8 WWE World Title Changes That Were Going To Happen (But Didn't)

8. Vader Defeating Shawn Michaels - Survivor Series 1996

Poor, poor Leon White.

With Harley Race at his side, Vader was an unstoppable, intimidating force of nature in Ted Turner's WCW as he battled the likes of Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Ric Flair, and Cactus Jack. So, when Vader debuted with the World Wrestling Federation at the 1996 Royal Rumble, this was seen as a huge 'get' for the company. Surely this was a can't-miss signing who would dominate the main event scene for years to come, right?

Sadly not.

After a shoulder injury disrupted Vader's first month or two with the company, he would eventually get a shot at Shawn Michaels' WWF Championship at the '96 edition of SummerSlam. This match would go do in infamy for just how much of a d*ck Michaels was to the Mastodon, as HBK berated his opponent in the middle of the ring over a fluffed spot.

Many believe that Vader was due to win the title that night, that Michaels complained to Vince about how he didn't want to do the J.O.B. - shocking to hear, right? - and how Vader was too stiff. The end result was a count-out win for Vader, a subsequent restart and a DQ win for Vader, and then a further restart that ultimately led to a pinfall victory for Shawn.

According to Bruce Prichard, Vader was never meant to win the WWF Championship at that SummerSlam PPV. He was, however, due to win the gold at that year's Survivor Series.

Instead, Shawn's whining to Vince meant that Sycho Sid replaced Vader in that spot at Survivor Series.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

First Posted On: 8th May 2020

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