10 Best WWE World Title Changes On Free TV

Big E won the WWE Title last Monday by cashing-in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Bobby Lashley, following Lashley's successful defence against Randy Orton on Raw.

It was a spectacular moment, something that Big E has deserved and been ready to receive for a long time now.

Refreshingly, the New Day man told everyone what he was going to do before he did it, Tweeting out his intentions and then following through on his promise. A babyface doing exactly what he said - how about that?

The reaction to his win from fans and those in the industry has been overwhelmingly positive, with some saying it was one of the best WWE television moments in recent memory.

Watching it all go down got me thinking about other times a world title - be it WWE, World Heavyweight or Universal - changed hands on free TV.

There have been some great ones over the years, from other cash-ins and other surprises to hard-fought epics.

Here are, in no particular order, ten of the very best.

10. Kevin Owens (2016)

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WWE's Universal Championship had a rocky start to life.

First, the belt's design received a very negative reaction when it was unveiled on Raw. Then, inaugural champion Finn Balor was forced to vacate it just twenty four hours after winning it due to an injury he suffered in the title match with Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016.

With Roman Reigns being demoted following a recent Wellness Policy suspension, WWE were hoping the Irish Ace would act as face of the brand for the time being.

They were forced to improvise and go in a different direction, booking a four-way match for the title a week after Balor vacated it.

In it, Kevin Owens battled Reigns, Seth Rollins and Big Cass in an elimination bout. The action was good and, in the end, it came down to the Prizefighter and the Architect.

Triple H interfered late on and, in a somewhat predictable swerve, betrayed Rollins and Pedigreed him, allowing Owens to win the title.

KO's reign wasn't an all-timer or anything, but his title win was well done and it certainly made for intriguing television.

9. Sycho Sid (1997)

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The WrestleMania 13 card could have been very different, had Shawn Michaels not misplaced his smile.

The Heartbreak Kid was supposed to defend (and drop) the WWE Title against Bret Hart on the show, having won it back from Sycho Sid at the Royal Rumble, but vacated it just weeks later, citing injury.

WWE put the vacant title up for grabs three days later in the main event of the Final Four pay-per-view, where The Hitman outlasted Vader, Steve Austin and The Undertaker to become champion.

The very next night on Raw, however, Bret was booked to defend the title against Sid. The match was due to kick off the show, when Steve Austin interrupted things in order to brawl with Hart, injuring Sid in the process.

They tried again halfway through the show but, again, the Texas Rattlesnake jumped the Excellence of Execution before the match could officially get underway.

Attempt number three proved successful, as the two met in the main event. Austin got involved again, this time hitting Bret with a chair and leaving him easy pickings for Sid's massive powerbomb.

A great match in the end? Not really, but as a show-long angle and a big televised moment, it's very, very good. Title changes - much less WWE Title changes - weren't the norm back then, so this was a surprise (especially since Bret had only won the thing a day before).

8. Kurt Angle (2006)

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At the start of 2006, Batista was riding high as the World Heavyweight Champion and face of the SmackDown brand.

Unfortunately, The Animal suffered a bad injury in a house show match with Mark Henry and, knowing he needed to have surgery, was forced to give up the big gold belt.

SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long announced that a new champion would be crowned in a 20-man battle royal in the main event of the January 13 episode.

The favourites going in were JBL, Mark Henry and Rey Mysterio. That is until the twentieth participant made his way to the ring.

Kurt Angle - who had been on Raw for the previous six or so months - was back on the blue show, immediately eliminating JBL and then Vito in the opening seconds of the match.

Halfway through he was put through the announce table by Henry, but regrouped and eventually got the World's Strongest Man over the top rope to win the World Heavyweight Title for the first time.

The Olympic gold medallist's inclusion was a great surprise and, with Batista on the shelf for the foreseeable, there was really nobody better to carry the show.

The confetti celebration and jubilant crowd reaction also helped signify what a big deal it was.

7. AJ Styles (2017)

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Not to go against prevailing consensus too much, but I thought Jinder Mahal was a decent WWE Champion.

He looked the business, had solid enough matches and nobody can say he didn't work hard and put in the time to get there.

Saying that, however, AJ Styles was a much, much better choice.

The Modern Day Maharaja was gearing up for an inter-brand showdown with Universal Champion Brock Lesnar in the main event of Survivor Series, when he was booked to defend his title against The Phenomenal One on the November 7, 2017 episode of SmackDown.

It's somewhat ironic that Mahal had his best match ever in the bout that he was due to drop to title. It's no coincidence that it was against Styles, of course, who fans were itching to see unseat Jinder.

Their match was a spectacle and Mahal looked good in defeat, eventually going down to a Phenomenal Forearm. The huge pop at the three count amply demonstrated the crowd's preference.

The Jinder Mahal experiment was over and, importantly, a dream match between AJ and Lesnar was on the horizon.

6. Brock Lesnar (2003)

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Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar spent most of 2003 passing the WWE Title back and forth to one another.

The Next Big Thing won the title at WrestleMania 19, before the Olympic Hero regained it in his comeback at Vengeance.

On the September 18 episode of SmackDown, the two would meet one final time, after Angle successfully defended the Championship at SummerSlam.

Their television bout would be no ordinary singles contest, but rather a one-hour Iron Man match.

A total war of attrition, a sixty-minute Iron Man match is a tricky proposition, but few were better equipped to pull it off than Angle and Lesnar.

They had a cracking match, one of the best in the history of SmackDown, digging deep into their bag of tricks to produce something truly memorable. The way the match was structured kept fans guessing right until the final buzzer, too, with Brock up 5-4 and clinging on for dear life as Kurt had him trapped in the Ankle Lock.

The Next Big Thing just managed to survive and walk away with this third WWE Title.

5. Steve Austin (1999)

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It was in the Attitude Era that holding championship belts became like playing a game of 'hot potato'.

Remember, they're props (bro).

The WWE Title itself was not immune to this and was regularly passed around those in the main event club. In 1999 alone, there were eleven separate WWE Title changes (the most in any calendar year in history), with several of those taking place on free TV.

The storyline going into The Undertaker's WWE Title defense against Steve Austin in the main event of the June 28 episode of Raw was convoluted beyond reason, but the gist was that while acting as CEO (which he lost the night before at King of the Ring), Stone Cold booked himself to have one final WWE Title match with the stipulation that if anyone interfered he would win the title via DQ.

The match itself was no masterpiece, but it had tremendous heat and the roof blew off the arena when Austin hit the Stunner for the win.

The audience at home was hooked, too, as the match drew a record-setting 9.5 (10.72 million viewers) rating.

4. Dolph Ziggler (2013)

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The WWE career of Dolph Ziggler was frustrating for both fans and performer, as it was beset by stops and false starts.

Things started looking better when he won the Money in the Bank briefcase at the namesake pay-per-view in 2012. He successfully defended it against John Cena, against the odds, in the main event of TLC but nothing about the months that followed suggested WWE were ready to give him the ball.

At WrestleMania 29, he was mired in the midcard and unsuccessfully teamed with Big E in a bid to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from Team Hell No.

The post-WrestleMania Raw, however, was a much different story.

Following Alberto Del Rio's successful World Heavyweight Title defense against Jack Swagger & Zeb Colter, the Show-Off strode down to the ring and cashed-in his guaranteed title shot, beating Del Rio following a Zig-Zag.

It was a hell of a moment and garnered a monstrous ovation from an audience crying out for something new.

Dolph's title run was, sadly, marred by injury, but the actual title win remains the pinnacle of his WWE career.

3. Daniel Bryan (2018)

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In something of a repeat from the year before, WWE decided to switch the WWE Title on SmackDown just before the Survivor Series pay-per-view.

This time it was the turn of AJ Styles to drop the title, to Daniel Bryan.

The match was great, as you would expect considering who was in the ring, as they put on one of the best bouts of the entire year.

What made it so good, however, was the story told. The Phenomenal One had been champ for 371 days, ever since beating Jinder Mahal the year before, while Bryan was in the midst of his unlikely comeback.

D-Bry was a babyface, but his popularity was matched by that of Styles. Sensing he needed an edge to win the belt, Bryan turned heel for the first time in many years, hitting AJ with a low blow before the running knee sealed it.

Cementing his new status, he continued the beating after the bell, kicking Styles repeatedly in the head and face (that runs the place).

2. Edge (2007)

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The series of events that led to Edge winning the World Heavyweight Title on the May 11, 2007 episode of SmackDown certainly were unique.

The Undertaker was reigning as champ and defending against Batista inside a cage, but The Deadman was injured and needed time off to undergo surgery and then recover.

The two of them had a very strong match, but the finish was inconclusive, as both men's feet touched the floor at the same time. Following the decision, Mark Henry came out and attacked 'Taker, allowing Edge to come in and cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase.

Now, the Rated-R Superstar had only had the briefcase himself for a matter of days after winning it from Ken Kennedy on Raw.

Kennedy would have likely been the one to cash-in the briefcase, but he was also injured and needed time off, so WWE decided to get it off him. In a cruel twist of fate, it subsequently turned out that Ken's injury was misdiagnosed and was actually much less serious and requiring barely any time off.

Regardless of the circumstances, Edge winning in the manner that he did totally fit his character and provided an exciting ending to the show and a great moment on free TV.

1. Mankind (1999)

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January 4, 1999 was a seismic day in the history of North American pro-wrestling.

On that day, WCW presented a live Nitro from a sold-out Georgia Dome in Atlanta. On the other channel, WWE aired a pre-taped episode of Raw.

The Monday Night Wars had been raging for a while at this point and, in their first head to head of the year, both companies put on big matches in an attempt to win in the ratings.

WCW booked a World Heavyweight Title match between Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan, while WWE presented Mankind challenging for the WWE Title.

On Nitro, the infamous Finger Poke of Doom transpired, while on Raw the ever-likeable Mick Foley finally won the big one in a great match that the crowd was positively molten for.

It was hard not to feel chuffed for Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy, a performer who had given so much of himself in the name of our entertainment over the years.

Adding to the sweetness for WWE, the title switch destroyed Nitro in the ratings, no doubt helped immeasurably by WCW spitefully giving the result away during their broadcast as Tony Schiavone sarcastically stated (under instruction from WCW management) that Mankind as champ would 'put a lot of butts in the seats'.