10 Wrestling Firsts That Happened Earlier Than You Think
8. The First Title Unification
More than two years after the original brand extension's dissolution, WWE finally decided to unify their two top titles at TLC 2013. WWE Champion Randy Orton met his World Heavyweight counterpart John Cena that night, and 'The Viper' emerged victorious, carrying both belts around as the new unified king of the company.
A bizarre narrative followed. WWE attempted to paint Orton as the first wrestler to ever unify two top championships under their banner, which is, of course, a load of nonsense. Just ask Chris Jericho, who speaks about it regularly on his podcast.
Vengeance 2001 saw a single-night tournament to combine the WWE and WCW Titles as one, with 'Y2J,' Kurt Angle, Steve Austin, and The Rock all competing. Jericho defeating Rocky in his semi-final, then overcame 'Stone Cold' in the night's main event, and after upsetting both Attitude Era icons within the space of a few hours, he was the first ever Undisputed Champion.
The Orton situation is one of the most egregious pieces of revisionist history WWE have pulled in years. Randy's was a landmark victory, but certainly not the first.