10 Best WWE Raw Title Changes

Most big championship wins in WWE are saved for pay-per-views, partly to give them more prestige, partly so the company can sell more WWE Network subscriptions (until the end of 2024 anyway) and more interest in tuning in on Peacock.

They also have a flagship weekly show to think about, though, and sometimes the audience gets thrown a bone and are given a belt swap for free on Monday nights.

These are the 10 best WWE Raw title changes ever.

10. Marty Jannetty wins the Intercontinental Championship - May 17, 1993

Monday Night Raw launched on January 11, 1993, looking and sounding very different to the show we know today (and not just because of the big ICOPRO banner).

One of the show’s first major moments came on the May 17 episode of its maiden year, when two friends-turned-enemies squared off in a title match for the ages. It had been about 18 months since Marty Jannetty was sent crashing through the barbershop window by Shawn Michaels, which led to the break-up of The Rockers and kickstarted one of the greatest singles careers in wrestling history.

In a match that could have taken place at WrestleMania 9 had Jannetty not gotten himself released prior to the show, the former Rockers squared off on Raw, with The Heartbreak Kid’s Intercontinental Championship on the line.

After a stellar contest that won PWI’s 1993 Match of the Year award, Marty scored a huge win over the Sexy Boy, picking up his first singles title in WWE.

9. Santino Marella wins the Intercontinental Championship - April 16, 2007

14 years after Party Marty emerged from a Raw crowd to win the IC belt, a similar thing happened on the April 16, 2007 episode of the show, which emanated from Milan, Italy.

Mr. McMahon, who was wearing a hat because he’d just had his head shaved at WrestleMania 23, invited anyone in the audience to challenge his personal monster Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship. Up stepped Santino Marella, who was definitely a normal Italian man and not a jacked-up wrestler from Canada doing an accent.

The “fan” accepted the match and proceeded to get his ass whooped by the Samoan Bulldozer. Cue Bobby Lashley, who had beaten Umaga at the aforementioned ‘Mania. The big man ran out, laid out the champion, and draped the newcomer over his prone body. One three count later, and Santino had the gold.

Though it’s a bit silly to look back on now, nobody expected WWE to do anything like this at the time and it really did come as quite the shock. This upset win would stay a part of Santino’s character for the rest of his run, even after he devolved into a complete goofball.

8. The Rock 'n' Sock Connection win the WWE Tag Team Championships - August 30, 1999

The Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection are one of those wrestling acts that people forget were only around for a relatively short period of time.

Despite only being active for a handful of months between 1999 and 2000, the duo of The Rock and Mankind won the World Tag Team Championships three times, which shows how much WWE cared about those belts during the Attitude Era.

Their first victory went down on the August 30, 1999 edition of Raw. After and age of them bashing each other’s brains out, these former foes teamed up to take on the tag champs, The Unholy Alliance of The Undertaker and Big Show.

After the Deadman walked out on his partner, the good guys were able to get the upper hand over the giant, eventually scoring the pinfall with a double People’s Elbow that caused Jerry Lawler to malfunction on commentary.

This reign would last for a whopping eight days, but it was a nice moment nonetheless.

7. Cody Rhodes & Goldust win the WWE Tag Team Championships - October 14, 2013

Before one was the American Nightmare and after the other one was Seven, Cody Rhodes and Goldust joined forces to take on The Authority, which went so well that they both got fired in storyline because Triple H doesn’t hire LOSERS.

After winning their jobs back in a highly emotional match against The Shield at Battleground 2013, Cody and Dustin faced off against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns once again, this time on Raw and with the WWE Tag Team Championships on the line.

The sons of Dusty got yet another win over the black jacket squad to capture their first tag titles together, yet another highlight in this very underrated rivalry.

You know what would have made this moment even better? If they hadn’t won the match thanks to the Big Show, who then led the crowd in a Yes! chant because WWE were trying to get him over as the anti-Authority babyface instead of Daniel Bryan.

6. Lita wins the WWE Women's Championship - December 6, 2004

For some reason, WWE insists on telling fans that the first all-female main event of Monday Night Raw was Trish Stratus vs. Lita on December 6, 2004. This is a complete lie - Lita won the Women’s Championship from Stephanie McMahon in the main event of the August 21, 2000 show, over four years before she battled Trish!

Though it may not have been as historic as the company would like it to be, Lita versus Trish from that ‘04 Raw was still a bloody good match. It was the first proper all-female main event of the show, where the two women could actually work.

They put on a great match and demonstrated how unappreciated women’s wrestling was at the time. They were only given seven minutes, but they crammed a lot of action into that time, capped off with a moonsault from Lita.

Lita had won her second Women’s Title and Raw finally had a women’s main event it could be proud of.

5. Sasha Banks wins the WWE Women's Championship - July 25, 2016

In the early days of the second brand split, one of the big rivalries on Raw was between Women’s Champion Charlotte and plucky challenger Sasha Banks.

As well as their history in NXT, these two had crossed paths many times on the main roster, including at WrestleMania 32 in an epic triple threat. On the July 25, 2016 episode of the red show, they went one-on-one.

After a typically strong performance from both competitors, Banks applied her Bank Statement submission hold and forced the champ to tap out, marking the first title change in the history of this new version of the Women’s belt.

An emotional Sasha gave a touching interview after the bell, as the fans roared with delight at her finally overcoming her great rival.

This feud would continue with the two swapping the belt throughout the year until Flair finally ended the programme on top, beating Banks in her own hometown, no less.

4. Paige wins the WWE Divas Championship - April 7, 2014

The Raw after WrestleMania has seen its fair share of championship changes, including this one just 24 hours removed from WrestleMania 30.

AJ Lee, holder of the cursed Divas Championship, had just defended her belt against 13 challengers at the Show of Shows. The champ bragged that she had beaten everyone there was to beat, which summoned a young woman from Norwich, England. This was the main roster debut of Paige.

The then-NXT Women’s Champion got into it with AJ, leading to an impromptu title match. The challenger got the better of her more experienced opponent, hitting the Paige Turner to scoop the butterfly belt in a shocking twist.

As well as popping the hardcore crowd, this win had major ramifications for WWE as a whole going forward. This started the tradition of a major NXT name debuting the night after WrestleMania and assured fans that talent from the Black and Gold would be treated well upon their call-up.

It didn’t always work out like that, but at least there was some brief hope.

3. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit win the WWE Tag Team Championships - May 21, 2001

The main event of Raw on May 21, 2001 was one of the rare exceptions of a match being improved by a major injury.

The Two-Man Power Trip of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H were putting their World Tag Team Championships on the line against the due of Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit.

Whilst attempting to break up a Walls of Jericho towards the end of a terrific contest, The Game completely tore his left quadricep, an injury that could have ended his career.

Did the match get called off so Trips could get help? You know full well it didn’t. Instead, Hunter gutted it out, performing the match as planned whilst in agonising pain. This Herculean performance elevated what was already a pretty outstanding match, as the Chrises beat the Power Trip to end their tyrannical grip on the titles.

Benoit and Jericho might have had their arms raised, but the real winner here was Triple H’s reputation.

2. Dolph Ziggler wins the World Heavyweight Championship - April 8, 2013

Paige beating AJ Lee was nice and all, but when it comes to Raw after Mania title changes, this one takes the cake.

For 267 days, Dolph Ziggler held on to his Money in the Bank contract, waiting for the right moment to pounce. He didn’t cash in at SummerSlam, Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble, or even WrestleMania, with many wondering if he’d ever pull the trigger.

Then, it happened.

After World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio defeated Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter in a handicap match, Ziggler’s music hit, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The Show-Off cashed in the briefcase and then proceeded to have a short, yet very tense match with Del Rio, finally hitting the Zig Zag to win the big one to a rapturous ovation.

This was a long time coming for Dolph, who had toiled away in the mid-card for years, slowly gaining fan support for a main event push. Now, he was on top of the world.

Unfortunately, his reign, largely derailed due to a concussion, didn’t live up to what his MITB cash-in promised.

1. Mankind wins the WWE Championship - January 4, 1999

As Raw was often taped whilst Nitro was live, WCW’s announce crew sometimes used to give away their competition’s results during their broadcasts.

Famously, on the January 4 edition of Nitro (the same night as the Fingerpoke of Doom), Tony Schiavone announced that Mick Foley would be winning the WWE Championship from The Rock.

“That’ll put butts in seats” he sarcastically said. And he was absolutely right. Droves of viewers changed the channel to watch Foley - in his Mankind garb - battle The Rock with the Corporation and DX at ringside. After a wild brawl between everyone, who should arrive but Stone Cold to one of the loudest pops in wrestling history.

Swinging a steel chair like a man possessed, The Texas Rattlesnake turned the tide in favour of Mankind, allowing Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy to pin The Great One and win the world title for the first time ever.

Not only did this title win generate one of the loudest sustained crowd reactions WWE has ever seen, not only was it the culmination of years of hard work and torment from Foley, but this was the night that thousands of wrestling fans swapped WCW for WWE and never looked back.