10 Best World Titles Changes On Raw

9. Rey Mysterio - July 25, 2011

Sycho Sid Bret Hart
WWE.com

When CM Punk made good on his promise to defeat John Cena for the WWE World Championship at Money in the Bank 2011, the Raw brand was left without a main titleholder. Punk left the company with the belt just as he promised, leaving egg on Vince McMahon's face.

The following evening on Raw, McMahon declared Punk's claim to the belt null and void and announced there'd be an eight-man tournament to crown a new WWE World Champion (John Cena, whose loss put the company in a precarious position, would not be invited to compete). The tournament came down to The Miz and Rey Mysterio, with the finals scheduled for the following week's episode.

The July 25 Raw opened with The Miz versus Mysterio in an exciting match. Though many may have expected that Miz - who reigned as WWE World Champion just a few months prior - would recapture the belt, it was Mysterio who was victorious, becoming the smallest WWE World Champion of all time. Like with Punk in 2008, his win was historic.

Unfortunately, Mysterio's reign would only last two hours, as John Cena defeated him for the title later in the show.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013