10 Most Unlikely First WWE World Championship Defenses
3. The Rock Vs. Shane McMahon (WWF Championship) - 01/05/00 & 03/07/00
The WWF Championship scene in 2000 was the Triple H and The Rock Show as the two traded the richest prize in the biz for two reigns a piece, with Kurt Angle eventually interrupting proceedings with a shenanigans-littered clash at No Mercy in October. In both of The Rock's reigns, he would have to deal the then-heir apparent Shane McMahon, as his status with the McMahon-Helmsley Regime meant that Shane was constantly butting heads with The Great One.
After winning his fourth World Championship at the previous night's Backlash PPV - a match which saw Shane-O-Mac as the special guest referee - The Rock defended his title in a very crooked steel cage match match which saw more guest referees in the form of Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco. Of all people, it was resident car park t-shirt merchant Earl Hebner who saved The Rock and kept his championship run in tact.
Fast forward two months and The People's Champ has again toppled Triple H in a clunky six-man tag at King of the Ring, and is set to do battle with McMahon once again. This match is far less competitive than their match-up before, with early interference from Chris Benoit stopping the match after less than ten seconds.