It was a great moment to see Angle win his first title, but I was one of the only one’s cheering that. Kurt had been such an amazing heel for so long, but now, not only was he a face, but a top face after Austin turned on him and the WWF to join the Alliance. His first title win was terrific for me but there’s a reason that one made Honorable Mention and this one is #3. I was never the person who liked the heels, but when Kurt debuted in WWF, I didn’t care what anyone else thought of him he was instantly my favorite wrestler. I was a high school wrestler, and Kurt Angle was one of my heroes ever since the 1996 Olympics. Kurt Angle’s second WWF Championship win over Steve Austin at Unforgiven 2001 It was a moment I was extremely proud to witness.ģ. There were people around me hugging and crying. It was an amazing moment to be there and feel the energy and passion of the crowd. Of course, as mentioned above, Ron Simmons was the first black world champion, but that had not yet happened in WWE. They never made a big deal about The Rock being a black champion. I’ll not get into a race discussion, but The Rock always seemed to identify more as Samoan, save for when he was in the Nation of Domination. It felt amazing to witness this moment in history. Kofi Kingston defeats Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 to become the first African-born WWE ChampionĪ simple reason this trumps many of the other title changes I’ve mentioned: I was there. We’ll always remember Vince McMahon mentioning the “boyhood dream” when Shawn Michaels won the WWF Championship well this certainly felt like a boyhood dream come true.Ĥ. It just felt so good for a guy that got himself over, was pushed back down the card, and worked his way back up, to win a prestigious title on the grandest stage of them all over six other guys. I just remember watching this match at a WrestleMania party and when, out of that whole group, Zack Ryder won the match, it was pandefuckingmonium.
![wwe raw 2004 mtty wwe raw 2004 mtty](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/7-oAAOSwzEdf~g5-/s-l400.jpg)
Yep, I put this on here over Eddie Guerrero, Ron Simmons, Goldberg, etc. Zack Ryder beats Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Sami Zayn, Sin Cara, & Stardust in a ladder match to win the Intercontinental Championship and WrestleMania 32.
![wwe raw 2004 mtty wwe raw 2004 mtty](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/WWE_greatest_royal.jpg)
Honorable Mention: The Fingerpoke of Doom (FUCK THAT), Ultimate Warrior ending The Honky Tonk Man’s Intercontinental Championship reign, Kurt Angle’s first WWF Championship win in 2000, Ron Simmons beating Vader to become the first black World Heavyweight Champion, Mick Foley’s first WWF Championship win, The Montreal Screwjob, Goldberg dethroning Hogan on Nitro, Ric Flair winning the 1992 Royal Rumble, Eddie Guerrero beating Brock Lesnar at No Way Out 2004, Hulk Hogan’s first WWF Championship win over The Iron Sheik at MSG in 1984ĥ. That may explain why some of mine are in the Honorable Mention category instead of the top five. I also came to the game a little late, and was in and out for a while with wrestling, and also missed from the mid 2000’s until WrestleMania 28. This may be the hardest one yet because there are SO MANY title changes that are incredibly emotional, with a perfectly-told story (or an incredibly bad decision see: Doom, Fingerpoke of), and being a fan for so long, there’s so many I can think of. What were the top five most emotional title switches you ever experienced as a fan ?(either good or bad)īig congrats to Louie! If it weren’t for multiple back surgeries, my spinal stimulator, being 50 pounds overweight, and having no stamina, I’d throw you a challenge. In honor of our very own Lowlife Louie Ramos winning the H20 heavyweight title recently…(Congrats Louie!) I thought we would do a top five on title wins or losses depending on how you look at it. Padraic Toolan, Lowlife Louie Ramos and Brian Damage