Top 5 WWE World title changes at Night of Champions

The Great OneSeth Rollins is about to make history by becoming the first champion to defend multiple titles at the WWEs annual Night of Champions pay per view where he is scheduled to puthis United States Champions on the lineagainst John Cena in addition to defending his WWE World Heavyweight title against Sting.With Night of Championsbeing unique in the sense that all the titles available in the WWE are featured, this list takes a look at the top fiveinstances of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship changing hands at the PPVthat began under the Vengeance name in 2001.P.S: The list includes the matches from the original Vengeance PPV that began in 2001 till the last Night of Champions PPV in 2014Also, only a WWE World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship change is considered hence the ECW title was never a primary championship in the WWE.

#5 Mark Henry beats Randy Orton - 2010

Mark Henry’s only world title win came at Night of Champions in 2010

Mark Henry debuted in the then WWF in 1996 and was bounced around the company in a series of embarrassing and ridiculous angles,including the ‘Sexual Chocolate’ moniker and the brutally pathetic ‘Birth of hand’ segment. It took a decade for Henry to be considered a viable candidate for the World Heavyweight championship, but he was finally redeemed at Night of Champions 2010, 15 years from his debut.

Henry was booked as a monster heel at that time and the WWE bookers were in the process of handing out the less prestigious World Heavyweight championship to long-ignored talent – resulting in title reigns for guys like Christian, Jack Swagger and The Bigshow.

Henry was booked quite strongly in the leadup to the match with the reigning champion Randy Orton, with the introduction of the ‘Hall of Pain’ gimmick and him winning a battle royal to earn the title shot.

The match eventually turned out to be better than anybody expected it to be and Henry dominated Orton to win his only World title with his World’s Strongest Slam finisher(Which fails to convince many a WWE fan to this day). Henry went on to defend his title against Orton at the following Hell in a Cell PPV and would hold on to his title till TLC when he would lose it to The Bigshow in what has to be the slowest match of all time not involving the Great Khali!

Henry was even voted as Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s ‘Most Improved Wrestler’ in 2011, a fine reward for his persistence

#4 The Rock beats The Undertaker(c) and Kurt Angle - 2002

The Rock with the Undisputed title

Triple threat matches are not supposed to be great as far as in ring quality is concerned,but when you have three wrestlers like The Undertaker, Kurt Angle and The Rock in it, it is bound to produce something special.

The triple threat match for the Undisputed WWE Championship would be the last time these three great wrestlers would be in the ring together and while the match wasn’t a classic, it was definitely the best match on the card.

The Undertaker was into his only WWE championship reign in his biker persona and the Rock was getting ready to leave WWE for Hollywood having just come back after a brief hiatus. The match at Vengeance was only supposed to be a transitional encounter, with the WWE in the process of introducing Brock Lesnar as the next main event star. Lesnar was supposed to battle the winner at Summerslam, and it was the worst kept secret that the winner here would drop the title to Lesnar by the time Summerslam came around.

But there was still the small matter of deciding who would be fed to Lesnar – and it was the Great One who came out as the winner, pinning Kurt Angle. The Rock would duly do the job for Lesnar in their subsequent encounter and leave for the bright lights of Hollywood where as both the Undertaker and Kurt Angle would take on Lesnar in hugely exciting rivalries for the title in the subsequent years.

#3 Kurt Angle beats Brock Lesnar(c) and The Bigshow - 2003

Kurt Angle captured the WWE Championship at Vengeance in 2003

One year later, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle would again battle for the WWE Championship at Vengeance in a triple threat match – this time with The Bigshow. The angle was excitingly booked by the WWE creative with Lesnar being portrayed as the fan favourite Champion and The Bigshow as the unstopppable heel. But the fans widely supported the returning Kurt Angle, who had been out of action with neck surgery following an acclaimed match with Lesnar at Wrestlemania 19.

This match also initiated the WWE’s plan for demystifying the invincible persona of Brock Lesnar, with the champion having trounced his way over all his past opponents. The match was highlly prasied for the drama and the spots and it concluded with the jubilant fans at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado cheering for Kurt Angle after the Olympic gold medallist performed his signature Angle Slam on both his competitors and pinned Lesnar to win the WWE Championship.

Lesnar would turn heel soon and recapture the WWE Championship before dropping it to Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out and departing the company after Wrestlemania 20.

#2 Jeff Hardy beats CM Punk - 2009

Jeff Hardy and CM Punk tore the house down

The main event of the 2009 Night of Champions involved two of the biggest fan favourites of all time – Jeff Hardy and CM Punk and the match was significant for both of them. Punk had just been into his first heel run in the WWE and rumours were circulating that Hardy’s WWE departure was imminent. So it became a major surprise when Hardy regained his World Heavyweight championship after the best match on the card.

Near fall after near fall followed and finally a Swanton bomb was delivered by Hardy seconds after Punk had seen his GTS countered into a Twist of Fate. This would be Hardy’s third and final world title in the WWE and the man who had excited the WWE universe with his unique devil may care attitude, would leave the WWE just over a month later.

The feud gave Punk the momentum in his first heel run in the company which would lead to the legendary ‘Summer of Punk’ a couple of years later that would change the course of the company. As for Hardy, this was his final moment of championship glory in the company where he had risen over the ranks in the tag team and singles division, providing unbridled excitement over the years.

Hardy would go on to TNA and win multiple world titles there where as Punk would remain in the WWE for another four years before growing tired with the company’s direction and shifting his focus to the UFC.

#1 Chris Jericho wins the Undisputed title - 2001

Chris Jericho unified the WWE and WCW world titles at Vengeance 2001

No other entry in this list comes close to the Undisputed WWE Championship tournament held at the inaugural Vengeance PPV of 2001. After an underwhelming Invasion angle, the WWE creative decided to unify the WWE Championship and the WCW Championship in a 4 men tournament at the San Diego Sports Arena.

The WWE champion StoneCold Steve Austin would defend his title against Kurt Angle, whereas the WCW champion the Rock would battle Chris Jericho and the winners would battle for a second time on the night for the undisputed title.

Against all expectations, it was Chris Jericho who came out on top, beating Austin in the final to claim the undisputed championship. True, there were a lot of run-ins, culminating with a title shot to the head by Booker T on Stone Cold, but the night belonged to the man from Winnipeg, Canada. Y2J would go on to beat both Austin and the Rock in single matches over the next two PPVs to establish himself as the champion before dropping his belt to a returning Triple H in the main event of Wrestlemania 18.

It would be Jericho’s final world championship run for seven years, but he would never stop reminding people of that magical night in San Diego which would define Jericho’s legacy in the WWE for ever.