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WWE has told many successful underdog stories over the years. From Kofi Kingston recently, all the way back to Pedro Morales, the company has occasionally shocked fans with upset title wins. Superstars like Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy have built very successful careers off of being perennial dark horses.
Vince McMahon's promotion has time and again crafted the tale of the long shot achieving a crowning moment against all odds to raucous organic crowd reactions. This has generated intense affection for these "common men fighting the establishment" among the company's fans. As a result, these underdog wins are engraved firmly into most fans' fondest memories of professional wrestling.
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Underdog world title wins have turned ratings wars, launched so-called B-plus players into superstardom, and changed perceptions about what makes a champion. The classic David-and-Goliath dynamic does not always stick the landing, but when done right, it pays off spectacularly.
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Here are 5 times the underdog surprisingly won the WWE Championship.
#5: Pedro Morales shocked the MSG crowd by becoming the third WWE Champion in 1971
Three weeks after Ivan Koloff ended Bruno Sammartino's legendary 2803-day WWE (then WWWF) title reign, Pedro Morales challenged the Russian Bear. Few expected Morales to win, since 21-day title reigns were almost unheard of at the time. The champion looked unbeatable, having just dethroned the top professional wrestler of the previous decade.
Additionally, Koloff's 60-pound weight advantage and the fact that Morales was United States Champion (a title he would have to vacate if he won) reinforced the belief that the challenger would lose.
In reality, the Bear was being used as a transitional champion to avoid pitting crowd favorites Sammartino and Morales against each other.
Nonetheless, the title change delightfully shocked the Madison Square Garden crowd as they roared with joy for their hero.
Morales would go on to hold the title for over 1000 days.
#4: Mankind's unexpected WWE Title win prompted 600,000 people to switch from Nitro to RAW
On January 4, 1999, Mankind faced WWE (then WWF) Champion The Rock in a title match on Monday Night RAW. The Corporate Champion was the biggest heel in the company while Mankind had never been World Champion.
Over in WCW, Hollywood Hulk Hogan was booked to win the World Championship via the infamous "Fingerpoke Of Doom". The Great One was expected to retain and go on to face Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 15 as champion, the biggest counter program the company could book.
Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy won the title with Austin's help, producing one of the loudest crowd reactions of all time and dealing a fatal blow in the ratings battle.
3: First ever WWE Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho beat The Rock and Stone Cold on the same night
At WWE Vengeance 2001, Chris Jericho became the first Undisputed champion, beating The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in one night. The titles were expected to be unified by one of the two superstars who had led the company through the Attitude Era.
Therefore, when Jericho beat The Great One for the World Heavyweight Championship, it was expected that the Rattlesnake would defeat him to unify the titles. To the shock of the San Diego crowd, Booker T interfered with the match, knocking Austin out with the WWF championship and allowing Y2J to get the historic 1-2-3.
#2. Daniel Bryan performed a miracle at WWE WrestleMania 30
For months before WrestleMania 30, the WWE Universe had been clamoring for Daniel Bryan to become the top guy in the company. The Yes! movement leader had won the world championship from John Cena. However, he lost the title almost immediately, after receiving a Pedigree from referee Triple H which allowed Randy Orton to cash in his MITB contract.
When Bryan was added to the main event of the Show of Shows between Orton and Batista, hopes of an upset in the Triple Threat match were low. It was thought that the former Team Hell No member would take the pin to protect the Viper and Animal from looking weak. After all, he had qualified for the contest via a brutal match against Triple H earlier on the card.
The explosion of the crowd when the Hollywood megastar tapped out to Bryan's LaBelle lock was one of the loudest in WrestleMania history. To this day, this is still one of the best endings to the Show of Shows, and best underdog stories in company history.
#1. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero is one of the most beloved underdogs in WWE history. At No Way Out 2004, Latino Heat found himself across the ring from Brock Lesnar. The Next Big thing had run through the likes of The Rock, Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker in his relatively short career. He was arguably the most intimidating superstar on the roster.
A WrestleMania feud with Goldberg was on the horizon for the future Beast, and it was widely expected to be for the title. Guerrero, however, shocked the world by beating the future UFC Heavyweight Champion after a brutal spear to the latter from Da Man.
He may have been assisted, but Mr. Lie, Cheat, Steal showed great heart to take all the punishment Lesnar threw at him without giving up. When the referee counted to three, there was not a dry eye in the building.
