10 Times WWE Championships Changed Hands Twice In The Same Night

Edge to Jeff Hardy to CM Punk - World Heavyweight Championship.

From 2005 to 2010, the threat of a cash-in always loomed large just after WrestleMania. People would anticipate a new champion being crowned on Raw the follow night, then eagerly look for SmackDown spoilers to check the same when it was still filmed on Tuesdays. Fans had seen Edge capitalise on a wounded John Cena with the first briefcase, Rob Van Dam announce his match in advance in 2006, then Edge and CM Punk take advantage of depleted champions in the following years. A trend was definitely emerging…

It’d be Edge and CM Punk at the forefront at Extreme Rules in 2009, with the Ultimate Opportunist walking into New Orleans for a Ladder Match with Jeff Hardy. The Charismatic Enigma claimed the World Heavyweight Championship, his first time holding Big Gold, but could barely stand after a brutal match with his old Attitude Era sparring partner.

Fans had been dying to see the younger Hardy raise the gold again after he'd been taken out of the WWE Championship picture at the start of the year, a mere month after winning the title. As fans cheered in the arena, those watching at home waited to see the logo in the corner of the screen that meant the event was over. Then it happened.

As "This Fire Burns" began to play, everybody knew what was coming. A Go to Sleep later and CM Punk had cashed-in his second Money in the Bank contract in 12 months, leaving with the belt and condemning Hardy to only a few minutes as champion. Pain.