Best "First Time World Title Win" Of All Time

[IrishCanadian25]

The question is simple. The answer? Not so much. Which was the greatest 1st time World Title win of all time and why?

Here are a few nominees:

1. Randy Savage at Wrestlemania 4. In Atlantic City, the WWF held a tournament to determine the new WWF Champion. Andre had "beaten" Hulk Hogan (the ref clearly missed Hogan's shoulder come up) and Andre then sold the belt to Ted DiBiase. WWF brass wasn't having that, so DiBiase was stripped of the title and a tournament was created. People expected Hogan to win it back, but after he and Andre were both eliminated in their match together, it was Savage vs DiBiase. With a little help from the Hulkster, Savage won his first WWF Title.

2. Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 6. When Hulk Hogan lost - rare as it was - there was usually some shady circumstance. He'd barely lost since the first Wrestlemania, and now, he'd held the belt for another full year and drew his 'friend' The Ultimate Warrior. In Toronto at Wrestlemania 6, Warrior did the impossible by pinning Hogan for his first WWF Title, and he celebrated by holding both that and the Intercontinental Belt over his head.

3. Ric Flair at the Royal Rumble. I realize Flair had won a mess of NWA / WCW titles by this point, but his Rumble win has to qualify. Once again, due to controversy, the WWF title was suspended. The decision was made that the Rumble winner would take the belt, and Flair drew #3. As Bobby Heenan flipped out, 27 other men entered, Sid Justice tossed Hulk Hogan, and Flair capitalized. It was a hell victory, but it also legitimized Flair's legacy in WWF as well as the NWA / WCW.

4. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 12. The much debated Iron Man Match at Wrestlemania 12 ended with Michaels holding up his first WWF title after beating rival Bret Hart in overtime. Whatever you feel about the match itself, the ending was sick, and Michaels holding the belt in the ring as Jim Ross talked about "the boy hood dream coming true" set the stage for a truly legendary career.

5. Mick Foley on Monday Night Raw. What a great moment, and what history. WWF was being thrashed by WCW in the Monday Night Wars, and Mick Foley was getting a shot at hated heel The Rock, who was flanked by The Corporation. The great subplot here was Tony Schiavone giving the result away, since Raw was taped. WWF won that night's War and it started the resurgence of the WWF and decline of WCW. Foley pinned The Rock and was hoisted onto the shoulders of Degeneration X as the crowd went apeshit. "Mrs. Foley's Little Boy" was champ.

6. Bill Goldberg on Monday Nitro. In one of the coolest moments on Monday Night Raw, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan passed the torch to Bill Goldberg in Atlanta on a Monday Night. The match was set early in the night, and since Bill was undefeated, there was a buzz in the air that something special was going to happen. Goldberg dominated and jackhammered Hogan for the win as Atlanta exploded. Love or hate Schiavone, I can still hear him scream "he got him up!" Goldberg was amazing, but why this match was on Nitro and not a major PPV is a tell tale sign of WCW's deeper issues.

7. The Rock at Survivor Series. The coolest part of Dwayne Johnson's first WWF Title win was the fact that it was the part of a colossal swerve. EVERYONE had turned to love The Rock again, and EVERYONE thought this tournament was Austin's to lose. Once Austin was screwed by Shane, it looked like The McMahon's guy was Mick Foley and The Rock was the fan favorite. Oh, nay nay! Rock and the McMahons swerved Foley, eliciting great sympathy for Mankind and turning him uber face. Rock was now a mega heel, and the feud with Austin was on full blast.

8. Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 14. Austin was having the torch passed to him by Shawn Michaels, who had injury issues. Mike Tyson was the guest referee and was apparently a DX guy. Even though you had a feeling Austin was gonna win, the way it happened and the fact that it happened was a huge shove for the WWF into the modern era.

9. Edge at New Year's Revolution. Nobody saw it coming, because it had never been done before. The anti-Cena sentiment had started at this point, as Superman himself couldn't dream of surviving what Cena could. Well, on this night, Cena had survived an Elimination Chamber, and people were either thrilled or miserable. Suddenly, out comes Vince to announce Edge's cash in, and in the moment that made him "The Ultimate Opportunist," and a future Hall of Famer while simultaneously launching the Money in the Bank excitement saw Edge win his first WWF title from a prone Cena as, once again, the crowd went apeshit.

10. Rob van Dam at One Night Stand. RVD was the holdover from ECW, managed by Paul Heyman, and he was also the Money in the Bank title holder. As the first "face" winner of the briefcase, RVD told Cena, man to man, that he wanted the match at Hammerstein Ballroom for the ECW PPV. It was old school ECW at work. The legendary "If Cena Wins We Riot" sign set the tone, and was the prototype for obnoxious signs to come. Edge interfered and speared Cena, prompting the crowd to chant "Thank You Edge" as RVD hit the frog splash and launched the 2nd coming of ECW as its first champion.

Feel free to vote or write in your pick!

 

[klunderbunker]

Hogan over the Iron Sheik.

Think about it. Hogan basically squashed him, with the match lasting all of 5 minutes. He destroyed Sheik to start, gets beaten down for about a minute, survives the camel clutch like it's a headlock, hits some power moves, big boot, legdrop, championship. It totally blew Sheik away and there has never been a match like it, at least not that was filmed as far as I know. It was a brand new way to have wrestling and you couldn't have made Hogan look more superior to Sheik. It brought wrestling into modern times and still works today.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Totally biased but I thought the "boyhood dream" match and ending was the best ever. Great story of redemption and accomplishment. After growing up Hogan, Hogan, Hogan it was fantastic to see a guy on the small side who I never thought would accomplish much in WWE win the biggest prize in the industry.

 

[Steve-O-Matt]

How can you not have Eddie Guerrero, shame on you sir! LOL. But that's what I'm putting forward, a man who worked his ass off for the sport he loved. It all paid off for him. I know they wanted to take the title of Lesnar for a fued, but when Eddie won the title the world of wrestling joined together for that night to applude a true spirit of wrestling.

 

[thebarber]

exactly, my other vote is Eddie Guerreros victory over Brock Lesnar to beocme WWE Champion. For a FORST TIME, like the thread is supposed to be about, Flairs Rumble victory does not even qualify. Foleys first WWE title would also be close but Eddie, against all odds, his size, background and history in the business coming back from near death in the late 90s makes his First and only world title victory the standout in that list

 

[AmerikanWolves619]

For me, it's definitely a tie with Eddie Guerrero wining at No Way Out '04 and Chris Benoit at that year's Wrestlemania where both Chris and Eddie (both now champions) embraced in a celebratory hug. Those two were the best feel good endings for the first (and only) time champions.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I'd have to go with Eddie Guerrero. So much emotion, he was so proud to be WWE Champion.

 

[King of the Words]

HBK winning the title was one of the greatest moments in WWE history.(IMO) I just re-watched the IRON MAN match yesterday and it was truly amazing. An hour, plus overtime, of argueably the two greatest in-ring talents the WWE have ever had was a pure treat to the WWE audience. I remember wanting to see these two go head to head for the WWE title for a while. then when it happened at Mania 12 it was like a dream come true. I grew up watching these 2 knowing from what I saw, that they were on a collision course for top spot in the business. It was like a passing of the torch, from great, to greater. I was going for HBK because Bret had already been the champion a number of times and this was HBK`s 2nd Mania in a row fighting for the title. The match and the moment of the boyhood dream coming true was definetly worth the wait.IMO. For me, this was the best first title win of all time. Truly, an amazing moment for the WWE and WWE fans, HBK fans particularly.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

A couple of other ones to ponder:

Eddie Guerrero versus Brock Lesnar at No Way Out 2004. Feel good moment par excellence. Still one of Eddie's endearing images was the celebration here.

Brock Lesnar versus The Rock at SummerSlam 2005 or Batista versus Triple H at WM21. On a similar line to Goldberg, both these guys grabbed the brass ring by getting the rub from two of the biggest names in the business. The advantage they have is that they did it at big time events and had a subsequent reign remembered for positive reasons.

Y2J versus The Rock and then SCSA 2001 at Vengeance to win his first TWO World Titles on the same night. Nuff said really!

And just because I absolutely loved it, I wanna throw James Storm's (cowboy) hat into the ring the ring too for his recent World Title win over Kurt Angle on Impact Wrestling, just because it was great to see an 'original' take the belt the night a couple nights after it appeared at BFG that this was the sort of risk that TNA was unwilling to take.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

For me, it's definitely a tie with Eddie Guerrero wining at No Way Out '04 and Chris Benoit at that year's Wrestlemania where both Chris and Eddie (both now champions) embraced in a celebratory hug. Those two were the best feel good endings for the first (and only) time champions.

First off, apologies to all showing Eddie love. Y'all got your posts in whilst I was typing mine.

I think Benoit isn't allowed because he had actually won a World Title (on his last night in WCW). It was stripped off him the following night (for Sid Vicious having his foot under the ropes) but, to my knowledge, it was still recognized as a World Title run. Not trying to be a smartass, I'd him in my original post too but checked out the WCW victory and it does look like a legit reign.

Also, should Flair not be DQ'd, IC, as he was a multi time NWA World Champ when he won the WWF Title?

 

[The Idiot]

First of all, excellent thread.

I think if Warrior would have stuck around and lasted in the WWF for several more years as their top guy, this would rank up there as one of the best "First time World title wins" ever. The magnitude and hype of this match was out of this world. Still may never be matched.

I also think, that if WCW didn't die and continued to be in the top 2 wrestling organizations in the world, that Bill Goldberg's title win over Hollywood Hogan at the sold out Georgia Dome on Monday Nitro would be listed near the top as well. He had to get through Scott Hall that same night...and any time you go against the nWo, there's likely a run-in to happen to save the title. That wasn't the case. Clean win and one of the biggest moments in WCW history.

Eddie Guerrero's was great, but he never felt like a true main eventer to me. One of the best ring workers, but he never felt like the elite. Just my opinion.

Savage at Wrestlemania 4. First ever tournament ending in dramatic fashion. Great great show! However, let's be honest...Savage was holding the strap for Hogan. Probably one of the greatest transitional WWF champions of all time. I know he held it for a year, but everyone knew he would lose it and to what guy.


So with all that said, and really looking at it...there's no bigger first time world title win than Shawn Michaels winning it at Wrestlemania 12. Who would have thought in 1990, that one half of the Rockers would go on to become WWF champion? Not only did it happen at the biggest match of the year (main event of Wrestlemania) but it was against what would become his biggest rival, the most popular rivalry in the history of pro wrestling. Above all else, this match signaled the turning point of the business. It wasn't about the dominant big man, it was about work-rate and who could put on a show. Nobody did it better than HBK...and those tears at the end were real. I would have loved to have picked something nobody would have guessed, but this is a popular choice for a reason. No bigger first-time-world title-win than this one.

 

[thebromm]

I voted for HBK at WM12 and I'm actually ashamed of myself for NOT thinking about Eddie Guerrero. If you think about it though, had it not been for guys like Bret and Shawn, Eddie possibly would have never been champion. As a long time mark of HBK, his still reigns supreme in my opinion.

 

[Dangers93]

For me it has to be Jeff Hardy's win at Armageddon 2008. He had come so close so many times it seemed to me he was going to be that nearly guy who never quite made it to the top. I celebrated like a man possessed when he won and it was a not bad reign, if you compare it to what he followed it up with...

 

[InterestingDrug]

Obviously I'm partial to Savage, but Hogan over the Iron Sheik was probably the most significant of all first time title runs. His win shot pro wrestling into the mainstream. That win did more for wrestling than any other world title win in the history of WWE. If there was no Hogan win, the Stone Cold, Savage and Michaels title runs probably wouldnt have happened the way they did.

My only issue here is, the Flair title win shouldnt count if the Goldberg title win counts. We are either talking WWF/E only or we are talking all organizations. If we are talking all orgs, then where would David Arquette rank? heh

 

[bk555]

I chose Foley. What a great moment. Just everything fell into place. Everyone HATED the Rock. People all felt bad for Foley and wanted him to get a title reign of some sort. And i will never ever forget the pop Austin got when his music hit that time. Truly electric. Then the chairshot which stood out more than anything and following that was mankind
"achieving his dream and anyone else who had been told you can't do it!"

 

[The Crock]

I had to go with Foley. The circumstances surrounding it (WCW trying to screw the WWF over) and all the raw emotion involved push this one to the top for me. Who would have ever though Mick Foley would have been a World Champion? He was a great worker, someone who made everybody that worked with him look like absolute gold, and he was willing to do ANYTHING to make a match as good as it could be -- but was he World Champion material, was he ever going to grab the figurative brass ring? That's what makes it so special, that's what takes it to a different level.

I mean, I remember this moment very fondly and probably always will. The match was something to behold, not because it was a clinic, but because there were 10-15 people outside the ring milling around, DX and the Corporation were brawling, then... Stone Cold arrived. The crowd exploded for his arrival, they exploded for his chair shot on Rock, then they blew the roof off of the arena when Foley got the cover. An all-time classic moment. Vince McMahon's reaction afterwards -- with Stone Cold flipping him the bird -- was great, it further sold the moment. Plus, Michael Cole did an excellent job on commentary; I for one will never forget the call that night. "Mankind has achieved his dream and the dream of everyone else, who's been told you can't do it."

It was inspirational, it was heartwarming, and you were just so happy for Mick Foley. My favorite EVER title win. Shawn Michaels' win at WrestleMania XII is a close second. They went on for a full hour, with neither man able to get the upper hand, in what was a beautiful match and an all-around spectacle. The buzz surrounding it, the build, the entrances even -- it gave off that "big match feel." The added intensity offered by the overtime period is something totally different than most of the other options on this list. People were on the edge of their seat, wanting to know who would win. The first time I watched it (years later, but I didn't know the result) I remember hanging on every move, on every twist, every turn.

When Michaels won, it was such a release of emotions. The boyhood dream had become a reality and you felt good seeing him win the belt. He had been a warrior through over an hour in that match, with Bret Hart relentlessly working his back and had pulled it out against all odds. All that, coupled with how badly Michaels wanted it made for a thing of legend. This was just one of the many chapters in the Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels saga and even though it is often overshadowed by the Montreal Screwjob, it is what both men should be remembered for.

Those are my two favorites: Foley on top, with Michaels just behind. I remember them very fondly and they are some of my favorite matches ever. Feel good moments and title changes go hand in hand, but it's tough to rival these two.

 

[GlobalWrestlingAlliance]

In my humble opinion, the greatest first-time world title win has to be Ron Simmons defeating Vader for the WCW Championship when Sting couldn't wrestle. Ron Simmons, though relatively over with the fans and a hard-working tag team wrestler, was a long shot at best to win the championship. His win was magical in that the crowd seemed to believe that Vader would retain regardless and legit popped when Simmons hit the powerslam for the 3.

This is by far one of my favorite wrestling memories.

 

[The Ultimate Heel]

While Edge at New Year's Revolution was a definite shock to the system, my personal favorite was Goldberg on Nitro. Only because at the time, I was at a virtual "fork in the road" when it came to having anything to do with wrestling. The NWO by that time was just a graveyard for wrestlers that WCW and the creative team had no other use for and was becoming stale with every passing week. When Goldberg came onto the scene it was like lightning in a bottle. He peaked my interest. I fully expected Goldberg to be the next big thing in all of professional wrestling. And by the end of Nitro, I was more than satisfied with the end result. At one point, I was really amazed that Hogan actually lost almost as much as Goldberg won. Only because Hogan, even before he became a heel, never seemed to me to be the type to help out a young wrestler for the sake of the business. He appeared to do it that night on Nitro. Too bad WCW ruined Goldberg's career shortly after that with all of the messed up storylines that the creative team had put him into.

 

[2Future4U]

In my humble opinion, the greatest first-time world title win has to be Ron Simmons defeating Vader for the WCW Championship when Sting couldn't wrestle. Ron Simmons, though relatively over with the fans and a hard-working tag team wrestler, was a long shot at best to win the championship. His win was magical in that the crowd seemed to believe that Vader would retain regardless and legit popped when Simmons hit the powerslam for the 3.

This is by far one of my favorite wrestling memories.

I actually remember watching that on TBS and remembering the fans in the background going NUTS. probably one of the most underrated first title wins of all time ( this and when Jericho won the WWF title off of Triple H on RAW )

 

[Mr_billy]

Warrior over Hogan, the match was just great, and it was nice to see hogan lose the belt. At the time everyone was about the warrior and we all went nuts. It was a big deal, and the first face vs face championship match I can remember.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I voted other because as soon as I saw the thread I was taken back to Summerslam 2004 when Randy Orton upset Chris Benoit to become the young world champion in WWE history. It was obviously a major moment for Orton and it showed that the company had enough faith in him to be a world champion. It was a great match but what was even better was what followed it in his feud with Evolution, the title win and that feud made him a true singles star and future face of the company.

Other that deserve mentioning, Jericho becoming the first Undisputed champion, Lesnar beating Rocky, Eddie beating Lesnar, RVD beating Cena and Edge defeating Cena.

 

[The12thMan]

Dont think many people have mentioned this one.

No Way Out 2004- Eddie Guerrero beating Brock Lesnar to become WWE Champion for a first time.

Who really honestly saw that coming? Most likely nobody. But when it happened it was absolutely awesomeeee.

I mean who would have seen that coming, especially with Wrestlemania around the corner. Nobody knew about Lesnar or Goldberg leaving at that point. I can honestly remember when Eddie won I was just as shocked as he was (kayfabe). Match itself was awesome. Great example of how a little build up and great wrestling can lead to a successful main event.

 

[C200937]

hmm..i think rey mysterio's world title win is nice..a great back and forth match between kurt angle,orton and rey.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Benoit winning his first(I don't count the cheap reign in WCW) WWE championship at WM. The emotion after that match was just unmatched by anything else. The best celebration to a match that I ever saw.

Eddie Guerrero winning his first against Lesnar. To see a guy like him finally able to get over the hump was fantastic.

To see those two guys finally get their well deserved spot in the sun was a slap in the face to all those people in WCW who held them down.

 

[The_Awesome_One]

My favorite was easily Jeff Hardy's win at Armageddon in 08. He had been chasing the title for months and by armageddon nobody expected Jeff to win the title. It was a 'feel-good moment' as people like to call it.