At WrestleMania 32, Zack Ryder shocked the wrestling world by winning the ladder match for the coveted WWE Intercontinental Championship. While the fans expected either Owens or Zayn to walk out of the AT&T Stadium with the Intercontinental title, it was Zack Ryder who managed to get his hands on the championship.
However, the celebrations didn’t last long, as Ryder faced The Miz in an impromptu match with the IC title up for grabs the very next night on RAW. Miz’s wife and former WWE Diva, Maryse then made a surprise appearance, distracting Ryder long enough for The Miz to take advantage with a thumb to the eye, and The Miz soon found himself holding on to the Intercontinental title.
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Ryder wasn’t the first superstar, nor will be the last to hold a singles title for only 24 hours. Today, we take a look at the five instances in which superstars held a singles title for less than 24 hours (other than of course, the WWE Hardcore Championship).
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5) The Miz loses the Intercontinental Championship
The Miz piled on the misery for Ryder on this week’s edition of Monday Night RAW, but the “A – lister” knows exactly how it feels to be in Ryder’s shoes. During the pre – show at WrestleMania 29, Wade Barrett walked into WrestleMania as the Intercontinental Champion. However, The Miz defeated Barrett to become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion.
The next night on RAW, Barrett invoked his rematch clause, and faced Miz for the title. The leader of Nexus then defeated The Miz to win back the WWE Intercontinental Championship! However, it wasn’t the only time Miz lost a title 24 hours after winning it. In 2014, during the Night of Champions PPV, The Miz faced Ziggler with the Intercontinental title on the line yet again.
The Miz defeated Ziggler to win the Intercontinental title. However, 24 hours later, Ziggler won back the title from The Miz on RAW. Miz wasn’t the only superstar who threw a tantrum, as his stunt double Damien Mizdow once again over shadowed The Miz with his antics.
4) Mankind drops the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H
Mick Foley is arguably the most beloved WWE legend today. However, Mick wasn’t always a lucky camper; during his early days in WWE, Mick played the part of a demented psychopath – Mankind. Mankind was also handpicked by Vince McMahon to put down his arch nemesis, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
However, the character of Mankind evolved with time, and at SummerSlam 1999, Mankind was involved in a triple threat match against Steve Austin and Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Mankind won the match, winning the coveted title for the third – and last time during his tenure with the company.
However, Mankind was forced to defend the title against Triple H the next night on RAW, and Triple H went on to defeat Mankind to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship! The highlight of the match came when Triple H pedigreed Mankind on a pile of thumbtacks to put Mankind down for good.
3) Randy Savage loses the WCW Heavyweight Championship to Hogan
Randy Savage is undoubtedly one of the greatest professional wrestlers in the history of the business. His legendary match with Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III was ahead of its time, and Randy helped the business evolve with his colorful gimmick, outlandish mannerisms and unmatched charisma. In early 90s, Savage left WWE due to his differences with Vince McMahon, and signed up with WCW.
In April 1998 at Spring Stampede, Savage faced Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. With a little help from Nash, Savage defeated Sting to win the World title, albeit tearing the ACL in his knee in the process. The next night on Nitro, Hollywood Hogan faced Savage for the title, and while Nash tried to help Savage, Bret Hart interfered and cost Savage the title!
A year later, in an all too familiar situation, Savage won the WCW Heavyweight title for the fourth and final time in his career at the Bash at the Beach PPV. The next night on Nitro, Savage faced Hogan with the title on the line, and Hogan once again won the title from Savage, this time thanks to interference from Kevin Nash.
2) Kane holds on to the WWE World Heavyweight title only for one night
Kane is known to be one of the most loyal employees in WWE. Kane has always been a company man, and during the Attitude Era, Vince chose Kane as his weapon of destruction during his feud with Austin. During the King of the Ring PPV in 1998, Austin faced Kane in the main event in a First Blood match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
The Undertaker interfered during the match, and decked Austin with a chair, bloodying the champion. This cost Austin the match and the title, and on the very next night, Austin invoked his rematch clause and faced Kane for the title. Austin successfully defeated Kane to win back the title for a second time in his career, while Kane’s only reign as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion came to a screeching halt!
1) Bret Hart drops the WWE World Heavyweight title thanks to interference from Austin
In 1997, the major talking point was Shawn Michaels “losing his smile” and relinquishing the title just months before WrestleMania. This forced WWE to put the vacated championship on the line at In Your House 13: Final Four in a Four Corners match, pitting Bret Hart, Vader, The Undertaker and Austin against each other.
At In Your House, Bret Hart won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but was forced to defend the title the next night on RAW against Sycho Sid. During the match, Steve Austin interfered and cost Bret Hart the match, in an attempt to convince Bret to face him at WrestleMania. Bret lost the title 24 hours after winning it, and faced Austin at WrestleMania 13 in a Submission match, and the rest as they say is history.
