7 Major Title Changes NOT On The WWE Network

Incredibly, though this WWF Championship switch is entirely absent from the Network, it is available on the rival New Japan World. That said, for WWE to give pride of place to Antonio Inoki's shock WWF Championship win over Bob Backlund in 1979 would be to acknowledge that it actually happened.

Champion Backlund was 648 days into his incredible, half-decade spanning reign as WWE's top dog, when he came up against Japanese icon and NJPW founder Inoki at a house show in Tokushima, Japan. About thirty minutes into the contest, Backlund has his attention drawn by Inoki's second Tiger Jeet Singh, before walking straight into his opponent's signature atomic drop.

Although Backlund appeared to kick out just before the ref's hand struck the mat a third time, Inoki was crowned new WWF Championship. The air of ambiguity over the finish has created apocrypha about a possible double-cross in the years since, but everything was above board; the impromptu switch was contrived as a favour to keep Inoki's prestige on par with AJPW rival Giant Baba, who had twice captured the NWA's equivalent world title.

Days later, Inoki vacated the belt following a no-contest in a rematch with Backlund. Despite the latter beating Bobby Duncum to reclaim his title in a house on his return to New York, WWE later scrubbed the whole episode from their history books.