10 Lamest WWE Title Changes
A dedication to all the times a world title changed hands, and you just groaned.
A world title change should be something special. Ideally, you have a triumphant, unforgettable moment that can be used in video packages forever. The boyhood dream coming true for Shawn Michaels. Bill Goldberg defeating Hulk Hogan in a packed Georgia Dome. Martin Kirby winning the Defiant world title with the Zoidberg Elbow. All timeless moments that are equally beloved by fans young and young at heart.
However, in an era where promoters are impatient and people are conditioned to think everyone’s entitled to a title reign, things get a lot more willy-nilly and frivolous. Yes, pro wrestling is entertainment and belts are props, but as Wrestling With Wregret’s Brian Zane says: the world title should be the most important prop. Instead of treating the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship as the One Ring, WWE have treated them like a pie in the face.
And of course, that’s not even getting into how they treat the midcard titles. However, since we don’t have all day, let’s just go through all the times they took the world titles, the symbols of their company, and had them change hands in silly, underwhelming, or outright lame fashion.
10. Randy Orton To Jinder Mahal (Backlash 2017)
Look, I know everyone’s moved on. I know now Jinder Mahal is wasting away as cannon fodder on RAW, and AJ Styles has been WWE Champion for close to a year now to get the taste out of our mouths. But I’m sorry, the wound is still fresh! Jinder Mahal was pushed out of nowhere as WWE Champion, and we must never forget this. We must always hold this up as a shining example of WWE making the most backward booking decisions for cynical, eye-rolling reasons.
And even beyond that, the way he won it was incredibly lame.
After not winning a match in nearly a year, Jinder Mahal appeared on SmackDown and was slotted into a #1 contender’s match (because Land of Opportunity, I guess). With help from the newly repacked Bollywood Boys, Jinder won his first opportunity at the WWE title. It was very clear that he was only able to win matches thanks to interference from the Singh brothers. You’d think Randy Orton, then WWE Champion, would adequately prepare for this. He did not, and as he was distracted nearly killing Sunil Singh on the announce table, Jinder Mahal was able to hit his finisher for the win. This began the long, tiresome streak of title matches that had the Exact. Same. Finish.
*Sigh*… I still wake up screaming, sometimes. That is if I let myself sleep. But after that reign… I don’t think I’ll dream anymore.