 times world champion!
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XIII
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by XIII on Aug 6, 2022 10:37:56 GMT -5
Probably because for the bulk of his years at the top he was a drugged out asshole and once he cleaned up and came back he didn’t much care about those things, he was just enjoying himself.
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Post by The Rick Jericho on Aug 6, 2022 10:40:11 GMT -5
Even though he didn't want it.
He should've been WWE champion at least one time during the 2002-2010 run.
Wrestlemania 23 should've been his moment to once again wear that title, 11 years later at the same show.
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Post by Rumble McSkirmish on Aug 6, 2022 10:48:11 GMT -5
For the majority of Shawn's second run (02-10) he simply felt he didn't really need the title and was just content with working his ass off with a lot of different opponents. Hell if Shawn had his way he wouldn't have even gotten that one month World Championship reign as he had to be coaxed into it by HHH and Vince as they wanted a shocking feel good ending to the first Elimination Chamber Match.
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Post by dirtyoldman on Aug 6, 2022 10:48:19 GMT -5
I suppose after his comeback he didn't need a title the same way Jake Roberts didn't, so was no need to rack up the numbers. Also when he was collecting title reigns, it was back in the days were large number of reigns hadn't kicked off yet. I believe he was the third person to become a three time WWF champion (After Hogan and Bret).
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Post by Can you afford to pay me, Gah on Aug 6, 2022 10:58:14 GMT -5
Even though he didn't want it. He should've been WWE champion at least one time during the 2002-2010 run. Wrestlemania 23 should've been his moment to once again wear that title, 11 years later at the same show. This, I would loved to seen HBK get one last run as WWE Champion during that time. The guy thrown banger after banger of matches as champion with a straight head would been awesome to see as a Thank you run.
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Bad Moon
Unicron
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Post by Bad Moon on Aug 6, 2022 10:58:26 GMT -5
The aforementioned drug problems in his prime definitely factored into it, but it was also an era of less title changes generally and especially at the top level. Add to that that he vetoed dropping the title not just to Bret, but also Bulldog, Vader and Shamrock, so no chance for him to rack up more runs with the potential rematches. He probably had a better chance of extending his list of title runs after the comeback, with contemporary top guys then like Cena, Orton, Edge much more likely to get a win over in an extended feud... but then again HBK was in no state to work long-running feuds then, he was already on that Taker schedule, Rumble to Summer Slam and then he's out for the rest of the year.
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Post by GodzillaIsMyMonster on Aug 6, 2022 11:44:30 GMT -5
He also wasn't a draw. Like... he damn near tanked the company.
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fw91
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by fw91 on Aug 6, 2022 12:59:11 GMT -5
The downside of his return was that you’d knew he’d lose any title match he was in, and he was in quite a few of them. There was no suspense. Only time I thought he had a shot was mania 23.
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fw91
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by fw91 on Aug 6, 2022 13:00:34 GMT -5
He also wasn't a draw. Like... he damn near tanked the company. Although that is true, I still insist that 96 was his time. He was gaining momentum in 95 as a face, and nobody else made sense besides maybe Taker.
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Post by GodzillaIsMyMonster on Aug 6, 2022 13:10:47 GMT -5
He also wasn't a draw. Like... he damn near tanked the company. Although that is true, I still insist that 96 was his time. He was gaining momentum in 95 as a face, and nobody else made sense besides maybe Taker. I mean... he was over. But not face of the company over.
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Post by DZ: WF Legacy on Aug 6, 2022 13:13:19 GMT -5
I wish Flair got the WHC (aka modern big gold) one last time, and I wish Shawn had a little run with the WWE title one last time. All accounts were he didn't want it or the pressure of it or something along those lines. But still, a win at the Rumble and carrying it to WM or something would've been cool.
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Aug 6, 2022 13:16:40 GMT -5
He didn't work many house shows during his comeback and back then, they just wouldn't put a title on you if you weren't on the road a ton.
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fw91
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by fw91 on Aug 6, 2022 13:18:19 GMT -5
Although that is true, I still insist that 96 was his time. He was gaining momentum in 95 as a face, and nobody else made sense besides maybe Taker. I mean... he was over. But not face of the company over. no one at the time was.
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Post by GodzillaIsMyMonster on Aug 6, 2022 13:19:21 GMT -5
I mean... he was over. But not face of the company over. no one at the time was. Bret was. Undertaker was.
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fw91
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by fw91 on Aug 6, 2022 13:22:18 GMT -5
Bret was. Undertaker was. Bret was going for a hiatus to film some stuff. Taker could have fit the bill sure, but he was being used to get Mankind over. Shawn fit the best at the time imo.
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Post by GodzillaIsMyMonster on Aug 6, 2022 14:14:24 GMT -5
Bret was. Undertaker was. Bret was going for a hiatus to film some stuff. Taker could have fit the bill sure, but he was being used to get Mankind over. Shawn fit the best at the time imo. Which shows the dire situation that WWF was in.
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MolotovMocktail
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Post by MolotovMocktail on Aug 6, 2022 15:56:00 GMT -5
He also wasn't a draw. Like... he damn near tanked the company. Not his fault. With Bret on hiatus and Undertaker matches up with big generic monsters, he was stuck with the WWF’s lowest talent level. And booking wise, WCW was killing them with the nWo.
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Post by The Summer of Muskrat XVII on Aug 6, 2022 16:05:20 GMT -5
Dude retired the first time 2 years after his first title win, and missed significant time in 97. Wasn’t really a lot of time to give him more title reigns.
And, as others said, he didn’t want the belt during post-return run. I think a big part was not wanting to go on the house show loop, and that was pretty much a requirement back then.
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Post by dirtyoldman on Aug 6, 2022 16:08:57 GMT -5
I do remember being at a house show in Belfast and he smacked a Bret Hart fan in the front row.
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