15 WWE Title Changes That IMMEDIATELY Backfired

Practically every title change is deliberately engineered to make an impact and leave a mark.

The word "practically" got involved there as a gentle reminder that WWE care more about some titles than others. It's doubtful that Vince McMahon ever agonised over exactly who was Hardcore Champion, for example, and Triple H probably doesn't lose much sleep over which thrown-together pairing holds the current Women's Tag-Team belts either. They're less of a concern than the upper tier championships on all sides of the current WWE roster.

Every strap matters to fans who obsess over this pro wrestling stuff though. That's why it's so hard to take when a title switch backfires on everybody in a bad way; this might come via injuries that halted momentum, poor booking that did pretty much the same, or even just because nobody wanted *insert unpopular choice here* to win the belt in the first place.

There are some unique quirks to these trips down memory lane that'll either make you smile or leave you horrified all over again. Some might sit there thinking: 'Well, thanks for reminding me of that after I'd spent years eradicating it from my memory!'. Indeed, the way WWE handled some title changes long before they decided to 'Get The F Out' will alarm and leave you shaking your head.

Other backfires were down to sheer bad luck, and there was nothing anybody could reasonably be expected to do about them. Even so, they suck for their own individual reasons. Behold immediate buyer's remorse!

Title Change: Vince McMahon beat Triple H on the 16 September 1999 episode of SmackDown to win the WWF Title. It was a shock decision, but not an immediately outlandish proposition due to McMahon's success as an on screen character stretching back to late-1997. He was an effective talker, and a draw who could work well in certain match conditions, so there was no reason to dismiss him as champ outright.

Why It Backfired: It proved to be utterly, utterly pointless.

McMahon vacated his newly-won belt on the following week’s Raw, then Hunter won it back in a ‘Six Pack Challenge’ at Unforgiven anyway. So, what was the thinking here? Vince must’ve realised the error of his ways and reasoned he couldn’t work regular matches worthy of the title, or something. It was puzzling to book such a shock change then go back on it swiftly.

If the WWF planned to stick the belt back on Triple H at Unforgiven, then...why not just keep it on him heading into the pay-per-view? Things might've been vastly different had Vince wrestled on the show himself vs. 'The Game' and other top stars such as Big Show, Kane, Mankind and The Rock, but he didn't. Davey Boy Smith was the other man involved, not the boss.

Consequently, McMahon bagging the richest prize in the biz came across as a cheap publicity stunt that even he regretted as soon as it happened. Popping a rating was one thing, but at least give fans a reason to care about what literally just happened. Vince didn't here, and his brief flirtation with the biggest belt was never something he allowed fans to digest at all before it was all over.