SummerSlam for the ages?

We are about a week into what WWE has called the New Era and it's been some ride already. We had the draft almost 2 weeks ago and this was the first week where both shows got to showcase their roster and why their show is the A Show. Raw instantly made major impacts as two NXT alumni were able to usher in the New Era the proper way. Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon announced that 8 stars would compete for a chance to face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for Raw's new World Title, The Universal Title. At first, I hated the name of it but as I began to think about it, it made sense. Not only is it a play at the WWE Universe that WWE just oh so loves saying so much, it opens up the title to all stars. For example, you remember when Rey Mysterio won the World Heavyweight Title and they began to refer to it as simply the World Championship? There is no need for that anymore as any one from an weight class will be able to win it as it is UNIVERSAL. That's very important as Raw will be hosting the Crusierweight Division in the future, probably shortly after the conclusion of the Crusierweight Class, which by the way is fantastic!

Anyway, 8 of Raw's top stars got the nod and they announced two Fatal Four Ways would take place while the winners of both would face each other in the main event for the chance to face Rollins. One match saw Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Rusev and making his Raw and WWE main roster debut, Finn Balor compete and the other featured ROMAN REIGNS, Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn and Sheamus. With Rollins being a heel, it was obvious that a face was going to win. Finn Balor was able to win his match while, surprise surprise, Roman Reigns won his match. It looked like the obvious match was set; Seth Rollins VS Roman Reigns in a rematch from Money in the Bank right? Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong!

Please tell me someone remembers this...

Yes, in a major shocker, Finn Balor defeated Roman Reigns in his Raw debut to get the opportunity to face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for the new Universal Title. So, Reigns is really in trouble for that whole suspension thing huh? Is it that or the fact that Balor is a Triple H guy? Regardless of the reason, two former NXT Champions, possibly the two greatest, will battle for WWE's new World Title at one of the biggest PPVs of the year. I got goosebumps just typing that.

Sasha Banks tapped out Charlotte at Battleground during their tag team match, which featured the main roster debut/one off appearance of Bayley! That was an awesome moment. Due to that fact, Sasha finally got her first one on one title match since being on the main roster. In a classic match, Sasha was able to finally achieve her dream and defeated Charlotte to become the 2nd WWE Women's Champion. I clapped, I screamed, I almost cried. Sasha for the 2nd time in her career took a title off of Charlotte. It was a special moment that made the first Raw of the New Era so special. Byron Saxton made the moment even better by calling her the first new champion of the New Era. Sasha's promo afterwards made me swell up with joy. She said, "This is the era of The Boss! This is the era of change! This is the era of women's wrestling!" Just an amazing moment for here. That was then followed by a video of her Facetiming Bayley as the two gushed over the title win. It's only a matter of time before those two tear the roof off whatever arena, or better yet, stadium, they perform at. There was a rumor going around that Bayley and Sasha would wrestle against each other at Wrestlemania 33 which would make a whole lot of sense, seeing how it's in Orlando AKA close to where they both started at NXT. It's one of those poetic moments that WWE sometimes can pull of, like the NXT Women's Title match from Takeover Brooklyn. Anyway, it was a great match, a great moment and a great sign of things to come. The rematch is set for SummerSlam so Raw has two blockbuster matches on their part.

Smackdown's show was...ehhhh. My biggest gripe was that they didn't feature American Alpha, or any tag team they drafted. No, rather, they focused on who would challenge Dean Ambrose next at SummerSlam. Shane and Daniel Bryan went the multiple guys route as well and did a 6 pack challenge featuring John Cena, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt and a 6 man to be determined by whoever won a battle royal, which Apollo Crews ended up winning. With Cena and Styles in the match, it looked like their second one on one battle would have to wait. Right? RIGHT? Please see the above gif of Edge for the answer. In another MAJOR shocker, Dolph Ziggler was able to win the match by pinning AJ STYLES of all people to advance to SummerSlam. First off, what year is it? Secondly, how awesome would a Styles/Ziggler feud be? Finally, WHAT?!? Dolph Ziggler, the guy who's been losing to Baron Corbin for the first half of the year, is facing Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title at SummerSlam? AT SUMMERSLAM?!?! Now, I think the match will be good and it's definitely a bold move but don't you think they could have waited until Backlash for this match? Or add either Cena and Styles to the match, you know, for star power? Let's be real though, they don't want any match on the card to overshadow their main event of Brock Lesnar VS Randy Orton. I hope Ziggler turns heel and wins the title because I'm kind of bored of good guy Dean already. That would change if he's the one to turn but I digress. Ziggler/Ambrose should be a fantastic match for the title. 

So, currently, the SummerSlam card featured Orton/Lesnar, Balor/Rollins, Ambrose/Ziggler and Sasha/Charlotte. The show already features a strong NXT following. I'm guessing Gallows/Anderson VS The New Day will be added but what else? Some kind of multi women match from Smackdown will make it. Styles/Cena II is definitely going to happen, maybe a #1 contender's match. Roman Reigns has to do something. Put him with Kevin Owens. He has nothing to do and the match would be pretty awesome. To be honest, I think Reigns could also face Braun Strowman because you know, he's on his own and WWE is still looking to push Strowman because Vince has a hard on for him. OK, maybe not here but before the end of the year. Miz will defend against Apollo Crews probably. Give the guy something to do. As far as other stars, not sure yet but this is what I got so far...

Orton/Lesnar

Balor/Rollins

Ambrose/Ziggler

Sasha/Charlotte

Cena/Styles II

Club/New Day

Crews/Miz

Reigns/Owens or Strowman

It's a four (probably four and a half) hour show so they have to do more matches than that. This show could be really amazing, just based on the first five matches I listed. If WWE can do this right, they will have an amazing show that will dictate the future of the New Era. I certainly can't wait to see this show. Also, Takeover Brooklyn II obviously with the mega main event of Samoa Joe VS Shinsuke Nakamura!

It's going to be a fantastic wrestling weekend in three weeks!

Battleground 2016 Predictions

Battleground has the unfortunate place as taking place after the draft and before SummerSlam. It's simply the aftermath of a big event and the springboard to the biggest event of the summer. There's a lot of odd booking choices but it does have a huge main event almost 4 years in the making and another great match in a lifelong series. I'm only going to really talk about the major matches in detail.

Let's see...both midcard titles are being defended and it's against unlikely challengers. Miz defends against Darren Young while Rusev defends against Zack Ryder. Interesting choices to the say the least. It's funny when you have guys like Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin doing nothing while two guys from a past generation are getting shots. With Rusev and Young on Raw and Miz and Ryder on Smackdown, there could be some serious changes. The titles could end up switching shows by the night's end. It's safe to say that whichever match goes on first will reveal the ending of the other match. For example, if Young somehow beats Miz then Ryder will definitely beat Rusev, just so both shows have a mid card title. That being said, I expect both champions to retain. Miz will go onto feud with Crews, Ryder and/or Ziggler while Rusev will feud with Young, Zayn or Cesaro.

Two major six man tag matches will take place as well. The now AJ Styles-less Club will face John Cena, Enzo and Cass while The Wyatt Family will face The New Day. Both The Club and The Wyatt Family were split in the draft as Styles is alone on Smackdown and Braun Strowman is alone on Raw. With Balor on Raw with Gallows and Anderson, it's only a matter of time before The Club becomes The Balor Club right? Bray Wyatt on his own and with a smaller roster might finally mean he'll be in the title picture but with mega star John Cena, Randy Orton and AJ Styles on the brand, it's still going to be a struggle. Cena and his team will win as Cena and Styles will have the big rematch at SummerSlam, like they should and I think The Wyatt Family was going to win to set up a title match in the future but does anyone really want Wyatt and Rowan as champions? No? Face teams win.

Two women's matches will take place as Becky Lynch will face Natayla and Charlotte gets another free pass to continue her reign as champion as she teams with Dana Brooke to face Sasha Banks and a partner of her choosing. Both women's matches are very intriguing. Becky and Nattie will have one of the better matches of the night if they give it enough time. Both are amazing in ring competitors and will shine in this match. In the tag match, everyone is asking the question; just who could Sasha get to compete with her? Everyone is clamoring for Bayley to finally make her main roster debut as she's still apart of the NXT brand and wasn't drafted. I personally thought it was going to be Nikki Bella, who's been battling with an injury lately and trying to get back into ring shape. The only other choice would be Nia Jax but going by NXT, she's heel. There's no reason to join Sasha. Regardless of her partner, Sasha will get the victory over Charlotte to set up the title match at SummerSlam. Becky and Nattie are both on Smackdown so I think Nattie will pick up the first victory here to begin a tense feud. The women's division on both shows is pretty awesome. Alexa Bliss and Carmella will eventually join the fray and change the game for Smackdown but anyway, Natalya will win and Sasha and her partner, I'm going to say Nikki Bella, will win.

The last two matches are what the entire show is built around. The first is a match between life time rivals Kevin Owes and Sami Zayn. The main event is the match almost four years in the making. Dean Ambrose will defend the WWE Title against former Shield brethren Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. First, the match between Zayn and Owens will be violent and probably one the show is remembered for. Zayn hasn't gotten a win over Owens under the WWE umbrella yet so it's obvious Zayn is going to go over here. The title match, not so much. Ambrose is the WWE Champion and on Smackdown while Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are over on Raw. Ambrose having a long run with the title doesn't seem likely and with Ambrose on the same brand as Cena, Styles and Orton, I just don't see Ambrose as the champion of the show. I'm fine with it but the way WWE has portrayed Smackdonw already, it doesn't seem likely. On the other hand, if Ambrose doesn't win, you'd be giving either Reigns his 4th reign or Rollins his 3rd reign. That's a lot for so early in their careers. I just don't see the top title on the so called B show. I'd love to see it but there's just too many stars on Raw for that. Raw didn't draft Seth Rollins first for nothing. It will be a great show but I think Rollins will regain the title and build toward a program with either Reigns, Zayn or yes, Finn Balor. So, the big winners from the main events matches will be Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins.

This is the prelude to the entire New Era. Let's see how they build toward SummerSlam

WWE Draft Reaction

The draft has concluded and the rosters are set. I'm not going to go over every single draft pick but let's get the bullet points.

-The first two draft picks were obvious; Seth Rollins for Raw and Dean Ambrose for Smackdown. They were followed by Charlotte for Raw, AJ Styles for Smackdown and Finn Balor for Raw. That's an interesting top 5. They all represent the direction the company is heading for towards. It was refreshing to see Cena have to wait until the 2nd round to be drafted.

-Champions are as followed: Raw has the US Champion Rusev, Women's Champion Charlotte and WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day. They will probably be getting a Crusierweight Championship eventually if they're bringing the division back right?  Smackdown has the WWE Champion Dean Ambrose and Intercontinental Champion The Miz. This can ALL change come Sunday. Reigns and Rollins are on Raw so the WWE Title can change shows. Both mid card titles could change as both champions and challengers are on different shows. Rusev on Raw, Ryder on Smackdown and Miz on Smackdown, Young on Raw. We won't truly know what champions are on which shows until AFTER Battleground on Sunday.

-NXT wasn't raided as previously thought and though 6 picks were taken, the roster is still in tact. Finn Balor will finally make his way to the main roster as he is going to Raw. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan will be heading to Smackdown. Nia Jax is going to Raw with other NXT alumni Charlotte, Sasha and Dana Brooke. The final three from NXT are all heading to Smackdown and they are Alexa Bliss, Carmella and Mojo Rawley. NXT still has Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, Hideo Itami, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Bayley and Asuka in their ranks. Not to mention Gargano and Ciampa and The Revival, who I just knew were going to be called up. Balor and American Alpha were the two picks everyone predicted but where was Baylet? They still haven't announced Sasha's mystery partner and it just might be Bayley. Or it could be Nikki Bella.

-Raw just became Monday Night NXT as Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Neville and Finn Balor are all on the show, Not to mention Enzo and Cass and all the women! Styles is on Smackdown while Anderson and Gallows is on Raw, which officially ends Styles' Club on Sunday but with Balor on Raw, I think we'll be seeing a new Club very soon. And WWE may have just starting building to a mega dream match of AJ Styles VS Finn Balor for Wrestlemania 33. Orton and Lesnar are on separate shows so right now, that will be the first inter-promotional match in this version of the WWE Brand Split. I believe Balor and Neville will be the faces of the Crusierweight Division on Raw, with Balor using that as a springboard to the main title picture. Braun Strowman is by himself on Raw. He will be a monster there and will take over the position Big Show and Kane had for many years. Expect a Reigns/Strowman feud for Raw.

The Draft certainly shook things up for the WWE. On Raw, it's basically all the hot new faces. Reigns and Rollins have plenty of guys to feud with. Balor alone makes Raw must see. They also have a heft number of women on the show and with three hours of TV a week, that makes for longer TV matches, And whenever the Crusierweight Division does make its debut on the show, it's going to be on and popping for the brand. Smackdown has John Cena and Randy Orton on the same brand, along with AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt and current WWE Champion Dean Ambrose. If Ambrose doesn't survive the weekend as champion, I see Styles and Cena in the main event of SummerSlam for a new World Title. Other than that, Smackdown looks good. American Alpha VS The Usos should be something special while they have a nice amount of women talent on the show as well. Hopefully they beef up the main event players on the show and all future NXT call ups go to Smackdown.

Good draft, can't wait until Sunday!

Top 50 Favorite Title Changes

For your viewing convenience, here's ALL 50 of my favorite title changes in one massive post! Enjoy!

50. Tetsuya Naito wins the IWGP Heavyweight Title - Invasion Attack 2016

We start the list with the only pick from New Japan Pro Wrestling and it's the most recent title change on the list. For those of you who don't know, Tetsuya Naito is a heel leader of the group Los Ingobernables De Japon which I believe translates to the Ungovernables from Japan, I don't know. It also features ROH World Champion Jay Lethal on a part time basis. Anyway, the group is responsible for getting Naito over as a villain after failing to connect with the fans as a face. NJPW is an amazing company with great talent and it shows after WWE took four of their big stars in the beginning of the year. With top single stars like AJ and Nakamura gone, NJPW had to look to Naito to build as a top star and establish him as the top heel in NJPW. Naito won the New Japan Cup and earned a title shot against Kazuchika Okada. After a great match and some interference from Sanada from TNA, Naito was able to capture the top prize of NJPW. After the match, Naito did something so amazing; he threw his newly won prize in the air and walked out the ring.

Heel status over 9000. Seriously, who does that? It was awesome to see Naito finally win the IWGP Heavyweight Title, especially after being rejected by the NJPW crowds a couple years ago. Turning a star heel is sometimes the best option. You hear that WWE? TURN ROMAN HEEL.

How long before Naito and Omega clash?

49. Team Hell No win the WWE Tag Team Titles – Night of Champions 2012

Kane is no stranger to having weird tag team partners. This is the guy who has won the tag titles with Mankind, X-Pac and The Hurricane. His strangest pairing would come with Daniel Bryan. The two were paired together by then Raw GM AJ Lee and they would be put together in anger management classes to work out their issues. Though they were dysfunctional, they were able to become #1 contenders for the tag titles and at Night of Champions 2012, they were able to capture the titles after some miscommunication between the two. The team were very popular with the fans and it definitely launched Daniel Bryan into super stardom. They were also very entertaining to watch and held the titles for a long time. Kane and Bryan clicked and their title win was a breath of fresh air to the stagnant division.

48. AJ Lee wins the Divas Title – Payback 2013

The Divas division has definitely struggled since the days of Lita and Trish Stratus but many hoped, like myself, that change would be coming to division, especially with WWE signing some great talent to their developmental brand. My favorite Diva at the time was definitely AJ Lee but she never really wrestled and was used for the GM and manager role. She finally became the #1 contender for the title in 2013 which led to a great match with real life best friend Kaitlyn at Payback. AJ made Kaitlyn tap to capture her first Divas Title. She would win the title two more times but her reign here was her longest and is the 2nd longest in history. As a fan of AJ, I put this on the list because it was awesome to finally see her win the title. It also meant that change could be coming soon for the division, which it eventually did a couple years later.

47. Brock Lesnar wins the WWE World Heavyweight Title – SummerSlam 2014

Though it wasn't coined until Wrestlemania, this was the start of Suplex City and it was its most vicious here. John Cena was in the midst of his 15th reign as WWE Champion and The Authority wasn't happy about it and wanted to end it, so they sent in the mercenary Brock Lesnar to end the reign. This match was something to watch. John Cena would always get destroyed in his matches but he would always come back and win. It wasn't the case here. Lesnar threw Cena around the ring like he was nothing and managed to hit him with SIXTEEN SUPLEXES. That is ridiculous. John Cena was essentially squashed in the main event of SummerSlam. As a fan, it was refreshing to see Lesnar do this, get revenge from his Extreme Rules 2012 loss and hold a title he hadn't held in 10 years. 

46. Chris Jericho wins the Intercontinental Title – Extreme Rules 2009

You could argue that Chris Jericho could be the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time if reigns alone meant anything. No one comes close to Jericho's then 8 reigns as champion. Jericho was in the middle of a great feud with Rey Mysterio that led to a series of matches for the IC Title. Mysterio had beaten Jericho at Judgment Day and the rematch was set for Extreme Rules 2009. Jericho had to use some underhanded tactics and while Rey was prepping the 619, Jericho snatched off Mysterio's mask and rolled him up to win his 9th Intercontinental Championship. The next most reigns is 6 which RVD and Jeff Jarrett share the record for. Jericho owns the IC Title and not only was this a great match but it was a classic heel way to win the title. Bravo Jericho.

45. Triple H and Stone Cold win the World Tag Team Titles – Backlash 2001

Stone Cold and Triple H were bitter enemies after The Game was revealed as being the mastermind behind running over Austin in 2000. To think the two could become allies was insane, but that's exactly what happened on the Raw following Wrestlemania 17. Stone Cold had just turned heel and needed to solidify his villain status. WWE decided to pair him with Triple H, who had been WWE's top heel for well over a year now. Stone Cold had already won the WWE Title at Mania while Triple H captured the IC Title during this time as well. It all came down to a huge winner take all match at Backlash where they faced Kane and Undertaker for their tag team titles. In true Attitude Era fashion, there was plenty of interference and in the end, The Two Man Power Trip were able to walk out with all the gold. It didn't last long because of Triple H''s legit quad injury but it was nice while it lasted.

44. John Cena wins the WWE Title – Wrestlemania 29

John Cena had a horrible year heading into Wrestlemania 29, which all started the year before at Wrestlemania 28. He lost his mega match against The Rock, he was beaten by the GM, and failed to capture the WWE Championship despite numerous attempts. It was the worse year in the history of John Cena. It all changed when he won the 2013 Royal Rumble though and WWE started to build on the rematch between Cena and The Rock. Cena said he needed redemption from WM28 and made it his mission to get it and the title. At Wrestlemania 29, Cena was able to get his redemption when he defeated The Rock and win the WWE Championship. He broke his previous record of 10 and became an 11 time WWE champion, 13 time overall with his two World Heavyweight title reigns. I'm not a fan of Cena but I desperately wanted anyone to take the title off of The Rock. After his year, Cena deserved the title and it was a great passing of the torch moment that should have happened the previous year.

43. Randy Orton wins the WWE Title – Backlash 2009

Before I talk about this one, let's be clear; Randy Orton should have won the title at Wrestlemania 25. He didn't though because, yeah, so Orton got another shot at Backlash 2009. This time though, it was going to be a 6 man tag, with the rule being if Orton's team won, he would become WWE Champion. There was also a rule in place if Triple H's team was DQed, Orton would be awarded the title. After some miscommunication between Triple H and his teammate Batista, Orton struck with a RKO and a Punt to win his 3rd WWE Title. It's ironic that at Backlash 2008, Triple H was the one who ended Orton's reign as WWE Champion so everything came full circle. I was a huge Orton fan during this time and I marked hard for one. This wouldn't be the last time he won the title either.

42. Triple H wins the WWE Title – Royal Rumble 2016

As the Royal Rumble drew near and many of the top stars injured, it was looking more and more likely that Roman Reigns was going to finally face Triple H for the title. The only thing was that Triple H wasn't on TV for a month after Reigns destroyed him at TLC 2015. The Royal Rumble was dubbed One Versus All as Roman Reigns wasn't only #1 but he had to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Title in inside the match, the first time a star had to defend the title inside the match type. At the event, Triple H made his unannounced and expected return when he entered the match at #30. He would then get revenge on Reigns by eliminating him, costing him his title. Triple H would go onto win the match and win his 9th WWE Championship, holding the record for the 2nd most of all time. Combined with his 5 runs with the World Heavyweight Title, Triple H became a 14 time World Champion. It was a predictable ending but to see one of my favorite wrestlers win the title one more time was a dream come true, even if only lasted 70 days.

41. Edge and Christian – Wrestlemania X7

Edge and Christian are the greatest WWE tag team of all time. You cannot tell me otherwise. Pioneers of the tag team ladder match, at the greatest Wrestlemania of all time, E&C were apart of a historic TLC with The Dudleys and The Hardys. E&C had already won the Triangle Ladder match at Wrestlemania 2000 and the first ever TLC match at SummerSlam 2000, already proving their dominance over the two teams. In their 3rd match, it was more of the same as Edge and Christian were able to overcome the odds AGAIN and win their 7th tag team championship together. 7 different times these two were able to hold the gold together. That's unprecedented. Their victory here would only further their claim as the top tag team in the WWE and it's hard to argue that they weren't. E&C are my favorite tag team of all time and them winning the titles here earned their spot on the list.

40. Bobby Roode wins TNA World Title – Impact 2011

Bobby Roode screams a main event player. From his look, his gimmick and his in ring work, everything about him says he's a main event player. Roode was never pushed as a singles star, that was until they started the Bound for Glory series. This is a tournament where the winner is granted a title shot at TNA's biggest event, Bound for Glory. Despite all the plans being laid in front of them, TNA didn't pull the trigger and Roode lost in his opportunity against Kurt Angle. You know who did defeat Angle for the title? Roode's tag team partner, James Storm. Roode won another match to become #1 contender to his partner's title. During the match, Roode cheated to win and turned heel in the process. This would lead to Roode becoming the top guy in TNA and he also had the longest reign in the title's history. Roode is a freaking star and this was the start of his ascension to the top. Hopefully, this isn't the last time we'll see him win World Title gold.

39. Austin Aries wins TNA World Title– Destination X 2012

Another star in TNA deserving to win the World Title was Austin Aries, who was absolutely dominating the X Division. His dominance over the division caused caused him to issue a challenge for the top prize in TNA. Hulk Hogan, the authority figure in 2012, agreed but Aries had to give up the X Division Title, which he had held the longest in the history of the company. Aries would agree, only if in the future, when Destination X comes around, that whoever holds the X Division Title will be able to cash it in for a World Title opportunity. This is called Option C and it also gave long time TNA original Chris Sabin his first World Title reign as well. (Sabin isn't on this list, sorry) At Destination X, Aries' gamble paid off and he ended Roode's recording setting reign. It was awesome to see. Aries is another indie darling so it was great to see him get what was coming to him. As with Roode, I can only hope this isn't the last time we'll see Aries holding a World Title.

38. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro win the WWE Tag Team Titles – Fast Lane 2015

Sometimes, WWE will pair together two extremely talented guys and push them as a tag team when they don't have anything singles wise planned for them. Edge and Jericho and Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre are just two off the top of my head. In 2014, WWE may have put together the best combination of guys. Cesaro is probably the hardest in ring worker in WWE while Tyson Kidd is the most underrated star the company has. When this two tagged together, they just clicked and had instant chemistry. WWE knew what they had so on Kidd and Cesaro's first attempt, they were able to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles from The Usos. It made sense as the team was a wrestling's fan dream and it was a good way to give both guys something to do. It also helped Cesaro get more exposure and he was able to thrive in late 2015. Time will only tell what it will do for Kidd, who is currently still battling his neck injury. Regardless, this was a great title win for two guys who definitely deserved it.

37. Bad News Barrett wins the Intercontinental Title – Extreme Rules 2014

It's no secret that Wade Barrett is one of my favorite stars in WWE. Well, was as he was recently released. I always felt he he was better than what WWE was giving him. The Raw after Wrestlemania 30, Barrett returned to in ring performance as Bad News Barrett and as expected from the crowd, he was greeted with a hero's welcome. This would propel him to winning a tournament to determine the #1 contender for the IC Title that was currently held by Big E. Barrett made the most of his opportunity as he was able to beat Big E and win his fourth Intercontinental Championship. Though this was his fourth reign as IC Champ, it was a rejuvenating win and sparked a resurgence for Barrett. Barrett would get injured and have to relinquish the title and I think this was the final nail in the coffin for his career. I'll always question what if with Barrett but his title win here was a beacon of hope for his career.

36. Chris Jericho wins the World Heavyweight Title – Elimination Chamber 2010

Heading into 2010, the main event for Wrestlemania was pretty much set as the world wanted to see the ultimate rematch between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. The Undertaker was World Champion at the the time so the match looked like it could be for the title. That was until Edge made his return at Royal Rumble and won. Jericho and Edge had a history and Jericho blamed Edge for the fall of their team. Edge also eliminated Jericho from the Royal Rumble match. A Jericho/Edge match at Mania seemed likely, which could only happen if Jericho was World Champion. He got his chance inside the Elimination Chamber PPV right before Mania. Jericho and Taker were the last two inside the Chamber. As Taker was about to put away Jericho, HBK pulled away a part of the Chamber to sneak in and gave Taker the Sweet Chin Music. Jericho took advantage to win his 6th World Title. It was expected and it made things fall into place for the big event. I always like seeing Jericho as champion and this is another good one from the best in the world at everything he does.

35. Roman Reigns wins the WWE Title – Raw 2015

Roman Reigns had such a crazy 2015. He was prime picked to be the next top star of the company. To do that, Reigns was going to challenge the unstoppable Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, conquer the conqueror and look like a major hero. It didn't exactly go as planned as during one of the key moments in this plan, the Royal Rumble victory, the crowd turned on Reigns. HARD. Philadelphia destroyed Reigns and the entire Rumble match after Daniel Bryan got eliminated early. Reigns won the Rumble but didn't walk out of Mania as champion and spent the year fighting to get the opportunity again. He won the title at Survivor Series only to lose it minutes later to Sheamus as he cashed in the Money in the Bank contract. Reigns lost his rematch at TLC and goaded Vince McMahon in giving him one last opportunity on the Raw following TLC, with the caveat being that if Reigns lost, he was going to be fired. Oh, did I mention this Raw was in Philadelphia, the same place where Reigns' 2015 began? Reigns was able to overcome the odds and won the title, much to the delight of the Philadelphia crowd. It was awesome to see live and even better to see things come full circle for Reigns. Obviously, it didn't last long but to see the year long journey finally culminate and hear the crowd behind Reigns was great.  

34. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton win the WWE Title - SummerSlam 2013

The summer of 2013 belonged to Daniel Bryan as his popularity was through the roof. The Yes chants were getting ridiculous at this point and WWE knew they had to capitalize on it. When MITB 2013 came around, we all thought Bryan was going to win the briefcase again and cash in at SummerSlam for a big time coming out match against John Cena. That wasn't the case at Randy Orton was able to grab the briefcase. John Cena was able to pick his opponent for SummerSlam 2013 and to worldwide acclaim, he chose Daniel Bryan. The build for the match was great with Bryan calling out Cena for not being in WWE for the wrestling but the entertainment and he even made a parody shirt of Cena. SummerSlam came around and Bryan and Cena had an amazing match, which saw Cena take a rare clean loss and Bryan was able to capture the WWE Championship for the first time, his 2nd World Title overall. It was a great moment of hard working coming to fruition. It didn't last long as Randy Orton came out and teased his MITB cash in. As he was walking away, the special referee Triple H turned heel and gave Bryan a Pedigree, allowing Orton to successfully cash in and become WWE Champion for the 7th time, becoming a 10 time World Champion overall. It successfully did two things. One, make Triple H and Orton the top heels and two, make Bryan the ultimate underdog. It also gave the title picture a fresh change outside of John Cena and a truly great story that played out from SummerSlam to Wrestlemania 30. That title change will be talked about later but here at SummerSlam 2013, it was awesome to see not only Bryan get his moment but also to see Triple H and Randy Orton on the same page again.

33. John Cena wins the United States Title – Wrestlemania 31

Usually, when John Cena wins a title, I either don't care or dislike it. This is my favorite title win for Cena. It was reported in 2015 that WWE wanted to elevate the mid card titles. To do this, they were going to have main eventers hold onto the titles, with Daniel Bryan with the IC Title and John Cena with the US Title. Rusev was the current US Champion and undefeated for just about a year. Not for much longer! Rusev got the first win at Fast Lane 2015 thanks to some dirty tactics. At Wrestlemania 31, Rusev couldn't overcome the odds and John Cena was able to win the Unite States Title for the fourth time, the first time he held the title in 10 years. For this title change, it's not so much about the actual win, it was about what followed. John Cena started to defend the title on a weekly basis against random superstars, starting off with a great match Dean Ambrose and uping the ante each week. He battled Stardust, Wade Barrett, Zack Ryder, Neville, anyone who would step up to the plate. One of the biggest surprises was when Sami Zayn from NXT took on Cena's open challenge and alomst defeated Cena. This would also lead to Kevin Owens coming up to the main roster two weeks later. Cena's win at Wrestlemania helped elevate the title for most of the year. Yes, it went down after Cena lost it to Del Rio, but his win at Mania was one of the best decisions in WWE that year.

32. Cody Rhodes wins the Intercontinental Title – Smackdown 2011

I loved Legacy. It featured Randy Orton with two other superstars who had ties to the business, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. Everyone, including myself, thought that DiBiase was going to be the breakout star of the two and be pushed to the main event. That didn't happen as Cody Rhodes was able to find himself and find a nice little spot on Smackdown, turning into Dashing Cody Rhodes, a guy who was so concerned about his face and basically a narcissist. It did wonders for his career. He would eventually enter a feud with Rey Mysterio and turn into UnDashing Cody Rhodes, who was shell of his former self after being hit in the face by Mysterio. He basically became a super villain and became a top heel on Smackdown. His heel persona was over and he got an IC Title shot on Smackdown in 2011. He made the most of the opportunity and was able to beat then champion Ezekiel Jackson for his first singles title in WWE. Rhodes held the title until Wrestlemania 28 and was able to feud with top star Randy Orton during this period. Along with Wade Barrett, the two were seen as top stars on the brand but we obviously know how that went. Rhodes' win here was great and for me, I felt like it was a sign of the future. It's sad Rhodes didn't go onto to World Title glory but it was amazing to see him get his moment here.

31. New Day wins the WWE Tag Team Titles – SummerSlam 2015

The New Day, heading into 2015, were a failed gimmick. The trio of Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston were not off to a great start as they were met with boos heading into the Royal Rumble. Fans were just not into their whole staying positive, being positive crap. It was generic and a far cry from what it looked like they were going to be when they first came together. They would eventually become heels and things have never been the same. They were able to capture the titles at Extreme Rules 2015 but it was their win at SummerSlam that made much more of an impact. After losing the titles to the Prime Time Players at MITB, they were involved in a Fatal Four Way at SummerSlam with the PTP, The Lucha Dragons and Epico and Primo in their matador gimmick. Thanks to a blind tag, Kofi was able to steal a victory for his team which led to the best celebration in WWE history. This is the only title change on the list where the champions are STILL the champions. They defend the titles on a regular basis and have beaten every team that has stepped in front of them. They are a shining example of a gimmick going sour quick but when given another chance, a HEEL CHANCE, can be really amazing. Heel turns have always done wonders for superstars, Stone Cold, The Rock, Hulk Hogan etc and The New Day proved that the trend is still relevant in 2015 as they are the most over stars in WWE right now. I will now post GIFs of The New Day dancing in various situations. Please enjoy.

What other tag team have gotten Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H to dance? None, that's who!

30. Paige wins the Divas Title – Raw 2014

The Divas division has suffered the most of any division in WWE, mainly because WWE wouldn't take it seriously and all they offer the women were 5 minute matches on all their shows. When NXT had a chance to do a live special on the new WWE Network, they gave time to two women, Emma and Paige as they had a fantastic women's title match, unlike anything seen on the main roster for some years. Paige was seen by many to be a likely savior to the total division and we all anticipated her eventual call-up to the main roster. The Raw after Wrestlemania is a great show where they usually debut talents as the entire world watches that Raw. As then record breaking Divas Champion AJ Lee was talking about her dominance of the division, out of nowhere, Paige came out to congratulate AJ on her win. AJ took this as a threat and told Paige she could have a shot at her title after taking a cheap shot at the upstart. After being locked in AJ's finisher, the Black Widow, Paige reversed into her finisher the Paige Turner and got the shocking upset win and her first of two Divas Title reigns. She was also still the NXT Women's Champion as well and the only champion to not have loss her title as she was stripped of it because she moved to the main roster. Paige winning here was a breath of fresh air to the division and gave hope that WWE were going to finally start making the necessary changes to the women's division. Without Paige first winning here, it's impossible to say if the Sasha, Charlotte and Becky would have been a main event of Wrestlemania two years later. It wasn't the longest title reign but it was one of the most important Divas Title changes in WWE history.

29. Sami Zayn wins the NXT Title – R Evolution

An expected title change doesn't have to be the worse thing. Roman Reigns, I'm looking at you. It can be a very deserving change that should happen. That was the case when Sami Zayn captured the NXT Title. Let's set the stage. Zayn was always the lovable loser of NXT. He had come close to winning the title before but he could never capitalize on the opportunity. Zayn would go on his redemption tour, that's what I call it, as he would try to make his way to becoming NXT Champion. He had to defeat Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd, two guys who had beaten Zayn before in the past and Titus O'Neil, another one of Zayn's conquerors. He got a match with NXT Champion Adrian Neville on a NXT episode and lost after Neville feigned an injury. Zayn was given one more shot and he told everyone is he didn't win, he would leave NXT. Yes, we all knew Zayn was going to win the match but you can't tell me they did a great job at teasing that he wouldn't. There were plenty of close calls, ref bumps and tense moments. Sami Zayn would not be denied as he was able to hit Neville with the Hellvua Kick and got the victory. The feeling in the arena was amazing and it was clearly felt through the TV. The locker room came out to congraulate Zayn and his best friend Kevin Owens, who made his debut earlier in the evening, gave him a big hug. It was such a surreal moment for Zayn as he had finally climbed the mountain top. It was such a deserving title change and it came from a fantastic one on one match between two future stars of the company. I still get goosebumps thinking about this moment.

28. Jeff Hardy wins the TNA World Title – Bound for Glory 2010

The TNA Title is vacant. ALOT. It took two months for TNA to crown a new champion but they did it amazing fashion. There was an eight man tournament for the title but when it came to the semi-finals, Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle wrestled to a draw while Mr. Anderson moved on. To be fair, management added Hardy and Angle to the match, making the triple threat at TNA's biggest event of the year between three former WWE employees. Pro wrestling everybody! Now, Abyss, another TNA wrestler if you don't know, was referring to a secret group called They for months and they would finally reveal themselves in TNA. During the main event, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan came down during a referee bump and and were looking to attack the combatants in the match. Hardy stood his ground with a crutch in his hand and as Angle was getting up, he cracked him with it. Bischoff and Hogan looked on and smiled as he hit Anderson as well. Then a Twist of Fate and Hardy was crowned champion. It was amazing to see. Abyss and Jeff Jarrett came out afterwards and they all joined together. This is how TNA's Immortal started. This was a bold and amazing move in the life of Jeff Hardy. Never having a main event heel run in his life, this was new and bold for him and TNA. Once again, HEEL turns are amazing and while the storyline was bad and it ended bad, like most TNA factions, it still can't overshadow the start of the it all. There's only one TNA Title change that was done better...

27. Sheamus wins the WWE Title - TLC 2009

This is easily one of the most shocking wins on this list. Sheamus was only in the WWE for 5 months before getting a shot at John Cena's title. Sheamus was apart of the WWECW project on Sci-Fi and when he came to Raw, he destroyed Jamie Noble so bad, it forced him to retire. Sheamus would then win a break through battle royal, which featured stars on the roster who had never won a World Title to receive a shot at John Cena's WWE Title. This was done by Raw Guest GM Jesse Ventura, who said he thought there was a conspiracy to keep John Cena as WWE Champion, you know, because he had a conspiracy theory themed show out. The match was going to be a Tables match. Going into it, no one really thought Sheamus would win right? Well, they were all wrong. While Sheamus and Cena were on the top rope, they both fell off, only Cena fell straight through a table. Per the rules, this meant that Sheamus had defeated John Cena and claimed the WWE Championship. WOW, what a break out for Sheamus. He was only apart of WWE TV for 166 days before he captured the championship. I'm all for new guys winning the title but Sheamus' ascension in retrospect, was a little too fast. Regardless, during the time, I was ecstatic that someone new was the WWE Champion, especially if they had defeated John Cena to do it.

26. Jay Lethal wins the ROH World Title – Best in the World 2015

Hey, it's a Ring of Honor title change! I like ROH. I'm not a hardcore fan but I try to watch the big matches when I can. When they announced the best guy in the company, Jay Lethal, would be finally getting a shot at the ROH World Title, I knew I had to watch when I could. Lethal was in the midst of a year long reign with the ROH World Television Title and was claiming he was the top champion in Ring of Honor. This obviously angered the ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe as he's technically the top champ in the business. This would lead to a Winner Take All match at ROH's PPV Best in the World. The winner would take both titles. It was a great main event which featured Briscoe putting Lethal through a table but Lethal would not be denied as he would hit Briscoe with his own finisher and then hit his own Lethal Injection for the three count and history. Lethal became the first man to hold both the ROH World and Television Title and also the first African-American ROH World Champion. It was such a great moment for Lethal as he had proven his worth by defending the TV Title whenever he could and by holding it for so long. This is just a great example of how a midcard champion can make his way to the main event. Lethal is STILL champion today. It's almost been a year. This title change is one of the most deserving on the list.

25. American Alpha wins the NXT Tag Team Titles – Takeover Dallas

I'm not a big fan of the NXT Tag Team division. They have good teams but it just isn't as good as the heavyweight or women's division. It looks like it's trying to make a comeback. Anyway, Jason Jordan has been with NXT from the beginning but unfortunately, with all the added stars of the indies coming into NXT, he's been pushed to the back. I was in the NXT show in Philadelphia when they chanted Jason Jobber to him. They wouldn't give up on Jordan and as he was looking for a tag team partner, he was met by Chad Gable. The crowd couldn't get enough of Gable and and the two were really getting over as a team during the late months of 2015. They had their coming out party during NXT Takeover Respect as the crowd was massively behind them. Eventually, they would go on to defeat just about every former NXT Tag Team Champions on route to NXT Takeover Dallas during Wrestlemania weekend. With a hot crowd solely behind them. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable were able to to capture the titles from Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson. This one is on the list solely for Jason Jordan. I love Gable as well but I'm so happy that Jordan was able to finally become something in NXT after all the years. It really showed how much he cared during his celebration. They are the best tag team going so it only makes sense for them to win here. Excellent title change and certainly deserving for Jordan.

24. Charlotte wins the Divas Title – Night of Champions 2015

Three in a row! Another current champion makes the list! The Divas division has always been in a bit of a funk. Even though Paige won the title a couple of times and had a couple short but great matches with AJ Lee, the division still didn't have the change it deserved. WWE saw the opportunity to try and bump the division up in 2015. With all the female sports stories piling up, WWE took their swing at it by bringing up Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Charlotte from NXT to the main roster. This would start the Divas Revolution, a failed way to launch the Divas division in a new light. It didn't really work and instead of doing three different teams, they should have done all 9 Divas competing against one another for the title. Anyway, it still helped the Divas Division enough to finally get rid of the stupid butterfly title and bring a new title for the ladies to compete for. I'm getting ahead of myself but Charlotte won a Beat the Clock Challenge to earn a shot at Nikki Bella's title. Charlotte wanted to beat Nikki before she broke the longest reign record and she did win the match but it was against Brie as they did a little twin magic. Charlotte got her rematch at Night of Champions and just like how her father won so many titles, Charlotte was able to make Nikki tap out with the Figure 4, or Figure 8, Leg Lock to win her first Divas Title, becoming the second woman to hold both the NXT Women's Title and Divas Title. She would later go on to becoming the first ever WWE Women's Champion at Wrestlemania 32. Charlotte's win here along with the matches she has put on since were one of the reasons she holds the Women's Title today. Her, Sasha, Paige, Becky and definitely Bayley are responsible for breaking down barriers for all the women in WWE. This title win here was very deserving and even a bit emotional as she dedicated it to her late brother and got to share the ring with her father. And when you see what it has led to for the WWE's main roster women, you should see why it's on the list.

23. The whole Shield wins gold – Extreme Rules 2013

The Shield were the most dominant group since Evolution. You can't tell me otherwise. In their debut match, they defeated Daniel Bryan, Kane and Ryback. In their 2nd PPV match, they beat the super team of Sheamus, Ryback and JOHN CENA. You have to remember that Cena was prepping for his rematch with The Rock at Wrestlemania. At the same event, The Shield has a successful debut as they beat Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show. They were unstoppable, destroying everyone in their path. When it finally came time to win some titles, The Shield were also dominant in that. Ambrose pinned the current US Champ Kofi Kingston to earn his shot while Reigns and Rollins had been feuding with Team Hell No since they tried to attack The Undertaker on the Raw after Wrestlemania 29. It all came to a head at Extreme Rules when Ambrose was able to defeat Kofi Kingston to win the US Title while Rollins and Reigns knocked off Team Hell No to win the WWE Tag Team Titles. It was the right move. None of them were ready just yet for the World Title picture so giving the best team in the company all the titles made too much sense. This would also set the careers up for all three men as they would enter plenty of championship pursuits and reigns after this. Rollins and Reigns have both walked out of the Wrestlemania main event at WWE World Heavyweight Champion. That tells you a lot. Great win here for The Shield.

22. Edge and Jericho wins the Unified Tag Titles – The Bash 2009

Chris Jericho is one of my favorite all time wrestlers. Edge IS in a tie for my favorite all time wrestler. Pairing the two together in 2009, after both have already won multiple World Titles, maybe seem like a backwards move but it was one that, for me, really worked. Edge just lost his World Title to Jeff Hardy while Jericho just lost his IC Title back to Rey Mysterio at The Bash, a PPV Edge didn't even have a match for. Edge and Jericho pressured Smackdown GM Theodore Long to do something about the injustices to them. Long's decision was to put them in a WWE Unified Tag Team Titles match that was being contested between Legacy's DiBiase and Rhodes and The Colons, Carlito and Primo. They didn't have too much in ring time but when they did, they capitalized. Edge would hit Carlito with a Spear after a blind tag and would get the pinfall for him and Jericho. Edge would get hit with an injury a week or so later and have to get surgery but their initial win here was great. The tag division was lost and having these two guys hold onto the titles was definitely going to help the division. It still did when Jericho formed with Big Show to make Jeri-Show but I would have much preferred JeriEdge or Edgicho, whichever you prefer. Regardless, to see two of the best stars in WWE form a team and actually win the titles is good enough for me.

21. Bully Ray wins the TNA World Title – Lockdown 2013

Bubba Ray Dudley, in the early 2000s, is the last guy you would think would become a World Champion of a wrestling promotion. TNA has a habit of making guys like him their champion. It was even better considering the storyline it was stemming from. TNA had a villainous rogue like group who called themselves the Aces & Eights. They were this biker gang who would destroy everyone in their way. I liken them to The Nexus in their take over the company style. While they were in the company from June 2012, they didn't wrestle their first match until October, where they defeated Bully Ray and the guy they attacked first, Sting. After winning the match, they finally revealed the first member of the group; Devon, Bully's own brother. They would soon start to reveal other members in the following weeks; Doc Gallows, Wes Bricso, Mr. Anderson, etc. They never revealed the true leader of the stable though. All during this time, Bully Ray was getting close to Hulk Hogan, the authority figure for TNA and his daughter Brooke. Bully would constantly defend TNA and he was seen as one of the leading fighters against the group. Hogan would grant Bully a title shot against Jeff Hardy at Lockdown inside the traditional gimmick of the show, a Steel Cage. 

During the match, Aces & Eights would surround the ring. Devon was seen with a hammer in his hand and was preparing to strike anyone who came close to him. Instead, he tossed it to Bully who cracked Hardy with it. Bully would cover Hardy and become TNA World Heavyweight Champion and then would reveal he was the true President of the Aces & Eights all while demeaning Hogan and Brooke. I'll never forget the post match comments. Hogan, I used you! Brooke, I SCREWED you! SO awesome, so villainous and so right. In the following weeks, TNA would release videos of Bully Ray EXPLAINING the past year of events, leaving no unanswered questions about the group. This is a list about title changes but it was very awesome seeing TNA cover all of its tracks with the storyline. Bully Ray deserved to be World Champion and we all knew he was going heel but the way it happened was amazing and it was even better that they explained it in detail. I'm still trying to figure out why Nexus attacked The Undertaker or who lowered the Hell in a Cell when Truth and Miz were beating up Cena and Punk. Bravo TNA. If TNA goes down sometime in the future, I hope everyone will get to know just how amazing they were at convincing faction storylines. The builds, not the endings.

20. Stone Cold wins the WWF Title – WM17

Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold! When Stone Cold got injured in 1999, it was probably some of the worst news WWE or WWF at the time ever heard. Stone Cold was on the shelf for about a year and when he came back, he obviously wanted the WWF Title. He was able to win his 3rd Royal Rumble match in 2001 and after The Rock won the title at No Way Out, the mega match was set for the greatest Wrestlemania ever. Both guys need the win. Stone Cold to solidify his return from career ending injury. The Rock to prove that he was the absolute best. Something had to give in their main event match. The promo package for the match is the greatest in WWE history. It was made in a No DQ match at the last second and it was a great move. Rock and Austin were able to have a great match that embodied everything that the Attitude Era was all about. Vince McMahon came out and in a major shocker, gave Stone Cold a steel chair to beat The Rock with. Austin pummeled Rock with that chair and afterwards, covered him and won the WWF Title. Afterwards, Vince and Austin shook hands, something NEVER before done, at least, not without Austin turning on McMahon right away. It was a surreal moment. For the past three years, these two were the bane of each other and to see them join forces was something else. It also showed how truly desperate Austin was to get one more reign with the title. He was willing to make a deal with Satan himself. It was awesome and something different, which is always a good thing.

19. JBL wins the WWE Title – GAB 2004

I hate to this say this but 13 year old me was not a fan of the Eddie Guerrero title switch. I'm sorry! He beat Brock Lesnar! I was a huge Lesnar guy then so I was devastated. Then he had the nerve to beat Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania! Another one of my favorites, beaten! Guerrero was beating them all! Anyway, Bradshaw, now known as John Bradshaw Layfield, was making his rise on the Smackdown roster and would soon clash with Guerrero. Their first encounter was very memorable as a vicious chair shot would split Eddie's head in two and he literally leaked blood ALL OVER the ring. Eddie got DQed in this match so they had to have a rematch at the next PPV. It was a Texas Bull Rope match, the first in some time in WWE. While it looked to many that Eddie had won the match, Smackdown General Manager Kurt Angle would reverse the decision, as JBL had hit the last turnbuckle first. This decision would award JBL with his first and only World Title; the WWE Title. JBL was a tag team guy through and through but when he finally got his shot to go solo, he made it count. JBL had a reign of 280 days, where he beat guys like Guerrero, The Undertaker, Booker T and Big Show in PPV matches, even beating three of those guys in a Fatal Four Way. He was in Last Ride and Barbed Wire Steel Cages matches along the way. JBL was a great champion and one that I was really glad won the title, and not only because he ended Guerrero's reign either!

18. Brock Lesnar wins the WWE Title - SummerSlam 2002

The Next Big Thing. Nobody in history had a better start to their careers than Brock Lesnar. This guy was literally pushed to the top in such a short amount of time. He debuted in March 2002 and won the title in August 2002. There's not a lot of guys who can say they won the WWE Title in their rookie year. Ric Flair, Yokozuna, Kurt Angle and Sheamus are just the few but Lesnar had to be the most dominant one of them all. Lesnar tore through the roster and won the King of the Ring tournament to earn a shot at the WWE Title. Before he would face the champ, The Rock, Lesnar destroyed Hulk Hogan, destroyed him like I never seen before. It was brutal. At SummerSlam 2002, 25 year old Brock Lesnar would get his shot at the title, taking on one of the greatest champions in WWE history, The Rock. Lesnar showed his true power in his first PPV main event and as The Rock was on his way out to film another movie, the crowd turned on him. With the crowd behind him, Lesnar was able to land the momentous F5 and become the youngest WWE Champion in history, a record that title hold today. Not World Heavyweight Champion, WWE Champion. Lesnar was shot to the top and for good reason. The guy looked like a superstar, he was a complete beast in the ring and he had Paul Heyman as his mouthpiece. This guy was everything so winning the title so fast was needed and look what it did for his career in the long run. Great title change here.

17. Randy Orton wins the Intercontinental Title – Armageddon 2003

While some guys had a quick rise like Lesnar, there were other guys like Randy Orton that was built on for a couple of years. Joining the group Evolution in 2003, Randy Orton made the best of his opportunity to be under the great Ric Flair and Triple H. He would get dubbed the moniker, The Legend Killer which meant he was prone to taking out WWE legends. People like Sgt. Slaughter, Fablous Moolah and even Harley Race fell victim to Orton, either by getting his with a RKO or being disrespected by the kid. Orton was only 23 at the time and was learning all he could. After beating Shawn Michaels and helping his team eradicate Stoen Cold from the General Manager spot on Raw, Eric Bischoff gave Orton a favor of his choice. Orton chose to be granted an Intercontinental Title match. The match would take place at Armageddon 2003 against veteran IC Champ Rob Van Dam. This was Orton's first shot at the title and he made the most of it. In a great wrestling match and with Mick Foley, Orton's arch rival, as the special guest referee, Randy Orton planted a vicious RKO on RVD and covered him for the 1-2-3 and the Intercontinental Title. Many great stars have won the IC Title before going on to win a World Title. Guys like Bret Hart, Stone Cold, The Rock, the list goes on. Randy Orton was another one of those guys and he really built himself up while holding this title. This is one of those passing of the torch title wins as Orton would win plenty more titles in his career. There may be one more Orton appearance on this list....And this title change could also include the whole Evolution as they all won titles on this night.

16. Christian wins the World Heavyweight Title – Extreme Rules 2011

When Christian went to TNA, or as WWE will tell you, when he went on his vacation, he was able to win the NWA World Title two different times. When he came back to WWE, he won the ECW Title and held it for the longest in the history of the title's reigns but the big World Title always eluded Christian. I thought WWE were going to do a big Edge/Christian feud in 2011 but once Edge announced his retirement, those dreams went up in smoke. Instead, Christian would win a chance to face the #1 contender for the title, Alberto Del Rio, at Extreme Rules. They would compete in Christian's specialty, the Ladder match. With his best friend looking on, Christian was able to capture the title and share a special moment with Edge. It was a really well done and deserving moment for Christian who had always been in Edge's shadow. The crowd was behind the decision as well and it was definitely the feel good moment of the year. While it only lasted TWO DAYS, it was still one of the more deserving title changes on the list. My favorite part is of this is Christian's reaction. He was so happy to win the title, as was I. The guy truly deserved it.

15. Kane wins the World Heavyweight Title – Money in the Bank 2010

Kane had already won the WWF Title in 1998, a little more than 7 months after his debut. The reign was only for a day. Kane would win the ECW Title 10 years after his debut but it was the ECW Title, not a real World Title. Kane has been one of the most faithful superstars in the history of the WWE. He just does things with no questions asked. You want me to team with X-Pac? Sure thing. You want me to pretend to have a dead girlfriend? I'm down. You don't want to give me a World Title run in 12 years? Alright, where do I sign? Kane always deserved better and when he was in a storyline to find out who put his brother The Undertaker, I wouldn't have thought that it would lead to a World Title run but it did. Kane was entered into the Smackdown Money in the Bank match at the first ever MITB PPV. After laying waste to everyone in the match, Kane was able to secure the briefcase on his fourth time in the match. Kane wasted no time and after Mysterio was able to defeat Jack Swagger, Kane would come down with a referee and cash in his contract. After a vicious chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver, Kane captured the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career. You want to talk about a guy who deserved it? Kane truly needed this win and he did great in his World Title position. You guys remember he beat The Undertaker three straight times in three different match types right? Kane excelled in his World Title reign and it was one that should have happened years ago.

14. Trish Stratus wins the Women's Title - Unforgiven 2006

Trish Stratus is the greatest women's wrestler ever. There, I said it. While I can't argue with Fabulous Moolah's 30 year title reign, there's just something about Trish Stratus that I love. When the reports were coming through that Trish was preparing to retire in the coming months, I was heartbroken. Trish was like the leader for the women, how could she leave? How could she not? She accomplished everything possible in WWE at that point. 6 time Women's Champion, Diva of the Decade, etc. She wanted to retire on top so after Lita broke the news of Trish retiring, their feud would culminate at Unforgiven 2006, which took place in Toronto, Trish's hometown. She was given a hero's welcome and was able to put on one more great match with her greatest rival Lita. In the end, since they were in Canada, Trish locked in the Sharpshooter on Lita and forced her to submit, giving Trish her 7th and final Women's Title. It was a move that we all saw coming but it was still a very emotional title change. Trish was the best woman they had in the company since 2002 and to see her leave on top just made sense. It was even better than it was in Toronto against her greatest rival Lita. Everything just fell into place and the world was right for it.

13. CM Punk wins the World Heavyweight Title - Extreme Rules 2009

CM Punk had already won the Money in the Bank briefcase and the World Title the year before but, the way it ended wasn't the best. Punk didn't even compete in the match where he lost the title, instead, losing it due to an injury angle the night of the PPV. Fast forward to Wrestlemania 25 and CM Punk got another chance as he would win the Money in the Bank for the 2nd straight time. Punk wouldn't wait too long before using his opportunity. After a Ladder match between Jeff Hardy and Edge, Hardy was able to defeat Edge to win his first World Heavyweight Championship. The refs were getting the ladders out of the ring while JR was getting ready to interview Hardy. All of a sudden, Punk's music hit and he came down to cash in the contract. Punk quickly hit a GTS and Hardy kicked out. Punk tried again, got rolled up for a close 2 count. Punk would not be denied and used a quick kick, and another GTS to finally win the World Title. The crowd was indifferent to the change. Many were happy Hardy was finally champion again and saw Punk as a villain for ruining his moment. Many were Punk fans who were happy the change happened. I'm apart of the latter and I'm glad Punk did it here. Not only did it lead to a great summer feud between Punk and Hardy, it led to a better character for CM Punk. Punk turned heel during the feud and would start his Straight Edge preaching gimmick, which would eventually lead to his cult like leadership and group, the Straight Edge Society. It wouldn't have been possible if Punk didn't first win the World Title at Extreme Rules 2009. And looking back on it, it was a great decision for the career of CM Punk that would eventually lead to his biggest title victory in the coming years.

12. Jeff Hardy wins the WWE Title – Armageddon 2008

Jeff Hardy was always on the precipice of greatness, but was never given any runs with the World or WWE Titles in WWE. It might have been due to drug problems as the time I thought they were going to pull the trigger on Hardy was at Wrestlemania 24, where he was apart of the MITB match. Weeks before though, he faced another suspension and was taken out of the match. He was easily the favorite to win the match. After the suspension, he was always around the WWE Title, competing for it at three straight PPVs for the title but he was unsuccessful at each attempt. He was scheduled to compete at Survivor Series but was taken out by a returning Edge at a hotel. Storyline wise obviously. After a year of battling for the title and personal issues, it came down to the final PPV of year, which featured new champion Edge, former champion Triple H and Jeff Hardy. It was a great match and after Triple H hit a Pedigree on Edge and went for the cover, Hardy hit a Swanton Bomb out of nowhere, pinned Edge and won the WWE Championship for the very first time. The crowd was obviously very behind the change and it was very deserving. It was like Hardy's redemption from the crazy year he had. Always a huge fan favorite, a run with the main championship was much deserved and although he beat two of my favorite wrestlers to win it, I can't hate on the decision. JR's words made the change even better. From daredevil to champion, from enigma to icon. Goosebumps, man. Much deserved.

11. Sasha Banks wins the NXT Women's Title - Takeover" Rival

What would this list be without The Boss? Yes, Sasha makes the list. I remember when I first started getting behind Sasha. Charlotte had just beat Bayley at Takeover Fatal Four Way and Sasha came out to beat up Bayley. Charlotte wasn't having none of that and got Banks off of her. Charlotte and Banks would start the best women's feud in WWE history and that's when I knew I wanted her to be champion. Her gimmick was so on point and her obvious love for her craft was evident. When she got her first shot against Charlotte at Takeover R Evolution, I was fully convinced of the future of women's wrestling. They tore down the roof of Full Sail and told an amazing story while doing so. Sasha was unsuccessful here and in a rematch on NXT a couple weeks later but she would not stop. At Takeover Rival, William Regal made a Fatal Four Way match between the Four Horsewomen of NXT, Charlotte defending against Sasha, Bayley and Becky Lynch. It was a great match and once again, my faith in the division was restored. In the end, it came down to how it started, between Charlotte and Sasha and after having Charlotte locked in the Banks Statement, she flipped her into a pinning combination and won the NXT Women's Championship. I popped hard for this in my living room and I was very happy to have another great woman win the title. For me, this was the first title change I saw in NXT where I saw someone grow and be deserving of the title. When I started watching NXT, Sasha's boss gimmick wasn't fully developed just yet and I watched each week as she came more into her own and eventually, win the title. So far, this was the biggest win of her career and it was such a deserving one. I'm just counting down the days to SummerSlam, so we can finally see the main roster title win for Sasha. Hopefully. Lord willing...

We're at the point where I have to once again remind you of the disclaimer I posted in the very first post of this series. Just because your top ten doesn't match mine doesn't make me wrong or you wrong, it just makes us different and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. Happy reading!

10. Chris Jericho becomes the first ever Undisputed Champion – Unforgiven 2001

2001 is remembered as the year Stone Cold and Vince McMahon joined forces together and it's also remembered for the bad Invasion angle, where WCW and ECW stars battled WWF stars for control of the company. WCW did bring over the WCW Title and after the the Alliance fell to the WWF, it was determined that only one man would be recognized as the World Champion. Four men would compete for the honor. Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, World Champion The Rock and WWF Champion Stone Cold. Stone Cold and Angle had been involved in a heated feud during the summer while Rock and Jericho traded back the WCW Title a couple of times. This all came down to a one night tournament. The Rock defending his World Title against Jericho and Austin defending against Angle. Austin retained against Angle while Jericho was able to beat The Rock to win the title again. Jericho didn't have a rest period and was thrust right into the Undisputed Title match. During the main event, classic Attitude Era antics ensued and thanks to interference from Vince and Booker T, Chris Jericho was able to overcome all the odds and win the WWF Title, becoming the first ever Undisputed Champion. This was definitely a much deserved title win for him. Jericho came into the company hot, going against The Rock on the mic but soon after, nothing was really done with him main event wise. It took time and the win here was even more important considering that. For Jericho to beat the two faces of the Attitude Era for the titles was amazing and it made Jericho a household name. You have to be a pretty big thing if you can beat the two biggest names in the company in one night. Jericho was definitely the guy to do it.

9. Mark Henry wins the World Heavyweight Title - Night of Champions 2011

The summer of 2011 will always be remembered as the Summer of Punk, when Punk fought the powers at be and changed WWE as we know it forever. There was another breakout star that summer and that was the World's Strongest Man, Mark Henry. It's strange to say that as Henry was already a veteran of WWE but he had never had his time in the main event spotlight. That changed in 2011 when Mark Henry took on a more violent and angry persona, which really started after Big Show assaulted him. After this, Henry started to target the World's Largest Athlete and went as far as destroying him inside a Steel Cage, hitting him with the door and causing Show to fall out of the cage. During the assault, Henry would verbally assault Show and the officials helping him. It felt all so real with Henry's real life frustration with his spot in WWE, at least that's what I attribute it to. And of course, this was the same night as CM Punk's Pipe Bomb promo so yeah...

Henry would defeat Show at Money in the Bank 2011 and would break Big Show's leg with the a steel chair. After this, Mark Henry would coin what he was doing the Hall of Pain. Anyone who he assaulted was entered and Show was the first inhabitant of it. After putting Sheamus through a barricade and winning at SummerSlam, Henry became the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Title, which Randy Orton just won. With Orton just winning the title, it was no way that Henry would be able to take the title off of him. Right? Wrong. At Night of Champions 2011, Mark Henry's 15 year career was vindicated as he became the World Heavyweight Champion after hitting two World's Strongest Slams on the Viper.

Henry's title win was solidified with his coronation speech. Josh Matthews got in the ring after Henry won to conduct an interview with him.I'm paraphrasing but Henry went off. "You didn't believe did? You didn't believe that I would be holding the most coveted title in professional wrestling, did you? And don't start cheering! Don't start cheering because none of you believed it either. You're all doubters! You're all haters! I'd like to welcome you all to the Hall of PAIN! This is my moment and I'm not sharing it with none of you. I'm going to be the most dominant champion, I'm taking on all comers and I'm never losing this title!" Then once he got out the ring, Henry berated the crowd. I'm assuming he saw someone with a replica World Title and yelled, "Yours is fake! Mine is real!" Classic. The last line was the best one. "You came to see me. Welcome to the Mark Henry Era!" Mark Henry's win was a culmination of a new anger and it's one that was much deserved. The reign only lasted 90 days and they made Henry a typical coward champion but that cannot take away from this moment.

8. The Miz wins the WWE Title – Raw 2010

WWE had some amazing young talent in the late 2000s. Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase were just a few. None of those guys ended up being WWE Champion though. You know who did? The Miz. Yes, Mike Mizanin from the Real World. Never in a million years would I have thought that Miz would have even gotten a shot at the title, let alone win it but he did just that. How though? How was Miz able to become champion in the first place? Miz was fortunate enough to get to team with John Morrison, who had amazing talent himself and was destined to be one of the top youth talents WWE had. Miz's time was obviously limited and once they wanted to make Morrison a singles star, it was going to be game over for the Miz. Miz and Morrison won multiple tag team titles and became a hit, hosting their own WWE.com show, which became very popular. They would finally split once the draft split them up and they both found singles success. Miz won the US Title and Morrison the Intercontinental. They met at Bragging Rights, with Miz going over and Miz would lead his team to victory against Morrison's at Survivor Series. Miz's stock continued to soar, holding the US Title for over 7 months and he became a top heel on Raw. When Raw's Money in the Bank match came around, Miz was able to retrieve the briefcase.

The Internet Wrestling Community predicted that Miz would be the first guy to cash in and lose his title match, simply because The Miz as WWE Champion just couldn't happen. Right? Wrong. After holding onto the contract for 4 months, Miz saw his opportunity come on the Raw following Survivor Series 2010. Randy Orton just completed the burial of The Nexus and Wade Barrett's career but he did it with an injury to his leg. The Miz smelling a gold opportunity rushed to the ring for his title match. Shocking the entire wrestling community, The Miz did what every other MITB holder did, win a World Title. The Miz became the WWE Champion after hitting the Skull Crushing Finale. I went ballistic when this happened. I didn't get to see this live as I had work but I didn't spoil myself to what happened either. I yelled so loud and watched it over about 100 times that night. The Miz's title win will be forever remembered by that little girl who had an evil scowl on her face but look at the video again. If you look in the stands, there's another kid who is losing his freaking mind over the win. In the GIF below, look at the stands right where Miz is holding the title up. That was how I reacted as well. The kid's brain just melted.

Miz's title win was shocking, especially because of how he was used when he debuted with the company. Miz is truly a rags to riches type story. He was always seen as the Marty Jennety of the team with him and Morrison but he was able to fight past the doubters and become champion, a champion that main evented Wrestlemania and defeated John Cena. A bad Wrestlemania and not a clean finish but who cares, he did it! Miz got a lot of eyes on WWE with his win as well and he looked poised to be the next top guy in the company but that never happened. Miz is still around today and is a good mid carder, but time will tell if he will get back to this level again.

7. Bayley wins the NXT Women's Title - NXT Takeover Brooklyn

It's hard to believe that a recent title change made it this high on the list but when you realize everything that was associated with the win, you'll see why I put it here. Let's start from the beginning. WWE NXT was WWE's developmental center, where they would train future stars of the company and prepare them. NXT became a weekly TV show, only broadcast on Hulu and other online channels, that is, until the WWE Network came around in 2014. WWE used NXT as a guinea pig as they would have the brand's first live event on the WWE Network as a way to prepare everyone for Wrestlemania 30. The network just came out so WWE wanted to make sure all the kinks would be good just in time for Mania. WWE put on a good show, a glimpse into the future of WWE and on the show, two women, two of the hopeful shining stars of the division, Paige and Emma arguably stole the show with their mat based match. To see the women actually get a proper build and payoff was shocking, at least for me. WWE had always used the women's matches post Trish/Lita as bathroom breaks. Paige/Emma wasn't a piss break, it was a marquee match. As the live events continued, the women took the place as the last match before the main event and there were some definite great matches. Charlotte VS Natalya, Charlotte VS Sasha Banks and Sasha Banks VS Becky Lynch are just a few of the amazing main event lead in matches that took place. When NXT announced they were doing a live Takeover Special on SummerSlam weekend in the Barclays Center, the same arena hosting SummerSlam, it was clear that the brand had made it. 

In July of 2015, WWE launched a Divas Revolution which was inspired by all the triumph of women in sports that year. The revolution involved calling up Sasha, Charlotte and Becky to the main roster to mix things up. Bayley, the remaining member of the Four Hoursewomen of NXT, stayed behind and began her quest for a NXT Women's Championship match. Bayley is the underdog of the division. She's the lovable loser. She's come close so many times before but she was never able to win the big one. Bayley would go on her own redemption tour, which was like Sami Zayn's tour he did which I covered earlier. First, she defeated Emma, a woman who tormented her and encouraged her to change her ways to get ahead. Next, she had to defeat the one woman she never beat and probably the best in the division, Charlotte. She did so in spectacular fashion and moved onto a #1 contender's match for the title against Becky Lynch, who herself turned on Bayley to further her career. Bayley won there and the match was set; Sasha Banks would defend the NXT Women's Championship against Bayley in front of the biggest NXT crowd yet. You following me?

Although it was a women's match and the penultimate match, it had all the feelings of a main event. The awesome promo package built up the match even more and pushed the issue that Bayley was being left behind by her other peers. When it finally came time for the match, the ladies stole the show. Almost 20 minutes the two went and it was filled with so much raw emotion, storytelling and great in ring action. The end came after Bayley hit a reverse hurricanarana of the top rope, followed by her Bayley to Belly suplex for the win and the victory, much to the crowd's approval. It was the match of the year for 2015. A special moment in time where everything came together so perfectly. At the end, Sasha and Bayley embraced along with Becky and Charlotte and had a nice moment.

It was such a magical moment for all involved. Everything came together so well and so perfect that as far as women's title changes go, this one will be hard to beat. If you combine the build, the story, the players and the payoff, you'll see why. It's only right that this is #7 on the list and the highest ranking women's title change, especially since it's probably the best women's match WWE has ever put on. Bravo WWE. Bravo.

6.  Randy Orton wins the World Heavyweight Title - Summerslam 2004

Randy Orton was bred for success. The business is in his blood. A third generation superstar, Orton was basically made to be a star. Obviously seeing something in the young man, Triple H and Ric Flair took him and Batista under their wing and formed Evolution. Ever hear of them? You know, the group that ruled Raw for 2 years? Anyway, Orton really grew into his own during his time with Evolution and WWE did a good job of building him up. He beat HBK in his singles debut on PPV, he led his team to victory as Survivor Series, he won the Intercontinental Title, led his team to victory at Wrestlemania over the Rock N Sock Connection and beat Mick Foley in a Hardcore match. Orton got to the 7 month mark with his title before Edge dethroned Orton in a fantastic match. The same night, Evolution leader Triple H lost to Chris Benoit again, basically pushing him to the back of the line. 

When it was time to name a new #1 contender, they had a battle royale to see who would face Benoit at SummerSlam. Orton was the sole survivor and gained himself the title match. Orton was involved in the SummerSlam Elimination Chamber in 2003 and had come full circle. Orton and Benoit were put in the main event slot in front of a very pro Orton crowd. They were in Toronto and Canada is known for it's vicious crowds and this one was no different. Even though Benoit is FROM Canada. The match was a mat based affair and the ending saw Orton reverse the Crippler Crossface right into the RKO for the 1-2-3 and his first ever World Heavyweight Championship. In the process, Randy Orton became the youngest World Champion in WWE history, winning it at the tender age of 24.

Was the young Orton ready to hold the title? Was it smart to have him be the champion of the flagship show of WWE? In the end, it doesn't matter. Orton's title win here launched a Hall of Fame career as he would win 11 more in the years to come. I clearly remember this title win as I was a big Orton fan at this time. My 13 year old self couldn't contain his excitement. I went crazy over the title change, so crazy, that I put up an Orton biography on the wall downstairs in my house. I was that excited. I rewatched the moment about a billion times that day. It was such an awesome moment to experience and Orton is one of the first stars I followed from the beginning of their WWE careers. It's amazing to see how far he's come in the past 12 years. It all started with this faithful night in Toronto. 

5. Dolph Ziggler wins the World Heavyweight Title -  Raw 2013

Money in the Bank cash ins are always good. I've already featured a few on the list. The unpredictability of it all makes for a memorable moment. Dolph Ziggler did it in spectacular fashion in 2013. Ziggler for many years was the workhorse of WWE. He would always put on the best matches but he could never capture that elusive crown jewel. His first reign as World Champion was basically given to him and it only lasted about 11 minutes. He would float around the mid card for a year, putting on great matches with just about anybody he came in contact with. Ziggler would have to wait a full year from his first World Title reign before he would have any real direction. At Money in the Bank 2012, the briefcase was going to one of two men; Dolph Ziggler or Cody Rhodes. Both men were on the rise on Smackdown and looked to be breakout stars. In the end, it was Dolph Ziggler who was able to grab the briefcase and earn a title shot whenever he wanted.

With a new focus, Ziggler was given direction as he started feuds with some major WWE stars, including Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and of course John Cena. As we entered 2013, it looked very likely that Ziggler would cash in at Wrestlemania, especially seeing how the title match was between Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio. Much to the crowd's dismay, this wouldn't be the cash in attempt at Wrestlemania. The fans would have to wait another night for that but thankfully, it wasn't too long. After Del Rio defeated Swagger again in the rematch for the title on the Raw afterwards, his ankle was injured. The crowd knew it was coming and when Ziggler's music finally hit, the IZOD Center erupted. It might have been one of the biggest pops in WWE history. It was time. It looked like Del Rio was going to pull off the upset as he locked Ziggler in the cross armbreaker but Ziggler twisted the ankle to get out of that. Ziggler hit his finisher the Zig-Zag for the win and his 2nd World Heavyweight Championship. Did I mention the crowd was loud?

An absolutely fantastic moment in WWE history. Ziggler went from the main event picture to obscurity back to the main event picture and the biggest cash in since Edge first did it. It's not hard to see why this made it so high on list. I mean, did you here that freaking pop? It was a title change that they were building for over 200 days and it's good that WWE actually built on the star before just giving him the title. It's insane how WWE dropped the ball on Ziggler afterwards but like with many of these changes, I'm just glad it happened. Well deserved!

4. Daniel Bryan wins the WWE World Heavyweight Title -  Wrestlemania 30

WWE told an old story and it took them 8 months for them to tell it. It was a hard 8 months and it almost didn't have the payoff everyone wanted. It all started when Daniel Bryan started getting way over during the summer of 2013. The Yes chants were starting to take off and WWE couldn't ignore the fans. Bryan was put in a title match with John Cena by John Cena himself at SummerSlam. Bryan won clean and in the process, became WWE Champion. The dream ended quickly as Orton cashed in his MITB contract thanks to the special guest referee Triple H turning heel and nailing Bryan with a Pedigree. We've covered this already but I'm just giving a refresher. Anyway, Triple H explained that Bryan was good but he wasn't a top star. He was a B+ player and Triple H couldn't have him being the star of the company. Bryan would beat Orton in the rematch at Night of Champions but would be stripped of the title the next night due to the referee doing a fast count. Orton and Bryan would fight for the title at the next two PPVs before Orton would prevail and Bryan would be pushed down.

Bryan would be put in a feud with the Wyatt Family, away from the WWE Title. WWE decided to unify the WWE and World Titles at TLC and during a Raw in Seattle, Bryan's hometown, there was a segment where they had all the former WWE and World Champions in the same ring and the crowd hijacked Raw. They would not stop chanting for Bryan. They tried to ignore it but Mark Henry raised Bryan's arm and Cena said if he was the one to win the titles, he would give Bryan a shot. Cena lost by the way. 





The Royal Rumble came around and Bryan was a favorite to win it. He wasn't an announced participant in the match because of his match with Wyatt on the show but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be in the match. Right? Wrong. Daniel Bryan wasn't in the match and the crowd was livid. Rey Mysterio was #30 and because the crowd realized Bryan no longer had a chance, they booed him! They booed Rey Mysterio, a face for his entire WWE career. They began to cheer Roman Reigns (ha!) over the expected winner Batista. When Batista did finally win, they crucified him. It was bad but it's an important moment.

The crowd was NOT happy...

The main event of Wrestlemania XXX wasn't set yet as Orton defended the title in an Elimination Chamber match. It came down to Orton and Bryan and thanks to some heel tactics, Orton walked out as champion and set up Batista VS Orton as the main event. Yay. Bryan on the other hand, was looking like he would face Triple H at Wrestlemania and they went that route but Bryan took it a step further. He hijacked Raw with dozens of fans and they wouldn't leave until Bryan's demands were met. He not only did he want to face Triple H at Wrestlemania, he wanted to be added to the title match if he won. Bold! Bryan was going to pull a Bret Hart Wrestlemania X here! Triple H accepted begrudgingly. 

Wrestlemania came around and Bryan and Triple H started the show. It began to dawn on me that if Bryan was to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he would have to defeat 3/4s of Evolution to do it. That's...a daunting task. Bryan was able to play The Game as he defeated Triple H to advance to the title match. Bryan was beaten up by The Game after the match. During the main event, Batista and Orton double teamed Bryan and even put him through a table in one of the most vicious WWE PG spots of all time but Bryan would not be denied. Batista hit Orton with a Batista Bomb only to have Bryan run in and hit a flying knee and lock The Animal in the Yes Lock. Batista didn't last long as he tapped out to give Daniel Bryan what would be his final reign as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

What a moment...

It was the best payoff of this era, to see the guy who was always put down and was oppressed for the past 8 months, get his redemption on the grandest stage of them all. It's very cliche but damn, it worked out so well. It was the best wrestler in the company winning the top title at the biggest show. The story was all in place and to think, WWE almost really went with the main event of Batista VS Randy Orton. HAHAHAHA. Almost....This would also set up a future major title which of course, brings me to the next year's Wrestlemania.

3. Seth Rollins wins the WWE World Heavyweight Title - Wrestlemania 31

Opportunity. It was just waiting for Seth Rollins to take it and take it he did. Seth Rollins began his title chase back in June 2014, the day he turned on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose and joined Triple H and The Authority. WWE would basically make a Money in the Bank match exclusively for Rollins to win in the coming month and win he did, thanks to The Authority. With the title within reach, Rollins began to slowly become the company's top heel, feuding with Dean Ambrose in the following months, which led to some chaotic battles, including the best Lumberjack match in WWE history and the insane Hell in a Cell with the double table spot from the mid point of the cell.

Rollins captained a team at Survivor Series and began a singles feud with John Cena, which he of course lost. Can't beat Superman guys! He was added to the Royal Rumble 2015 title match and stole the freaking show. The diving elbow through the announce table and the Phoenix Splash were just two of the highlights of having him in the match. It was easily one of the best WWE Title matches in recent memory. After this, he began a feud with former face of The Authority, Randy Orton and they would battle at Wrestlemania. Rollins was involved in another amazing spot as Orton hit a highlight reel RKO on him.

So, he was done right? Rollins had his Wrestlemania moment right? That's what we all thought but that wasn't it for him. Former Shield brethren Roman Reigns was in the main event that night, challenging the Beast Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. It was a great main event that featured some amazing moments. The best moment was after Brock Lesnar grounded Reigns with a F5. As neither man could move, Seth Rollins' music blasted through the arena as the stadium erupted. Rollins would cash in the MITB contract, a week shy of setting the record for holding it the longest. This would be the first piece of history for Rollins as he was the first man to cash in while a match was in place. It didn't take long for Rollins and after a vicious Curb Stomp, Seth Rollins captured his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This made Rollins the first alumni from the NXT brand to win the WWE Title and the first former NXT Champion to do the same. It was also the first cash in attempt at Wrestlemania in the 10 year existence of the Money in the Bank contract. And also, the first time a heel won and walked out the WWE Champion of the main event of Wrestlemania. (Yokozuna, I'm sorry.) Holy crap Rollins...

Talk about stealing a moment! Roman Reigns was prime picked as the next face of the company with his crowning moment going to be at Wrestlemania 31. As with Batista in the last post, severe fan backlash caused plans to change. It was a great change as Rollins truly deserved the title and his win impacted the NXT brand as the first man to win the title from the brand. It only makes sense that the first NXT Champion does it right? Everyone thought they had to make Reigns the future star but they had the Man there all along. I put this one over Bryan's simply because this was unexpected while everyone knew Bryan was going over at WM 30. Of course, this would have NEVER happened without some help from a rebel a few years earlier...

2. CM Punk wins the WWE Title - MITB 2011

Let's get something straight right now; the last three big title changes would NOT have happened if this one didn't take place. CM Punk's first run with the WWE Championship was so important to WWE that it's almost scary. Although I've told the story about a billion times but hey, one more time won't hurt.

In the summer of 2011, WWE just got done putting on the crap show Capitol Punishment, which featured a Barack Obama impersonator dancing in the ring before the main event. I wish I was lying. WWE was very stale, both golden boys Randy Orton and John Cena were their respective brand's champions. This would soon start to change. In a triple threat match, CM Punk defeated Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio to gain a shot at the WWE Title at Money in the Bank. Punk would announce to the crowd that his contract was coming to an end following the event and he intended to leave the PPV, from his hometown, with the WWE Championship. This was not a work. Punk's contract really was coming to an end and it was a rare time actually let reality come onto their scripted program. On June 27th, 2011, CM Punk sat on the stage and fired his infamous Pipe Bomb promo, talking about a lot of taboo things in WWE, like suck ups, Brock Lesnar and calling out to other wrestling promotions. In WWE now, it's not rare for this to even happen now. Hell, AJ Styles told Cena he BURIES guys like him on a recent Raw but in 2011, this was unheard of. It was the fresh air WWE needed.

The scathing promo crossed over the border of fact and fiction. Had that been written out before hand or was all that coming from CM Punk himself? You couldn't tell if it was a work or a reality. Punk was suspended on the Raw following but Cena got him reinstated, claiming the match had to happen but Vince himself added the caveat that if Cena couldn't beat Punk that he would be fired. With Punk reinstated, Vince and Punk negotiated over a new contract on the Raw leading to Money in the Bank. Punk and Vince would have a great promo, one that continued to blur the lines as Vince would even use Punk's real name and there was even swearing, taboo by 2011's standards. In the end, John Cena messed up the negotiations and Punk still claimed he was leaving after the PPV with the title.

Now, according to the Punk DVD tell all thing, Punk resigned with the company the DAY OF MITB but of course, they wouldn't tell the public. It would hurt the long term story of the match. MITB was going on and it was a hot event, featuring Daniel Bryan winning the Smackdown MITB and Christian winning his 2nd World Title. It all came down to the main event, which started at an unheard of 10PM. Usually WWE main events came on at 10:25 at the earliest in 2011. Anyway, Punk came out to a massive pop, not only because he was facing John Cena but because they were in Chicago, Punk's hometown. Cena was greeted with the loudest boos since he fought Rob Van Dam in 2006. The match was spectacular, the match of the PG Era. 5 star affair that went past 30 minutes. Vince tried to come down to cause a Montreal Screwjob type ending but Cena stopped it only to be caught by a GTS. It was enough to keep Cena down for the 3 count as CM Punk won his first WWE Championship, fourth overall World Title. The crowd was excited, Vince was livid, got on the headset and called for Del Rio to cash in his contract which he won earlier. Del Rio ran down but Punk was ready and hit him with a roundhouse kick. Punk then left through the crowd with the title in hand.

Seriously, this title change is everything for current run WWE. Do you really think WWE would have pulled the trigger on guys like Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins or Dean Ambrose if Punk didn't break down the barriers in 2011? Do you think WWE would have sought after guys like Prince Devitt, Kevin Steen or AJ STYLES had not Punk won the title here? This whole Reality Era started because of CM Punk. It was the match of the year and it's still the best match WWE has put on this era. As with many of these title changes, it's really a shame that Punk isn't around now to personally see the change that he caused but I'm just thankful that it happened. I'll never forget the energy that night and I was all the way in Philadelphia, Thank you CM Punk.

1. Edge wins various World Titles - New Year's Revolution 2006, Raw 2006, Smackdown 2007, Armageddon 2007, One Night Stand 2008, Survivor Series 2008, Royal Rumble 2009, No Way Out 2009, Backlash 2009, TLC 2010, Smackdown 2011

This isn't fair I know but there has been no other wrestler besides Edge where I marked out for each and every one of his World Title victories. I've listed all 11 but I still think his first title win at New Year's Revolution was the one that set the standard for how he would be booked to win World Titles for the rest of his career. Edge was one of those guys who was still around from the Attitude Era but was being past by newer guys, like the whole Class of 2002 and several injuries held him back. When he finally did enter the fray, his face status wasn't met with the biggest reaction, which was very evident in 2004, when at a SummerSlam in Toronto, Edge's hometown, he didn't get a positive reaction, despite being face at the time. Edge would later become the Rated R Superstar and it would turn his entire career around.

Edge could never win the big one, probably because WWE only saw him as a tag team specialist. Chris Jericho would bring up the concept of the Money in the Bank contract ladder match, which would feature stars battling for an opportunity for a World Title battle whenever they wanted for up to a year. The match would take place at Wrestlemania and featured Edge, Christian, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Kane and Shelton Benjamin. Basically, all the top mid carders on Raw. It was a hell of a match and set the standard of the Money in the Bank ladder match. Benoit was close to winning it and was within reach of winning until Edge hit Benoit with a chair and sent him crashing down. This led to Edge grabbing the briefcase to win the match. This would be the start of his main event rise.

Edge would gain Lita as his valet, due to their real life relationship coming to light, which the fans didn't like as Lita was attached to Matt Hardy at the the time. Hardy would eventually come back to WWE to feud with Edge during the late summer months, which in the end, caused Hardy to be traded to Smackdown. All the while, Edge was still holding onto the briefcase, which he did defend against Matt Hardy during their feud. No one still knew how it all worked but we were about to find out.

As the year 2006 came about, Raw put on a PPV called New Year's Revolution, which featured Edge challenging Ric Flair for his Intercontinental Championship. Edge lost by DQ but he his night wasn't done just yet. John Cena was featured in the main event, trying to defend his WWE Title against Kurt Angle, Kane, Shawn Michaels, Chris Masters and Carlito and keep his 280 day title reign alive. Cena actually started the chamber match as well. After a half hour, Cena was victorious. Cena thought his night was done and out comes Vince McMahon, who announced that Edge was cashing in his Money in the Bank for a WWE Title match right now! The crowd started cheering as they were very anti Cena, even then. Edge took advantage and hit the first Spear on Cena. Somehow, he kicked out. Edge stayed his course and hit him with another Spear and won his first ever WWE Championship.

Edge's first win would set up a career for winning World Titles in this way. Let's talk; Edge won his 2nd WWE Title by taking advantage of Cena's FU on RVD in their Triple Threat, Edge won his first World Heavyweight Title by beating Mr. Kennedy and taking his MITB briefcase and then cashing in on Undertaker the next night, Edge would enlist the help of Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins to win World Heavyweight Title #2, La Famila helped Edge banish The Undertaker in a TLC match to win World Heavyweight Title #3, Edge returned from injury as a surprise entrant in the Triple H/Vladmir Kozlov match to win the WWE Title for a third time, Edge capitalized on Matt Hardy turning on Jeff Hardy to win WWE Title #4, Edge would lose that WWE Title in the first Elimination Chamber and then lock himself in the World Heavyweight Title Chamber match, which he won the World Heavyweight Title for the fourth time, Edge didn't even have anything to do with winning the World Title for the fifth time as Big Show threw Cena into a spotlight in their Last Man Standing match, Edge would return from injury and overcome Del Rio, Mysterio and Kane in a TLC match to win the World Title for the SIXTH time and then finally, after Ziggler was crowned champion by Vickie Guererro, Edge ended his reign in 11 minutes to win the World Heavyweight Title for the 7th time, giving him his 11th and final World title reign. WOW. 

 

Edge would always win the World Title in spectacular fashion. I'm really only focusing on the first WWE Title win, but really, all 11 wins were amazing. Edge made a career off of winning the title by nefarious means, really making him the Rated R Superstar. The first Money in the Bank cash in made Edge a star, the match synonymous with opportunity for anyone who won it and set the precedent for all who won it. Edge was the best at winning World Titles and it sucks he was forced to retire so early in his career. Edge's first WWE Title win is my favorite title change of all time simply because it was unexpected, needed and awesome. I'll never forget January 8th, 2006.