5 Times in WWE where we didn't know who the 'real' champion was

WWE has the tendency to give us some of the most convoluted and crazy storylines ever where the audience isn't able to keep up with the various twists and turns of the, often, nonsensical stories as they unfold.

One facet of this is the instances where multiple people believe they are the rightful champion of the same title belt, either through weird refereeing, screwy finishes or other reasons.

The most recent Extreme Rules: The Horror Show pay-per-view gave us some great examples of this in the RAW Women's Title and United States Title matches, but there have been other incidences in WWE in the past where more than one person has laid claim to the same title.

Obviously, as much as these storylines are mental, it's all entertainment, and most of the time, they're enjoyable! So without further ado, let's take a look at five times in WWE we didn't know who was the 'real' champion.

#5 Sasha Banks & Asuka (WWE RAW Women's Championship) - The Horror Show at Extreme Rules

Sasha Banks 'wins' the RAW Women's Title at Extreme Rules

Sasha Banks and Asuka put on a really, really good match at WWE's Extreme Rules, but the quality of their in-ring work has well and truly been overshadowed by the dubious ending to the match.

The referee accidentally got misted in the face when Sasha Banks dodged the attack from Asuka, which allowed Bayley to hit Asuka with her Tag-Team Title belt and don the referee shirt to count the pin for Banks and signify a shocking title change.

But did it? Well, there are certainly some elements of doubt about whether or not Sasha Banks legitimately won the RAW Women's Title from Asuka. It all depends on whether a Superstar at ringside, who isn't a designated official for the match, can become one in the event of the actual referee becoming incapacitated.

Currently, the WWE website lists Asuka as the champion still, so it seems that the 'Legit Boss' is the illegitimate RAW Women's Champion.

#4 MVP & Apollo Crews (WWE United States Championship) - The Horror Show at Extreme Rules

Who is the United States Champion? MVP or Apollo Crews? Or Both?

Also at Extreme Rules, we saw the 'crowning' of a new WWE United States Champion, where MVP, who already has a new US Title belt of his own, declared himself the new champion after Apollo Crews couldn't defend the title he won at the show.

It's hard not to see MVP's point, Crews was contracted to compete in the match but wasn't physically able to on the day, so, therefore, he forfeits the United States Champion and MVP wins, especially as he is already walking around with the belt.

However, it seems that the storyline between MVP, who once wanted to bring Crews into his stable, but now wants to take his title, and Crews isn't over as the two exchanged barbs on Twitter.

Crews told MVP that when he's back, he's coming for the new WWE United States title, but with two men walking around with two titles, it remains to be seen who will actually walk away as the official United States Champion after the dust has settled.

#3 Jordan Devlin & Santos Escobar (WWE NXT Cruiserweight Championship)

Jordan Devlin and Santos Escobar are both Cruiserweight Champions

Now, this is less confusing than the last two instances from Extreme Rules as WWE officially views both Jordan Devlin, the original Cruiserweight Champion, and Santos Escobar, the interim Cruiserweight Champion as champions and therefore the answer to who the Cruiserweight Champion is, is, well, both!

Devlin won the title at the World's Collide event back in January, where he defeated Angel Garza, Travis Banks, and Isiah 'Swerve' Scott to become the first WWE NXT UK star to win the 205 Live title.

However, due to travel restrictions put in place as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, Devlin could no longer travel from the UK to the United States. Hence, WWE had a decision to make regarding their title.

They decided to hold a tournament on NXT to crown an 'Interim' Cruiserweight Title, which was ultimately won by NXT's El Hijo Del Fantasma, before he would go on to turn on Drake Maverick and reveal himself as the mastermind behind a new stable - Santos Escobar.

You have to think that at some point these two champions will be reduced to just one official Cruiserweight Champion - but which one will it be?

#2 John Cena & CM Punk - (WWE Championship)

In the payoff of a storyline spanning several months that saw CM Punk walk out of WWE with the WWE Championship, we were treated to a Monday Night RAW where at least three people staked a claim to being the Champion.

It started when Mysterio finally triumphed in an eight-man tournament, beating three people over the course of two episodes of Monday Night RAW to claim the WWE Title that had been created in the absence of the real one.

Then, John Cena ended up challenging Mysterio the title, as he was owed a rematch from CM Punk, and he ended up beating Rey Mysterio to become the new WWE Champion.

Then CM Punk returned with the actual WWE Title and held it aloft in the face of Cena, who held the WWE Title he had. By the end of the night, three people had held the title and two people walked away as WWE titles.

The two would go on to have an Undisputed Championship match at SummerSlam that would see CM Punk emerge victorious with a pinfall victory despite John Cena's foot being on the ropes - clear as mud!

#1 Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton (WWE Champion)

This entry is slightly different from the rest of the entries because with Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Night of Champions, it seemed like Bryan was clearly the victor and had won the title.

That's because it was the following night where Triple H, who was, then, in an alliance with Randy Orton, having previously helped him cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase against Bryan, highlighted that Bryan had won the title with a fast count, something that the referee admitted happened.

What followed was a series of matches between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the, now, vacated WWE Championship with both men believing they were the rightful WWE Champions.

Ultimately this ended with Randy Orton officially cementing himself as WWE Champion thanks to the involvement of the Authority and several people screwing Daniel Bryan over, although he would eventually lose the title to Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania in what would be Bryan's biggest moment in WWE.