10 Life Affirming Wrestling Title Wins

It's OK to cry when watching wrestling, right?

daniel Bryan
WWE.com

It's easy to observe the pantomime of professional wrestling through the lens of post-modern cynicism - particularly when you're a hardened fan of twenty years, whose hopes and dreams have been dashed (dashed here is a byword for deliberately stamped on by WWE) more times than you can count.

Moments which genuinely elicit shock and awe, let alone emotion of the kind typically reserved for your first-born's nuptials, are extremely rare. In fact, most long-suffering fans sensibly take the precaution of mentally preparing themselves to be roundly kicked in the proverbial balls by Vince and co before they sit down to watch a show.

But when that perennially under-utilised star finally gets their hands on championship gold, the culmination of their life's work inside the ropes (both in kayfabe and real life terms), even the most stoic viewers would have to admit to a tear or two - or at the very least some goosebumps...

10. Dolph Ziggler - No Mercy 2016

Jeff Hardy WWE Title Armageddon 2008
WWE.com

People genuinely cared about Dolph Ziggler's pursuit of the Intercontinental Championship last year (although with hindsight, it's increasingly beginning to feel like that had less to do with Ziggler himself than it did The Miz, and his stellar super heel work).

Ziggler put his wrestling career on the line for another shot at Miz's IC title, and while that stipulation usually means the match result is a foregone conclusion (not that WWE are known for their rigorous rule enforcement), things felt a little different this time around. Ziggler's promos, the nostalgic call-backs to his Spirit Squad days, made it seem like he really might be about to call it quits (or at least go on a hiatus).

In the long-run, it probably isn't a great sign that you have to threaten to walk out in order to pique the audience's interest, but this angle could easily have fallen flat. Instead, Ziggler won the belt after a pulsating, main event calibre encounter, and began a long and meaningful title run.

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