25 Years Of WWE Raw Mistakes

16. 2002 - Triple H Awarded The World Title (September 2nd)

Shane McMahon Vince McMahon
WWE.com

When Brock Lesnar f*cked off to Stephanie McMahon's SmackDown brand shortly after dethroning The Rock at SummerSlam 2002, few could have predicted how well things would turn out for her main squeeze as a result.

On screen, General Manager Eric Bischoff suggested that as Number One contender before Brock's permanent move to Thursdays, Triple H was the rightful owner of a brand new World Heavyweight Title he introduced that night.

The viewpoint (shared presumably by 'The Game' himself in real life and kayfabe) couldn't have felt further disconnected from just about every corner of the fanbase, and the title was subsequently already damaged goods.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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