10 Worst First Days For WWE Champions

2. Rey Mysterio

Batista Injury
WWE.com

Rey Mysterio being the wrestler chosen for this rather strange role in 2011 remains one of the more perplexing booking decisions in WWE history, and that includes unearthing Big Sexy himself of all people for a payoff down the road.

To recap, before the aforementioned SummerSlam atrocity, CM Punk had brought shame on WWE or John Cena or whatever Vince McMahon deemed most believable with his win at Money In The Bank. No longer under contract in kayfabe, he was thus also not WWE Champion, regardless of how the fans felt.

Told to just get on with their business as if everything was normal, the top wrestlers on Monday Night Raw were lumped into a tournament to become Champion, eventually won by Mysterio. A fresh Cena - despite being the great shamer in all of this - got a shot at the knackered opponent, and won! He'd barely held the belt aloft before Punk returned anyway, dropping an asterisk next to Cena and Rey's name for eternity anyway.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but 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 in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. 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 sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett