Favourite Wrestlemania title change

[TheICChampion]

With WrestleMania less than a few weeks away, and the very real possibility of the most underwhelming, predictable and therefore not likely to be very memorable title changes in WrestleMania history, simply because of who is challenging for them (namely Roman Reigns and John Cena), I want to know which title change on WWE's grandest stage was your personal favourite, and why. What was it about that match that made the belt changing hands more special than any other title change that you saw on any other WrestleMania? For me, it's really a toss-up between:

Chris Benoit winning the World Heavyweight title at WM XX because of not only how hard he fought and how much he deserved it but also after the match seeing he and Eddie embrace in the middle of the ring, both men on top of the business they gave everything they had for and had such passion for.

And:

Batista winning the World Heavyweight title from Triple H at WrestleMania 21, mainly because it was the first ever WrestleMania I saw live on PPV (Because I never really had the cash to watch it at home and at the time I had no idea I could go see it in theatres). That and Batista was my guy at the time.

So, if I had to pick just one, it would have to be the one with Benoit, as I'm sure many people would agree, regardless of events that unfolded 3 short years later. Now it's your turn. It doesn't have to be just World titles, it can be any title, as long as you can explain why it was so memorable to you.

 

[Earth_2_Superman]

Warrior beating Hogan at Wrestlemania VI. Not only was it a memorable match, but it was a passing of the torch (although that didn't go so well). It had an awesome build and the fact that it was face vs. face, which was rare at the time. I thought it was perfect. It's just a shame that nothing came of it afterwards, such as Warrior moving on to greater heights. By SummerSlam, the most talked about storyline was Hogan possibly "retiring" due to Earthquake's attack.

What made it even more memorable was the fact that despite one of them having to lose, the fans didn't turn on any of them. It was one of those scenarios of no matter what happens, everybody was going home happy.

 

[Rane]

I'm gonna have to go with Batista's and John Cena's wins at WM 21. These two were the hottest young superstars around at the time and I believed the timing was right for them to become world champions. They were both a breath of fresh air from long title reigns from HHH and JBL. It was however a bigger relief to see HHH lose to Batista as he was pretty much in almost every single world title match besides Summerslam 2004 from what I recall till WM 21 in 2005.

The matches both had solid storylines, though Batista's & HHH build up over the final months leading up to WM 21 were incredible. It's unfortunately something we never see in todays WWE.

Although the only thing I would change however post WM21 would be Cena going to Raw and Batista going to Smackdown. Batista always had a consistent positive crowd reaction, while Cena's negative reaction was realised with his match with Kurt Angle at Unforgiven. If they had them stay on their respective shows where they built their reputation, things would be a lot different. But now I'm going off topic.

 

[Ric 'The Nature Boy' Flair]

I think Daniel Bryan because I started watching in 2007 so I don't know many, but seeing a guy that worked so hard succeed was a real feel good moment.

 

[MC_Live]

Benoit. I started watching in 2004, so WrestleMania XX was the first Mania to happen when I was a fan. That triple threat may be my favorite match of all time. And it really sucks that one of the greatest WrestleMania moments in history can never be addressed on WWE TV again. But that's a completely different topic.

Outside of that, I guess Daniel Bryan last year will be one that sticks with me. I didn't actually see a full WrestleMania live until WrestleMania 23 (I had to wait for the DVD's to watch 20, 21, and 22) so the only title changes I've seen as they happened where are minimal, and that's the one I had the most personal investment in. But I also remember Mysterio beating JBL for the IC title in under 30 seconds. That counts.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It goes all the way back to Wrestlemania 5 and Ravishing Rick Rude upsetting the Ultimate Warrior.

That truly was the birth of "anything can happen at Wrestlemania". No one saw it coming, that it was done so well, with sneaky interference rather than the "schmoz" that'd be needed for a big name to drop a title today to save face all the better. It was the first case of someone getting properly outsmarted. That it was Rude who did it, who even then as an 11 year old was my favourite was all the better.

A close runner up is the Benoit win. Like most people I never actually believed they'd do it, I watched live at my folks house at three in the morning, screaming at the TV... I still thought Trips was gonna screw him over... but amazingly it went through, he tapped and it felt like the wrestling world took a massive leap forward. If only we knew...

 

[FromGlasgow]

I would have to agree with Benoit at Wrestlemania 20 as I had followed his career for years before that and used to buy the VHS tapes of his matches in Japan and Stampede etc and later ECW and WCW I had always been a fan and thought skill wise he was the best in the world for years so it was an amazing moment to see him winning the world title at Wrestlemania but after everything that happened I can't even watch any of his matches now and havent done since I could not enjoy watching him now knowing what he has done.
Next favourite would be HBK and Razor ladder match at Wrestlemania 10 I thought that had a good story going in with the 2 titles leading to the ladder match to settle it which ended up being one of my favourite matches of all time.

 

[Seosa]

I definitely agree with the sentiments over Benoit at 20 & Cena/Batista at 21. The Cena & Batista victories felt particularly monumental because it felt like the start of a new era.
Personally I'll throw in Taker at 24.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

WrestleMania VI is when I was old enough to watch wrestling live (or in these early Mania's renting at the video store) and as a kid I always rented Mania VI and endured what was probably one of the worst undercards in Mania history just to watch Warrior beat Hogan for the title (don't ask me why I never fast forwarded).

My next favorite title change comes at WrestleMania XIX with Brock beating Kurt to become a 2 time champ. Rock was a month away from completing his last full time gig with the company so I was ready for something new and that meant Brock. I also was a huge fan of Angle's so I was really amped for this one. Like Mania VI, this is another Mania I watched over and over and it was because I loved the title switch. Even though Brock misses the shooting star press, the match was great and Brock winning the title will always be one of my favorite moments.

 

[nwojeff]

Wow, I have to chime in here because of all of the love for Benoit, just to add a contrarian viewpoint because I never see anyone criticize Benoit (as a wrestler at least) on this forum or online at all. To me personally, Benoit winning the title at Wrestlemania 20 was one of the worst, most disappointing moments in my history of being a wrestling fan. Eddie Guerrero retaining was also disappointing to me, and while I understand all those two guys had been through and what underdogs they were, I never was a huge fan of either, especially Benoit. This has nothing to do with what Benoit did in 2007 by the way. I felt this way the moment it happened in 2004. I remember when those two embraced with the two world titles at the end of WM 20 and I thought to myself, this is the end of my being a hardcore wrestling fan. And it was. I've been a casual viewer ever since, and nothing again to me will ever compare to either the Hulkamania era or the Attitude Era.

I just felt I had to add that in because no one ever offers this viewpoint and Benoit winning in particular, plus WM 20 as a whole with the disaster that was Goldberg vs. Lesnar, pretty much signaled the end of my being a fan of the current product. I should have really stopped watching after the perfection that was WrestleMania 19.

But to answer the question, my favorite Wrestlemania title change was Hogan winning the WWF title from Savage at Wrestlemania 5. It's still my favorite match ever to this day and I loved that year-long title reign from Hogan. Hogan's Wrestlemania 7 win over Sgt. Slaughter would be a close second (loved his 1991 title reign even more) and a third would be the Wrestlemania 9 shocker over Yokozuna at the very end of the show, just to add another contrarian point of view, as this moment was one of my fondest as a wrestling fan even though most people despise it because it's perceived as an insult to Bret Hart and a power play by Hogan. And it definitely was both of those things, but I don't care. At 8 and a half years old, I loved it, and I can watch it today and enjoy the hell out of it.

 

[OldSchoolWrestlingFan]

My favorite title change at Mania because of the storyline leading up to it & the match itself has to be when Ricky Steamboat beat Macho Man for the I.C. title - the story line of him chasing the title & the epic match they put on lead to one of the best title matches in history. A close second to me was Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon - I'm not sure if this really qualifies of a title change but the match was out of this world! Great thread!

Honorable Mentions: Benoit, Daniel Bryan & Edge/Christian winning the tag titles in TLC against the Dudleys/Hardys

 

[FlairFan2003]

Either of Macho Man's wins.....Warrior beating Hogan was epic to be sure, but in 1988 just the fact that Hogan didn't win was almost unbelievable, Savage had been the hardest working guy in the top tier since arriving in 1985, he had put over George Steele, Ricky Steamboat, & Hogan and done everything asked of him, even when it bordered on the ridiculous and he still was WAY OVER with fans....it was a classic moment FINALLY seeing someone other than Hogan hold that belt after so long.

In 1992 the storyline was exceptional, even if it was a rip off of Flair-Jimmy Garvin circa 1987. The promos were fantastic (especially Flair In his series of "She was mine before she was yours....she's damaged goods" vignettes) and the match was an excellent mix of brawling and technical wrestling with several near falls and momentum shifts that made it believable each time that one guy would beat the other. Plus, even though Mania almost always lets the Faces win you knew Hogan's retirement match was on this card and of course you knew how that was going to end so there was a real element of "Not sure who to pick" in this one, even though with the storyline it was a good assumption they'd let Savage get his comeuppance.

Clearly the highlights of Savage's career and two of the most important matches in two of the defining NON-Hogan feuds of his career.

 

[BattleCat]

I loved the British Bulldogs beating the Dream Team for the belts at WrestleMania 2. The Bulldogs were great and this was their only straight up tag match in WrestleMania, being part of two six-man tags otherwise. Great mix of power and speed. A truly underrated match, in my opinion.

Bret Hart beating Piper for the IC belt at VIII was really good too!

 

[dxparza]

I'm gonna have to go with HBK winning it at Wrestlmania 12.. For me it doesnt get much better than see my all time favorite finally reach the top of the mountain. And add on that it was an hour+ match made even better.. The only thing that would've topped it woulda been if hbk-taker at wrestlmania 25 had been for a title. Talk about all time great matches. Plus i was there in person for my first wrestlemania so that was just amazing to see in person

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I'd probably go for one of these 2 title changes:

Batista defeating Triple H for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 21

What a build they had for this match! From being a solid unit in Evolution to Batista emerging as a force on his own, winning the Royal Rumble to earn a title shot at either the WWE Title or World Heavyweight Title, and then overhearing Triple H's comments about him, which led to him deciding to face his Evolution mentor at WrestleMania for the WHC. This slow build was something we don't see very often in WWE these days, and it's still a great moment to watch when Triple H, Batista and Flair are all giving each other thumbs up in the ring when it looks like Big Dave was going to challenge for the WWE title, before he turns it into a thumbs down. The look on Flair and Trip's faces is brilliant. It was so obvious Batista would win, but that didn't matter. It was a really great moment.

Daniel Bryan defeating Randy Orton and Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 30

Arguably most well-deserved and emotional main event victory at ANY WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan's victory was the culmination of months of being screwed over time and time again by The Authority, and a reward for the fans for all their support for Bryan over the year. He was never supposed to headline and win at WrestleMania- Batista had come back and undeservedly been given the main event slot after winning the Royal Rumble again, but the fan pressure had resulted in Goat Face being added to the match (after already having wrestled and defeated Triple H earlier in the night). Bryan gave the performance of his life, the emotion was huge and the place erupted when he finally won the title. It's such a shame his reign was cut short by injury, and I'm unsure if he will reach those heights again.

For me personally it was a great moment as I was watching in a bar in Manchester on a big screen with 300+ wrestling fans (I didnt realise these events existed in the UK until last year) and MY GOD the place went crazy when Bryan made Batista tap out. I recorded the moment on myphone and have watched the clip so many times since, it still amazes me how loud it was when Bryan locked in the YES lock to get the submission victory. A great moment to be a wrestling fan!

 

[HurriKane]

My favorite title change has been mentioned multiple times with Benoit winning at WM 20.

But, I also really loved Rey Mysterio at WM 22 winning the World title. It was obvious he was going to win it, but it just felt so awesome to see him win it.

Also Stone Cold beating Shawn was pretty damn awesome as well,

 

[King Patrick Star]

My favorite WrestleMania Championship Title change is from WrestleMania X8, not because Triple H won the match, but because of what was on the line in that match, the WWF and WCW World Heavyweight Championship Titles. If you think about it, and look back at history, it is the most important Championship Title match in WrestleMania history, technically. The Big Eagle Belt and the Big Gold Belt, both represent the greatest time in the history of this business. It wasn’t number 1 and number 2, it was number 1A and number 1B. It also helps that my favorite Professional Sports Wrestling Entertainer of all time, Chris Jericho, walked in as the Undisputed WWF / WCW World Heavyweight Champion of Champions.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I would also go with Chris Benoit at WMXX.

At the time I don't think I had ever wanted any wrestler to beat Triple H more. The storyline was great, Benoit was one of my favourites and was finally getting the push he deserved. I was surprised they went all the way with it. I didn't think he'd win the Rumble that year, and when he did - I wasn't sure they'd actually pull the trigger on him winning the title. But not only that, Triple H tapped out.

I think they played the "Triple H is an egomaniac who buries everyone" perfectly in that you never actually thought Triple H would put over Benoit. But there you go.

Also, one point on Lesnar/Reigns.
This time last year we were talking about how bad the build was for Lesnar/Taker and how it's so obvious that Taker would win. Look at how that turned out. Vince may swerve us yet.

 

[suleman09]

Chris Benoit winning at WM 20 for me because I was 13 years old at the time and I followed Benoit ever since I started watching WWE and I always thought he was an incredible wrestler and after his showing at the Rumble in '04 I was ALL Benoit at Mania 20.