10 Reversed WWE Title Changes

When a championship is won in a sport or an award is given in some avenue of entertainment, you usually expect the result to stick.

In the sports entertainment world of WWE, however, a title change is never a sure thing since, whether it be to advance storylines, test a reaction or just to get people talking, WWE can always find a way to reverse, cancel or otherwise ignore them.

So pause those celebrations, bring up the instant replay and get out the big book of Dusty finishes, because these are 10 reversed WWE title changes.

10. Daniel Bryan - World Heavyweight Championship (2011)

We all remember Daniel Bryan’s meteoric rise to his WWE Title triumph in the main event of WrestleMania 30 in 2014.

The YES Movement had made D-Bry the most popular performer in the company in the run-up to his big win at the Showcase of the Immortals, with fans passionately spurring on the seemingly ‘overlooked’ star.

What tends to be forgotten about is The American Dragon’s previous World Heavyweight Title run, which began in late 2011.

Bryan was a reigning Money in the Bank contract holder, having won SmackDown’s version of the eponymous ladder match.

He attempted to cash in during his feud with Mark Henry, though the first couple of attempts proved fruitless.

The World’s Strongest Man attacked the bearded wonder before the match could even start the first time, while the second time it seemed as though had Bryan done it after Big Show had knocked Henry out for him on the November 25 episode of SmackDown.

But hold on a minute, playa, because here comes SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long to let us all know that Henry was not medically cleared to compete and voided the switch.

Bryan finally managed to pull it off almost a month later at TLC.

9. William Regal & Eugene - World Tag Team Championships (2004)

William Regal’s 2004 homecoming was set up perfectly, with the battling Brit and his friend Eugene challenging World Tag Team Champions La Resistance on the October 11 episode of Raw, which emanated from Manchester, England.

Regal was on the comeback trail following more than a year off, during which he almost died due to health complications caused by a heart parasite he had contracted during a WWE tour of India.

He and his odd-couple partner were firm favourites and the crowd went crazy when Regal pinned Sylvain Grenier for the feel-good win.

Amid a sea of celebrations, though, Raw GM Eric Bischoff came out and restarted the match because Sir William had used the Power of the Punch to secure the three count.

The champs then went on to retain in predictable fashion.

Considering Regal and Eugene would randomly win the titles about a month later, there was really no reason they couldn’t have sped the process up here. Especially considering WWE had already pulled a similar trick earlier in the year, when Bischoff’s understudy Johnny Nitro pulled the rug out from Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels after HBK pinned the illegal man on the March 29 Raw against Ric Flair and Batista.

8. Chris Benoit - WWE Championship (2000)

Chris Benoit was thrust into a pay-per-view headline feud with WWE Champion The Rock not too long after he and the rest of The Radicalz jumped from the sinking ship that was WCW.

The Crippler was presented as a threat heading into their showdown at Fully Loaded 2000, but few felt he would upset The Great One and bag the belt – even though he was being helped in his pursuit by temporary manager Shane McMahon.

Incredibly, it appeared that the Rabid Wolverine had won the title on the night thanks to a technicality. It initially looked as though referee Earl Hebner awoke from one of his naps and called for the bell, with everyone assuming Benoit had submitted to his very own Crossface. However, the official shockingly awarded the bout to the challenger because he believed The Rock had attacked him from behind with a chair earlier (when it was really Shane).

As The Brahma Bull could lose the title via disqualification due to the pre-match stipulations, this made the Canadian the new champ. For about 90 seconds, until Commissioner Foley sauntered out, reversed the decision and restarted the match.

WWE booked a similar scenario for Benoit in the main event of Unforgiven two months later.

7. The Fabulous Rougeaus - WWE Tag Team Championships (1987)

Before pay-per-view buyrates and television rights fees became the biggest economic drivers of WWE’s business, the big money was made at the house shows. The non-televised events were incredibly important and WWE treated them as such, occasionally running major angles and even booking title changes to take place on them.

Like at The Montreal Forum on August 10, 1987, when the Fabulous Rougeaus took on WWE Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation.

Foundation manager Jimmy Hart attempted to interfere on their behalf at the end, only to be disposed of his megaphone, which was then used on Bret for the ostensible title change.

The Rougeaus were announced as the new champions and celebrated appropriately, but the decision was hastily reversed and the switch isn’t recognised by WWE.

The Pink and Black Attack went back to defending the straps the very next night, while Bret vowed to never be screwed out of a title in Montreal again.

6. Owen Hart - WWE Championship (1994)

When you look at the ‘best’ wrestlers to have never won the WWE Title, it’s fair to say that Owen Hart would be at the top of most fans’ lists.

The Rocket was only ever in serious contention for the title when feuding with big brother Bret in 1994, though he was unable to unseat The Hitman during their high-profile series.

He came close on one occasion, however, when he ‘beat’ Bret in a Lumberjack Match during a mammoth Superstars television taping.

Taking place weeks before their classic Cage Match at SummerSlam, the younger Hart pinned his older sibling following interference from Jim Neidhart.

The referee called for the bell and the heel contingent came into the ring and raised Owen on their shoulders, mimicking Bret’s own title-winning celebration from WrestleMania 10.

However, once a second referee pointed out the interference (complete with a replay on the video wall), the match was re-started and the Excellence of Execution retained. The match was later released on the Wham Bam Bodyslam! VHS.

5. Rob Van Dam - Undisputed WWE Championship (2002)

For a minute there, it seemed like Rob Van Dam would become a bona fide member of the WWE main-eventers club.

The Whole F’N Show came to WWE in 2001 as part of the Invasion angle and was one of the very few success stories from that muddled mess.

He locked horns with major players like The Rock, Steve Austin and Kurt Angle and challenged for the WWE Title towards the tail end of the year, as his popularity skyrocketed.

WWE refrained from pulling the trigger and cooled off on RVD’s push in early 2002, though he remained a fan favourite and got a crack at The Undertaker’s Undisputed Title in the main event of the May 20 episode of Raw.

Big Evil had only had the title for 24 hours, after defeating Hulk Hogan with THAT chokeslam at Judgment Day the night before.

Van Dam was a tad sprightlier than Terrible Terry and really took it to the champ with his signature offence. Including a Rolling Thunder, which…won the match?

Obviously not, because as anyone could see, ‘Taker got his foot on the ropes on the count of 2. Ric Flair then restarted the match and the Deadman retained with a Last Ride to restore the natural order of things.

4. Dean Ambrose - WWE Championship (2015)

It was all about the new blood in the WWE main event of Elimination Chamber 2015, as former Shield teammates Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose clashed over The Architect’s WWE Title.

Rollins was in the process of establishing himself as the main man after cashing in his Money in the Bank contract during the epic climax of WrestleMania 31, while the Lunatic Fringe was striking a chord in his quest to simultaneously bag the gold and make life miserable for The Authority.

Their match was chugging along nicely and it looked like it could go either way as they traded big moves for 20 entertaining minutes. After neutralising Kane and J&J Security at ringside, Dean attempted to hit Seth with his top rope standing elbow drop, only for the champ to pull the referee in harm’s way.

The official was clattered, but Ambrose avoided a Phoenix Splash and nailed Dirty Deeds, with a second referee coming in and counting the three to a huge ovation.

The euphoria was short-lived, mind, as the original referee called for a disqualification win instead. An indignant Ambrose then stole the title belt, to which you simply have to say ‘fair play’.

3. Greg Valentine - WWE Championship (1981)

Was there any WWE star surlier than Greg Valentine? Short and stocky with a face cut from granite, The Hammer is, quite frankly, the sort of bloke who’s not afraid to eat a packet of crisps while sitting on the toilet.

In his day, Valentine was typically in the championship mix and held both the WWE Tag Team and Intercontinental titles.

He never held the WWE Title, but in a fleeting moment of confusion, it appeared that he had done it in one of the strangest ways possible.

Valentine was throwing down with then-champion Bob Backlund on the October 19, 1981, Madison Square Garden house show, when he took Backlund for a ride with the airplane spin.

Bob’s legs hit the official, knocking him down, before Backlund then fell on top of Valentine, with the groggy ref counting the pin.

The Hammer then jumped up and began celebrating as if he had made the cover and the ref (still shaking those cobwebs loose) went along with it and awarded him the title.

It was promptly taken away from him after a post-match inquisition and a rematch was booked for WWE’s next visit to the World’s Most Famous Arena (which Backlund won).

2. Chris Jericho - WWE Championship (2000)

Chris Jericho had a bit of title trouble during his first year in WWE, starting with the bizarre ‘co-Intercontinental Champions’ storyline with Chyna.

Y2J and the Ninth Wonder of the World consecutively held and defended the title after one of their IC Title matches ended in a double pin, though WWE themselves consider the title vacant for the period between that and Jericho winning it outright at the 2000 Royal Rumble.

Four months later, Jericho’s habit of mocking Stephanie McMahon saw him thrust into a WWE Title match with Triple H on the April 17 edition of Raw.

Chris had coaxed The Game into putting the title up for grabs and enlisted the Acolyte Protection Agency to stand ringside and watch and prevent any chicanery.

He also got an almighty assist from referee Earl Hebner, who delivered a blatant fast count following a Lionsault in retaliation for being pushed to the ground by Hunter.

The pop for the Ayatollah of Rock ’n’ Roller’s triumph was huge, but Jericho was forced to return the belt after The Cerebral Assassin threatened Hebner into reversing his decision.

1. John Cena - WWE Championship (2012)

CM Punk was in the midst of the then-longest WWE Title reign of the modern era when he put the strap on the line against his perennial rival at Night of Champions.

It’s John Cena and CM Punk in a pay-per-view main event, so you knew the quality of the action was going to be of the highest standard. Like most of their meetings, there was also a genuine sense that either man could win, something heightened by Cena’s Money in the Bank cash-in failure, the fact that Punk had held the title for so long, and the show was taking place in Boston.

After a whole host of kickouts and close calls, it came down to Cena delivering a rare top-rope German suplex for the apparent win. Not so fast, though, as Cena’s shoulders were also down when the official counted the 1-2-3 and the match was ruled a draw.