10 Worst First Days For WWE Champions

8. Dolph Ziggler

dolph ziggler world title
WWE.com

It's one thing to have your first Championship reign instantly terminated by something like a Money In The Bank cash-in (and more on that elsewhere in this list) or chalked off entirely due to some other brand of pro wrestling nonsense, but Dolph Ziggler's first win exists in a strange hinterland between two.

Recycling an old and slightly laboured idea, Vickie Guerrero awarded him Edge's World Heavyweight Championship after 'The Rated-R Superstar' used his Spear in direct opposition of a blanket ban. He was stripped and fired, with Ziggler benefitting on both counts.

As a stand-in authority figure for Teddy Long, it looked like the plan had worked too. All until the man himself returned from a secret attack by Ziggler and re-assumed control of the blue brand. Long booked an immediate rematch with Edge, and 'The Show Off' was without the title just 10 minutes after strapping it around his waist.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.