When it comes to competing in world title matches, the WWE superstars have proved that no acts are off limits as they've made some desperate attempts to either win or retain the world titles.
There have been numerous moments where either a champion or challenger got screwed out of championships. We have seen many instances recently with The Bloodline making sure the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns remains a champion, and there are also classic examples of various MITB cash-ins. With that said, let's take a look at ten such WWE Championship screwjobs of the past that might've dropped out of our memories.
10 The Miz Vs. Jerry Lawler - Raw, November 29, 2010
After The Miz won his first WWE Championship by cashing in the MITB contract on Randy Orton, his first title defense came against a surprising opponent in WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler.
The bout took place on the November 29, 2011, episode of Raw, and it was a TLC match for the title. It was Lawler's first shot at the WWE Championship in his entire career, and he almost got hold of the title before his co-commentator Michael Cole grabbed his feet and prevented him from climbing the ladder any further. Despite taking out Cole, Lawler couldn't win the title as The Miz knocked Lawler off the ladder with the title belt before taking it off the hook.
9 Sheamus Vs. John Cena - Money In The Bank 2010
After winning his second WWE Championship at the 2010 Fatal 4-Way PPV, Sheamus continued to feud against former champion John Cena. After their title match on the June 21, 2010, episode of Raw ended in a no-contest, Cena got another shot at the title at the Money in the Bank PPV. Sheamus and Cena competed in a steel cage match for the WWE title at the event, but the stipulation was not enough to provide a clean finish to the contest.
Cena's problems with The Nexus faction continued in the PPV, and it cost him his title match against Sheamus as the Nexus members prevented Cena from escaping the cage. However, Sheamus made use of the opportunity and fought off Heath Slater on the other end to escape the cage and retain the title.
8 CM Punk Vs. Ryback - Hell In A Cell 2012
During CM Punk's historic 434-day WWE Championship reign, The Straight Edge Superstar started a rivalry with Ryback, which resulted in a Hell in a Cell match between the two at the titular PPV in 2012.
Ryback dominated Punk in the match and looked like the favorite to walk out of the event as the new champion, but the referee Brad Maddox shocked everyone by hitting a low blow on Ryback. It allowed Punk to roll up Ryback for the pin while Maddox performed a fast count to give CM Punk the win.
7 Randy Orton Vs. John Cena - Royal Rumble 2014
After losing their championship unification match at the 2013 TLC PPV, John Cena looked to dethrone Randy Orton to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the 2014 Royal Rumble PPV.
The match went on for a decent 20:54 minutes and had interesting spots like Cena performing the RKO on Orton and Orton performing the AA on Cena. However, when Cena had Orton locked up in the STF in the final moments of the match, The Wyatt Family interfered and distracted Cena. It allowed Randy Orton to hit the RKO on Cena and retain the championship.
6 Alberto Del Rio Vs. John Cena - Vengeance 2011
John Cena lost the WWE Championship to Alberto Del Rio in a triple-threat Hell in a Cell match, also including CM Punk at the titular PPV in 2011. He received his rematch for the title at the 2011 Vengeance PPV, and it was a last-man-standing match.
After some back-and-forth action, Cena performed an AA on Del Rio through the announce table and had him down for the count. But The Miz and R-Truth interfered and attacked Cena, which allowed Del Rio to hit the latter with the WWE title belt to keep him down for the ten-count and retain the title.
5 Brock Lesnar Vs. The Undertaker - No Mercy 2003
During Brock Lesnar's third reign as the WWE Champion, he found himself taking on some tough competition in The Undertaker as the two collided in a Biker Chain Match for the title at the 2003 No Mercy PPV.
The Undertaker looked to take down The Next Big Thing and capture the WWE title at the event and retrieved the chain from the pole despite interference from The Full-Blooded Italians. But Vince McMahon came out of nowhere and pushed The Undertaker down the ropes, which enabled Lesnar to hit The Deadman with the chain to retain the title.
4 Jeff Hardy Vs. Edge - Royal Rumble 2009
After defeating Edge and Triple H at Armageddon 2008 to win his first WWE Championship, Jeff Hardy walked into the 2009 Royal Rumble PPV to defend the title against former champion Edge.
Edge had the advantage in the match with Chavo Guerrero in his corner after Vickie Guerrero made it a No Disqualification contest. However, Hardy put on a valiant fight despite Chavo and Vickie Guerrero's interference, but he didn't foresee a betrayal from his brother Matt Hardy as the latter attacked Jeff Hardy with a steel chair and allowed Edge to retain the title.
3 Brock Lesnar Vs. The Big Show - Survivor Series 2002
Brock Lesnar had Paul Heyman in his corner throughout his initial days in WWE and achieved great success with the Wiseman in his corner. He won his first WWE Championship under Heyman's guidance and held it for an impressive 84 days.
However, his reign came to a crashing end at the 2002 Survivor Series PPV at the hands of The Big Show, where Heyman turned on Lesnar by pulling the referee out of the ring when Lesnar had Show down for the pin. With Lesnar going after Heyman, The Big Show got back to a vertical base and attacked Lesnar with a steel chair to win the WWE Championship.
2 JBL Vs. The Undertaker - No Mercy 2004
During his reign as the WWE Champion, John Bradshaw Layfield started a rivalry with The Undertaker over the title. It resulted in a match between the two at the 2004 SummerSlam PPV, where JBL defeated The Undertaker by disqualification. It led to a rematch between the two at the 2004 No Mercy PPV, and it was a Last Ride Match, with the stipulation being the winner has to load his opponent into a hearse and drive it out of the arena.
The Undertaker had JBL beat with a tombstone piledriver on top of the steel steps. However, as he dragged JBL to the hearse, Heidenreich attacked The Undertaker and helped JBL lock The Deadman inside the hearse as Paul Heyman, who was in the driver's seat, drove it outside the arena to give JBL the win. After the match, Heidenreich rammed a truck onto the hearse with The Undertaker inside.
1 Triple H Vs. Randy Orton - No Mercy 2007
The opening segment to the 2007 No Mercy PPV saw Vince McMahon award the WWE Championship to Randy Orton. However, he gave the title to Orton with the condition that he had to defend the title at the event, and Triple H walked out to challenge Orton for the title and ended up winning it.
However, McMahon made Triple H defend the title against Umaga at the event, and The Game defeated The Samoan Bulldozer after a hard-fought contest. But McMahon once again forced an exhausted Triple H to defend the title against Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. Triple H put on a valiant effort in the main event and fought Orton for an impressive 20:26 minutes before the latter hit an RKO on The Game through the announce table to get the win.