{"id":150633,"date":"2026-01-14T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T14:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=150633"},"modified":"2026-01-13T23:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T04:58:20","slug":"5-times-a-wwe-world-championship-changed-hands-on-the-road-to-the-royal-rumble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/14\/5-times-a-wwe-world-championship-changed-hands-on-the-road-to-the-royal-rumble\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Times a WWE World Championship Changed Hands on the Road to the Royal Rumble"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Royal Rumble is traditionally viewed as the start of the road to WrestleMania. However, for several years, until 2020, WWE held a pay-per-view in December. Several world title changes used to happen at Armageddon and TLC, with some new world champions walking into WrestleMania as reigning world champions.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, with PLEs no longer taking place in December, there has been extra emphasis on WWE to keep fans entertained with surprising title changes on RAW and SmackDown.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ZCoH37R3jw\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/30\/last-5-times-a-new-world-champion-was-crowned-on-wwe-raw\/\" target=\"_self\">Last 5 Times A New World Champion Was Crowned On WWE Raw<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Last 5 Times A New World Champion Was Crowned On WWE Raw&#8221; &#8212; Last Word on Pro Wrestling\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/30\/last-5-times-a-new-world-champion-was-crowned-on-wwe-raw\/embed\/#?secret=G3dYqoJEih#?secret=ZCoH37R3jw\" data-secret=\"ZCoH37R3jw\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>World title changes are typically reserved for major events like WrestleMania and SummerSlam. However, WWE has often thrown in a surprise with world title changes taking place before the Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a good way to shake up things, as sometimes the road to WrestleMania can become predictable. However, the start of January is a fresh start for many wrestlers to get their hands on a world championship. From Money in the Bank cash-ins to last-minute replacements, we review world title changes that happened on the road to the Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n<p>An honorable mention goes to Kurt Angle winning the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in a Battle Royal on SmackDown&#8217;s January 13, 2006.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Drew McIntyre Defeats Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship (SmackDown, January 9, 2026)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre | Three Stages of Hell Match: SmackDown highlights, Jan. 9, 2026\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R3BZg7JplXg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Drew McIntyre failed to beat his former tag team partner, Cody Rhodes, for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Wrestlepalooza and at Saturday Night&#8217;s Main Event on November 1, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Scottish Psycopath and the American Nightmare clashed in the first Three Stages of Hell match to take place on SmackDown on January 9, 2026. McIntyre had been knocking on the door for some time to secure his fourth WWE world championship reign.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_150314\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150314\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/11-15-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic for the WWE SmackDown spoilers and results for January 9, 2025, live from Berlin, Germany, featuring Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"wp-image-150314 size-large\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/11-15-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/11-15-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/11-15-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/11-15.jpg 1125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-150314\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>McIntyre won the first fall, and Cody would need to win two straight falls if he was going to retain his title. As expected, Cody evened up the odds, and a third and final fall was required. They battled in a steel cage match, and Jacob Fatu returned.<\/p>\n<p>With the Samoan Werewolf causing a distraction, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/10\/3-reasons-why-drew-mcintyre-won-the-wwe-championship\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">McIntyre escaped through the door to become a three-time WWE Champion<\/span><\/a>. McIntyre&#8217;s win was historic as he became the first man to win the WWE Championship on RAW, SmackDown, and at WrestleMania.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>4. Brock Lesnar Defeats Big E, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship (Day 1, 2022)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH: Big E vs. Lesnar vs. Lashley vs. Rollins vs. Owens | WWE Title Match: WWE Day 1 2022\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X3koUYendxc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Chaos ensued at Day 1 on January 1, 2022, as Brock Lesnar was originally scheduled to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. However, the Tribal Chief sat out as he was diagnosed with COVID-19, causing their match to be cancelled.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Big E&#8217;s task in retaining the WWE Championship became increasingly harder. Former world champions Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and Kevin Owens were eyeing up Big E&#8217;s WWE Title, originally booked as a fatal-4-way match. However, the Beast Incarnate was a last-minute addition to the bout, making it a fatal-five-way match.<\/p>\n<p>This WWE Championship match lasted less than nine minutes, but it was full of drama. In the closing stages, Lesnar nailed Big E with the F-5, clinching his sixth WWE Championship and throwing a curveball on the road toward the 2022 Royal Rumble in a twist that no one saw coming. Lesnar ended up defending his WWE Championship against Lashley in a dream match at the 2022 Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>3. Triple H Defeats Big Show for the WWE Championship (Raw, January 3, 2000)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Big Show vs. Triple H - WWE Championship Match: Raw, January 3, 2000\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4N7yGi0Xfdw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The McMahon-Helmsley Faction was looking to start the new millennium with a bang. Triple H dropped the WWE Championship to Big Show in a triple threat match at Survivor Series 1999. However, on the first episode of RAW in January 2000, the leader of D-Generation X challenged Show for the WWE Championship. The Game wanted to do it on his lonesome with DX and his wife Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley absent from ringside.<\/p>\n<p>Show&#8217;s maiden WWE Championship reign was disappointing. His feud with Big Boss Man was poor, and a title change was necessary. Inevitably, Triple H curtailed Show&#8217;s underwhelming WWE Championship reign to kickstart his third WWE Championship reign.<\/p>\n<p>However, Triple H&#8217;s WWE Championship run made his build to the Royal Rumble fascinating as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/02\/wwe-attitude-era-every-wwe-championship-match-at-the-royal-rumble-ranked\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">he went on to defend the WWE Championship against Cactus Jack at the 2000 Royal Rumble in a brutal Street Fight<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>2. Mankind Defeats The Rock for the WWE Championship (Raw, January 4, 1999)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH - The Rock vs. Mankind \u2013 WWE Championship Match: Raw, Jan. 4, 1999\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eJjbnFZ6yA8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The rivalry between Mankind and The Rock in the Attitude Era was outstanding. Their WWE Championship matches didn&#8217;t fail to disappoint. At Rock Bottom: In Your House, Mankind was unable to beat Rock for the WWE Championship with a controversial finish, halting him from winning the gold. However, on January 4, 1999, Tony Schiavone spoiled the result that Mankind dethroned Rock for his first WWE Championship.<\/p>\n<p>Announcing the result on Nitro as RAW was taped whilst Nitro was live. Nevertheless, that move proved to backfire in the Monday Night Wars as several people changed the channel to watch Mankind win the WWE Championship.<\/p>\n<p>Mankind and Rock&#8217;s No Disqualification match for the biggest prize in the industry was sublime. There was outside interference from both the Corporation and D-Generation X. However, one of the crucial moments that turned the tide in Mankind&#8217;s favor was Steve Austin nailing Rock in the head with a steel chair shot.<\/p>\n<p>Austin placed Mankind on Rock, and Mrs. Foley&#8217;s Baby Boy could call himself the WWE Champion for the first time. Once again, Mankind and Rock would square up for the WWE Title in an &#8220;I Quit&#8221; match at the 1999 Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>1. Edge Defeats John Cena for the WWE Championship (New Year&#8217;s Revolution 2006)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Edge Spears John Cena - New Year&#039;s Revolution 2006\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MBoT5QUGqQQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>One of the most iconic WWE Championship title changes heading into the Royal Rumble was Edge&#8217;s WWE Championship win over John Cena at New Year&#8217;s Revolution 2006. The Rated-R Superstar, unable to dethrone Ric Flair for the Intercontinental Championship in the curtain-raiser, clearly had bigger fish to fry.<\/p>\n<p>However, Cena, battered and bloodied, retained the WWE Championship in a hard-fought Elimination Chamber match against Kurt Angle, Kane, Chris Masters, Carlito, and Shawn Michaels.<\/p>\n<p>Afterward, Edge made history by becoming the first man to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase successfully. Cena was in no fit state to put up a fight against a fresh and motivated Edge. Nevertheless, the Ultimate Opportunist winning his first WWE Championship was a historic moment.<\/p>\n<p>The road to the Royal Rumble shifted as Cena&#8217;s 280-day WWE Championship reign was no more. Inevitably, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/13\/every-major-john-cena-vs-edge-match-ranked\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">the leader of the Cenation challenged Edge for the WWE Championship<\/span> <\/a>in a hotly anticipated rematch at the 2006 Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><em><u><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i><span>\u00a0<\/span>for more on WWE Royal Rumble and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the significant news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><amp-ad data-block-on-consent=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"600\" layout=\"fixed\" data-multi-size=\"300x250,300x600\" data-multi-size-validation=\"false\" type=\"doubleclick\" data-slot=\"\/15188745,22512265771\/FS-lastwordonsports-AMP\/AMP-2\" data-enable-refresh=\"30\" data-lazy-fetch=\"true\" data-loading-strategy=\"1.25\" rtc-config=\"{ &quot;vendors&quot;: { &quot;t13&quot;: { &quot;TAG_ID&quot;: &quot;4f799893-5665-4629-b0fc-8b97d3569fd6&quot;, &quot;ACCOUNT_ID&quot;: &quot;9a3c6c23-453a-4cba-b419-30b908f39a50&quot; }, &quot;aps&quot;: { &quot;PUB_ID&quot;: &quot;600&quot;, &quot;PUB_UUID&quot;: &quot;16268e26-dabe-4bf4-a28f-b8f4ee192ed3&quot;, &quot;PARAMS&quot;: { &quot;amp&quot;: &quot;1&quot; } }, &quot;criteo&quot;: { &quot;NETWORK_ID&quot;: &quot;4905&quot;, &quot;ZONE_ID&quot;: &quot;1382491&quot;, &quot;PUBLISHER_SUB_ID&quot;: &quot;FS-lastwordonsports-AMP-2&quot; }, &quot;medianet&quot;: { &quot;CID&quot;: &quot;8CU8ZT2C4&quot; } } }\"><\/amp-ad><\/p>\n<p><em><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Royal Rumble is traditionally viewed as the start of the road to WrestleMania. However, for several years, until 2020, WWE held a pay-per-view in December. Several world title changes used to happen at Armageddon and TLC, with some new world champions walking into WrestleMania as reigning world champions. Furthermore, with PLEs no longer taking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5695,"featured_media":150675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[397],"class_list":["post-150633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-royal-rumble"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5695"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150633"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150676,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150633\/revisions\/150676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}