6 Totally Accidental Wrestling Title Changes

5. Mickie James (Briefly) Profits From Victoria’s Forgetfulness

The biggest challenge when dealing with a botched match finish of any kind, let alone a title change, is figuring out how to deal with it. The immediate aftermath can be extremely confusing, particularly if the performers panic and break character, but if calmness prevails and the decision makers think on their feet, the damage can be mitigated.

This is exactly what happened in April 2007, when Mickie James accidentally pinned Victoria in a house show triple threat match. Victoria forgot to kick out, and the botch saw James take the WWE Women’s Championship for the third time in her career, though Melina was originally scripted to retain.

Instead of having Mickie carry the belt until the next live event, WWE booked James and Melina in a singles rematch later that evening. MNM’s former manager was triumphant, leaving Paris with the gold as was originally planned, solving the issue less than an hour after it had arisen. WWE could have easily buried this quickfire switch in history, but they chose to acknowledge it, and Mickie’s brief reign was recognised.