10 Wrestlers Who Turned During Championship Reigns

6. Ronda Rousey (2018)

CM Punk
WWE.com

It took until December 2018's Tables Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view to formalise a turn that had in reality taken place one month prior, but when Ronda Rousey intervened in a match to cost Becky Lynch her beloved SmackDown Women's Championship there was absolutely no doubt what the immediate future looked like for the 'Baddest Woman On The Planet'.

She'd quietly seethed with WWE's fans after they booed her out of the building following a Survivor Series sh*tkicking at the hands (and kendo stick) of Charlotte Flair. That Flair herself was subbing for an injured Lynch only made Rousey's decision to push them both from a ladder during a title triple threat with Asuka only made the switch ever-sweeter.

Though there'd be a Royal Rumble and a number of irritating twists for the sake of it along the way, the Road To WrestleMania 35 was as good as mapped out the minute the villainous Ronda left the scene of her TLC crime.

In this post: 
CM Punk
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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