What's Better, A Surprising Title Win Or An Unexpected Title Retain?

[PlayTheGame]

What's better in terms of which is more entertaining to see, a surprising title win, such as when Jeff Hardy finally won the WWE Championship, or when Chris Benoit finally won the big one at Wrestlemania XX, or an unexpected title retain, such as Randy Orton's retain of the WWE Title at WM24?

Discuss.

 

[FromTheSouth]

When I read the title of the thread, I instantly thought of Orton. Even at No Way Out last year, I expected him to lose the title to Cena, but when he slapped the ref, he instantly became my favorite heel this side of Ric Flair. It came out of nowhere, and he walked out champ. And then the next month, he somehow kept the belt again. I used to love surprise title changes, and still do, but I definitely prefer surprise retains now.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I prefer surprise wins especially when its somebody winning it for their first time. Surprise retains are cool but all they're doing is keeping the belt instead of winning it which I find more exciting. Plus throughout history I think people remember surpising title wins more and find them more memorable. Whether it be Benoit at WMXX or Foley on Raw in 99(If you didn't watch Schiviano give it away on Nitro I think it was surprising) people remember those. I think surprising retains people don't remember as much, even though Im sure there have been many when I read the title the only one that really came to mind was Cena at WM22, I thought for sure he was losing it that night. Although it was exciting and unexpected for him to retain atleast for me anyway, I feel it would have been even more exciting if the roles were reversed and HHH was champ and everybody expected him to retain but Cena ended up winning especially if it would have been his first title win.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I like surprising title retains especially if its Wrestlemania. They were having polls to see if Orton would lose his title last year and most people said yes. Most were shocked when he retained especially since he's a heel. When you have a heel champion going against a face challenger, 9 times out of 10 the face will win the championship. I like a surprise title reign once in a while but it can get old sometimes or if the title reigns are like a month.

 

[2012isbs]

Definatly retain because very rarely is a surprise retain bad. Unlike the most recent JBL as IC champ I know Punk isn't the greatest but seriously JBL. Anyway Edge retaining at ONS 08 against 'Taker upset for a while got Edge a lot of heat, but was fine when I realized he was just taking a break. Some bad surprise wins however, as metinoned JBL beating Punk, When the title reign was only a day i.e. Batista/Jericho, Kane/SCSA and Hart/Yokozuna/Hogan.

 

[OIL]

Really, they're both equal depending upon the circumstances. I mean, look back to WrestleMania 22. John Cena retained against Triple H in a match that looked certain for him to lose. Everyone in that arena thought Triple H would win, which he didn't. The shock on some of the fan's faces at the end was priceless. They couldn't believe what they had seen. Then you look to a surprising title win. Take CM Punk beating Edge. I mean, the crowd went NUTS because it was so unexpected. I guess the after-shock of an unexpected title win lasts longer, so I'll go with that.

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

I personally prefer an unexpected title retain, it's nice to know that the champion dug deep to defend the title and that he is willing enough to take it to the limit to walk out with his belt. It help's both the champion and the championship in the fact that it makes the title worth fighting for.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Anyway Edge retaining at ONS 08 against 'Taker upset for a while got Edge a lot of heat, but was fine when I realized he was just taking a break.

The title was vacant dude, so it would count as a surprise win.

I'd personally only find a win surprising in this day and age when competitors are added at the last minute eg Edge at NWO '09, Jericho at Unforgiven '08, Big Show at SSeries '99.

I'd have to say i prefer a surprise retention personally. Because most of the time you can read the signs leading up to a title win, but retentions are sometimes more difficult to predict (unless the champ is HHH)