10 Real Life Events That Forced WWE Title Changes (10)

10. Randy Orton Winning The WWE Title At No Mercy 2007 After John Cena’s Injury

Injuries are a part of the wrestling business. Sometimes when somebody is injured and needs to take time off you might see them lose a title before their surgery (like John Cena at SummerSlam 2013) and at other times a person can’t compete, so some other storyline has to be created to make up for it.
In October 2007, John Cena was the WWE Champion after winning it over one year earlier. Then he suffered a torn pectoral muscle during a match on Raw while doing a simple hip toss and due to the surgery that he needed he had to forfeit the WWE Title. Who knows when Cena would have lost the WWE Title if he was healthy? They could have given him a reign that lasted two years if they wanted. That wouldn’t have surprised anybody.
Six days after Cena’s injury was the No Mercy 2007 PPV event. Vince McMahon awarded the heel Randy Orton with the WWE Title, which was actually his first time holding that title (his previous reigns were with the World Title). Orton lost the title to Triple H in the first match on that show. Hunter wrestled Umaga later and then in the main event faced Orton in a Last Man Standing match. Orton ended up winning the WWE Title back that night thanks to a RKO on the announce table.
As for Cena, he was supposed to be out for about six months. That didn’t happen. In one of the most famous Royal Rumble moments ever, he returned at the 2008 Royal Rumble as a surprise to win the match in less than four months after his injury.