10 Most Shocking Pro Wrestling Title Changes Of The 1980s

1. The Ultimate Warrior’s Rude Awakening

Andre the Giant WWE champion
WWE

After demolishing Honky Tonk Man, The Warrior turned back the challenge of the former champion and steamrolled all the other competition. During this time, Warrior’s popularity grew to rival that of Hulk Hogan. He seemed destined for the WWE Championship. However, there would be a bump in the road before Warrior would ascend to the top spot.

Instead of getting a world title shot against Randy Savage at WrestleMania V, Warrior would instead defend his Intercontinental Championship against the challenge of ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude. Rude, with the help of manager Bobby ‘the Brain’ Heenan, upset The Ultimate Warrior to the shock of many fans. This would be the beginning of a great rivalry between the two over both the Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Championship.

Contributor
Contributor

I'm a pro wrestling content contributor for WhatCulture. I've been a fan since the early 1980s and have been writing about it for about ten years. I like taking a historical approach to pro wrestling and have a keen interest in the 1980s.