5 title change reversals in WWE

The first Smackdown of the year saw Chad and Gable seemingly win the Smackdown Tag Team titles against the Usos, only to have it reversed by the referees and the match restarted. While unconventional, surprisingly, it is not a rare event. We look at 5 other Title changes, which were reversed in the WWE.

#5. WWE RAW - Rob Van Dam vs. Undertaker - Undisputed Championship (May 20, 2002)

RVD on RAW

On May 20, 2002, RVD challenged the Undertaker for the Undisputed championship. This was just a few days after his unsuccessful bid to recapture the Intercontinental title.

During the course of the match, RVD got the three count on the Undertaker, while the Undertaker's foot was on the ropes. History was made, RVD was celebrating. However, the celebrations were shortlived, as the authority figure, Ric Flair, made his way to the ring and restarted the match. Undertaker quickly set RVD up for the Last Ride and retained his title.

#4.Over the Limit 2011 "I Quit" Match John Cena (c) vs. The Miz WWE Championship

The Miz and John Cena lockup

At Over the Limit 2011 The Miz, along with Alex Riley in his corner, took on John Cena in an I Quit match. It was a brutal match which saw Alex Riley interfering on multiple occasions. At one point, Cena took control and Riley was pushed onto the referee. In the ensuing confusion, the Miz mounted an attack on Cena and thrust a mic onto Cena's face asking him if he quit.

Surprisingly, everyone heard "I quit". The Miz had seemingly won the match. The referee, however, managed to figure out that the Miz and Riley had used a recording and that Cena never really Quit. The match was restarted and Cena eventually won the match to retain his Championship.

#3. WWE SmackDown- Daniel Bryan vs Mark Henry- World Heavyweight Championship (November 25, 2011)

Daniel Bryan with the Big Show and Mark Henry in 2011

Daniel Bryan in 2011, had won the Money in the Bank briefcase. As such, he was entitled to a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship, which he claimed he would take at Wrestlemania.

However, Daniel Bryan had spent months taking losses in most of his matches. At this point, a feud between the World Heavyweight Champion, Mark Henry and Daniel Bryan ensued. Mark Henry was shown as confident of not being beaten by Daniel Bryan. However, the Big Show was involved in this feud as well and even attempted to get Daniel Bryan to cash in.

This led to a few matches as well as violent attacks by Mark Henry on Daniel Bryan. Things finally came to a head during the November 25 episode of Smackdown. Big Show knocked out Mark Henry allowing Daniel Bryan to quickly cash in and pin Henry for the Title. General Manager had this decision overturned claiming Henry was not medically cleared to compete and handed the briefcase back to Daniel Bryan as well. Bryan eventually would successfully cash in the briefcase against Big Show at TLC in December the same year.

#2.The Fabulous Rougeaus vs The Hart Foundation, House Show August 10, 1987

The Fabulous Rougeaus in the WWF ring

The Fabulous Rougeaus were introduced in the WWF as a clean cut face team. They went on to have feuds with a number of heel teams during the first couple of years of their run in the WWF. One of their rivalries was with the Hart Foundation, who were then the Tag Team Champions.

During August 10, 1987, at a house show in forum, the Rougeaus got a title shot against the Hart Foundation. Jimmy Hart tried to run interference with a megaphone. His plan however backfired, and the Rougeaus used it themselves to get the pin and then win. While they were announced as the new tag team champions, WWF/E reversed this decision and they were never officially recognized as Tag Team Champions.

#1. WWE RAW - Chris Jericho vs. Triple H - WWF Championship (April 17, 2000)

Chris Jericho vs Triple H for the WWF Title

Chris Jericho made an extremely memorable debut in the WWE. Within a year of his debut, he had already won the Intercontinental Championship and he had turned into a fan favourite.

His promo skills were almost always on display for the crowd and the WWE never hesitated to put him in spots where they could utilize him in improving the storytelling. One such incident occured on the April 17th episode of Monday Night Raw. Triple H and Stephanie were playing one of their many power couple storylines and were confronted by Jericho. A war of words ensued eventually leading up to a WWE title match between the Champion, Triple H and Y2J.

During the course of the match, the referee Earl Hebner was repeatedly bullied and humiliated by Triple H. As a result, Earl Hebner made a quick count during one of Jericho's attempted pins and gave the win and the title to Jericho. As per the storyline, Triple H eventually pressured Earl Hebner into reversing his decision and the title change. As a result, this reign of Chris Jericho is not officially recognized by the WWE.