As the most recent phantom title switch on the list, fans only have to look back to mid-2015, where Seth Rollins was flying high as WWE Champion following his spectacular WWE Championship victory over Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar to close out WrestleMania 31. After a brief feud with Randy Orton, the darling son of the The Authority would quickly move on to a new order of businesswith that new business being an old acquaintance in the form of Dean Ambrose. In typical pro wrestling fashion, good friends would make for better enemies and the feud between the former Shield brethren produced some great moments; but none more controversial than the closing moments of their championship bout at the Elimination Chamber PPV. With Ambrose on the offensive, the crazed superstar would scale the turnbuckle for his patented elbow off the top, only for Rollins to pull the referee into the firing line, causing Ambrose to connect with both the champ and the official; knocking out the latter in the process. With no referee present, Ambrose would regain the upper hand, hitting his Dirty Deeds double-arm DDT and covering his former stable-mate. A second official would quickly slide into the fray, shockingly counting to three and Dean Ambrose was awarded the WWE Championshipor so it seemed. Sadly for The Lunatic Fringe, it wasnt to be. The first official would soon regain consciousness and confer with his impromptu replacement, confirming that Ambrose was indeed the victor, but via disqualification prompting chants of bulls**t throughout the disappointed Corpus Christi crowd. J&J Security and Corporate Kane would quickly join Seth Rollins in the beat down of Ambrose until help arrived in the form of Roman Reigns, who would come to the aid of his former partner. Despite the title not officially changing hands, Ambrose would leave through the crowd with possession of the WWE Championship belt, proclaiming Tonight, the champ buys the beers! Now thats a champion you can be proud of.
Occasional wrestler, full-time gym rat and lifelong lover of the grapple game. Would probably buy you a shot of Jack at the bar in exchange for witty banter...and preferably more Jack.
@MartynGrant88 for more wrestling-related musings and weight room wisecracks!
