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WWE fans at live events have been in for surprises over the years

5 major title changes in WWE you never knew about

For a WWE Superstar, winning a Championship is an incredible moment and often the highlight of his/her career.

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Whether you are John Cena or Ric Flair, who've held more than 30 World Championships alone between them, or Santino Marella who only ever had fleeting glimpses of title glory, the sweet taste of success isn't one you soon forget.

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Some of WWE's title wins are memorable. Who can forget, for instance, Shawn Michaels winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 12 in 1996? He beat Bret Hart in an iconic main event in a victory that has stood the test of time in the memories of WWE fans.

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Two years later, Michaels was being pinned for that very Championship when Stone Cold Steve Austin nailed him with a Stunner at WrestleMania 14. The victory ushered in the start of the Attitude Era and is another one that will go down in history as one of the best.

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There are, however, a handful of major moments in WWE history that you may not know even happened. Incredible triumphs that were highlights of a Superstar's career but were barely acknowledged in history. Away from the audience of millions that comes with television these days, some of these successes flew right under the radar.

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Here are five major WWE championship wins that history almost forgets...

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#5. The Mountie - Intercontinental Championship (1992)

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The Mountie

When you think of The Mountie, chances are you think of the maniacal former mountain policeman who caused problems for The Big Boss Man and Roddy Piper during his singles run during the early '90s.

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Other than that, you'll likely be recalling his days in 1993-1994 as one half of the The Quebecers, the three-time WWE tag team champions, and one of the best heel teams of the era.

What you probably don't think of is the fact that The Mountie was once Intercontinental Champion in WWE. In January 1992, he defeated Bret Hart at a live event to clinch his one and only singles title in the company.

Sadly his reign was short lived, lasting just two days before he was beaten by Piper at the Royal Rumble, setting up Piper's memorable match against Hart at WrestleMania 8 later that year.

#4. Edge - Intercontinental Championship (1999)

Edge sealed a title win early in his career
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The idea that the Rated-R Superstar makes our list may seem strange to some, and that's fair enough. Edge is easily one of the most decorated stars in WWE history, a multi-time world champion, and a tag team champion. That's without mentioning him winning the Royal Rumble, the King of the Ring, and Money in the Bank ladder match.

He recently completed an incredible comeback to wrestling after almost a decade away. Having retired as a result of a severe neck injury, he appeared at the 2020 Royal Rumble, and took on Randy Orton at the recently concluded WrestleMania 36.

If we turn back the clock over 20 years, however, it may interest you to know that Edge's first-ever Intercontinental championship win came back in July 1999. This was just months into his WWE career.

Edge defeated Jeff Jarrett at a live event in Toronto, Canada to snare the gold, only to lose it to the very same man the following night. Jarrett reclaimed the title at WWE's Fully Loaded pay per view, starting his fifth reign as the Intercontinental champion.

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#3. Money Inc - Tag Team Championship (1992 and 1993)

Money Inc
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Money Inc. were arguably one of the best heel tag teams in the '90s. They were the perfect combination; the tax skills of IRS and the sheer money power of The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase.

They are well known as being tag team champions during that period, but what many may not know is that they won the championships under the radar not just once, but twice.

They snared the gold from the Legion of Doom in February 1992 after their manager, Jimmy Hart withdrew his other team, The Natural Disasters. He then inserted the dollar-driven pair in their place. Money Inc. took full advantage and secured the victory.

They repeated the trick the following year in July 1993, when they ended the run of The Steiner Brothers as tag team champions at just two days at a live event in Rockford, Illinois.

Ironically enough, all of Money Inc's title wins and defeats came away from major pay-per-views. Each of them took place at WWE live events, except for their second title victory, which aired on Wrestling Challenge in October 1992.

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#2. Men on a Mission - Tag Team Championships (1994)

Men on a Mission win the tag team titles at a live event - Pic: Wikipedia
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Mabel was one of the most prominent WWE names of the '90s, not least for his King of the Ring win that ushered in the reign of King Mabel, and his repackaging as Viscera later in his career.

However, the Superstar was first introduced to the WWE Universe as one half of the tag team, Men on a Mission. He wrestled alongside his partner, Mo and their manager, Oscar.

Men on a Mission danced and jived their way to popularity in WWE, notably in 1994, but never really found any success - or so most of the world would think. What may not be known, however, is that the duo actually did the WWE Tag Team Championships. It happened just once; their reign lasted only two days and, well, it was also by accident!

Their win took place in London, England, in March 1994 at a WWE live event. Big Mabel fell on and stunned one half of the then champions, The Quebecers, who was unintentionally unable to kick out of the referee's three count.

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The 'mistake' such as it was, was swiftly rectified by WWE when they had the Quebecers reclaim their titles at a show in Sheffield two days later on the tour.

#1. The Miz and Morrison - Tag Team Championships (2008)

The Miz and John Morrison
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These two cheeky chaps are the current SmackDown tag team champions and, such is their loudmouth, brash style that it's hugely surprising that they did anything that flew under the radar. They claimed their latest titles back at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia in front of a global audience, in stark contrast with the way they first tasted gold.

Indeed, way back before The Miz was the Most Must-See Superstar in WWE history, and long before John Morrison made a triumphant return to the company to reunite with his good pal, the duo became WWE tag team champions away from the glare of movie cameras, pay per view cameras, or even television cameras.

Their very first reign with the gold kickstarted at a WWE live event in Hamilton, Ontario, in December 2008. The pair defeated the duo of CM Punk and Kofi Kingston.

To say they went on to have memorable careers before collaborating once again to win tag team gold would be a massive understatement.

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Edited by
Atharva Papnoi
 
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