10 Amazing WWE World Title Wins (That Led To Lame Championship Runs)

We’ve seen good WWE crowds and great ones - and then there’s One Night Stand 2006. The title fight between Rob Van Dam and John Cena obviously owes a ton to its two performers, but this match is made by the Hammerstein Ballroom audience, who turn a four star clash into something transcendent. RVD’s win is crowd service, but also well deserved by the innovative star.

So where did it all go wrong? Well, unfortunately, this one’s sort of on him. Shortly after snagging the belt, Van Dam was caught with Sabu in possession of some controlled substances. WWE took a hard line on this one, and while a 30 day suspension won’t have stung too hard, as far as his nascent main event status went, that was the end.

RVD was sanguine about the experience, stating that he enjoyed his time off and would have become burned out without it, but there can be few greater divides between the quality of the win and the subsequent dirge of the title run. Given the things to which WWE have turned a blind eye before, could they not have overlooked a bit of weed?