10 Worst First Days For WWE Champions

2. Rey Mysterio

John Cena Rey Mysterio
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 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.