10 Totally Soul-Crushing WWE Title Changes
Glitters Like Gold.
'SummerSlam Comes Early' was the phrase used ad nauseam by WWE in a desperate attempt to heat up a tepid Monday Night Raw scene on the go-home show for the August spectacular.
Featuring two matches already booked for the card itself, as well as a face-to-face-to-face-to-face between four quasi-heels that not-so-subtly teased the likelihood of combat between the quartet of main eventers, the company again attempted to super-serve two masters in an effort to aid both their television ratings and Network subscribers primed for the weekend's blockbuster card.
In the case of Finn Bálor and Bray Wyatt, their listless affair created a reason for the former NXT Champion to unleash 'The Demon' this Sunday, as many had predicted. However, the Cruiserweight Division tune-up had substantially different far-reaching consequences.
Competing for the league's salvaged title less than a week before their SummerSlam encounter, Champion Neville and Challenger Akira Tozawa were dumped in the middle of the show to work a passable encounter for the 'King Of The Cruiserweight's beloved belt. Astonishingly, after 197 days of sheer dominance, the malevolent ruler was dethroned.
Though the match wasn't without charm, it was without notice, and without thought (more on that later).
For an industry built on a predilection that titles are everything, WWE has a bad habit of neglecting the reality that the same courtesy extends to fans too. When the gold is booked with such disregard, that indignity reaches the crowd, and can take an awful long time to recover.
10. Randy Orton Vs Triple H (Unforgiven 2004)
It was Randy Orton's legend being killed before even becoming fully established when WWE elected to have Triple H outsmart and outfight him less than a month after winning his first World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2004.
Steering into fan sentiment as they'd almost never do now, the company acknowledged the growing support for Evolution's young lion following his impassioned war with Mick Foley earlier that year, and elected to anoint him the youngest ever holder of Raw's top title with the August victory over Chris Benoit.
In storyline (and perhaps in reality too...) this didn't sit well with Triple H, who hadn't clung tightly to his beloved strap since dropping it to 'The Crippler' at March's WrestleMania 20. Orchestrating a turn alongside Batista and Ric Flair, HHH brutalised the new champion on his first night with the belt, leaving him alone beyond support Orton had garnered from the crowd.
In the two weeks that followed, the sentiment rapidly dwindled as Randy was booked to look like a coward and a lousy schemer, with it already being established that he couldn't hold on to friends.
The burial was complete when he couldn't hold on to the title. At the first attempt, and with only limited Evolution support, Triple H soundly beat 'The Legend Killer', returning Raw to its pre-WrestleMania status quo and quashing Orton's babyface momentum almost entirely.