10 Best WWE World Title Changes On Free TV

9. Sycho Sid (1997)

The WrestleMania 13 card could have been very different, had Shawn Michaels not misplaced his smile.

The Heartbreak Kid was supposed to defend (and drop) the WWE Title against Bret Hart on the show, having won it back from Sycho Sid at the Royal Rumble, but vacated it just weeks later, citing injury. 

WWE put the vacant title up for grabs three days later in the main event of the Final Four pay-per-view, where The Hitman outlasted Vader, Steve Austin and The Undertaker to become champion. 

The very next night on Raw, however, Bret was booked to defend the title against Sid. The match was due to kick off the show, when Steve Austin interrupted things in order to brawl with Hart, injuring Sid in the process. 

They tried again halfway through the show but, again, the Texas Rattlesnake jumped the Excellence of Execution before the match could officially get underway. 

Attempt number three proved successful, as the two met in the main event. Austin got involved again, this time hitting Bret with a chair and leaving him easy pickings for Sid's massive powerbomb. 

A great match in the end? Not really, but as a show-long angle and a big televised moment, it's very, very good. Title changes - much less WWE Title changes - weren't the norm back then, so this was a surprise (especially since Bret had only won the thing a day before).