Times WWE Champions Lost Their Titles In A Squash Match

A squash match in professional wrestling is when one person or team completely devastates their opponent(s) so that their victory is decisive. It’s the equivalent to the quintessential rout in sports games. But in our favorite scripted sport, the squash match is used as a storytelling device more than anything else.

Whether that story is to get heat on a wrestler, to pop the crowd, jumpstart a show, or kick off a title run in a big way, there are plenty of reasons for WWE to book this kind of title match.

11 Daniel Bryan Loses In 18 Seconds

One Kiss Followed By A Brogue Kick

• Sheamus is 2-0 against Bryan at WrestleMania.
• The Yes Movement began here as a protest for how quickly Bryan was squashed.
• Bryan originally started it as being an obnoxious heel.

The idea was simple enough – kick off WrestleMania 28 with some shock and awe, having Sheamus defeat Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds for the world title. A quick kiss from his girlfriend AJ for the inadvertent distraction, a big Brogue Kick from Sheamus and that was the end of D-Bry. Except it wasn’t. Fans were so miffed at not getting to see an actual match that The Yes Movement started to become exactly what it would become.

10 Honky Tonk Man’s Ultimate End

The Ultimate Warrior Stormed The Ring And Took The IC Title

• Honky Tonk Man is Jerry Lawler’s cousin.
• Reportedly, Honky refused to lose the IC title to The Macho Man.
• While he stuck around, this was HTM’s last high profile match.

For several months, Brutus Beefcake was chasing The Honky Tonk Man to put an end to his now 30-year-plus record of the longest IC champion of all time. Shortly before SummerSlam, he was taken out by The Outlaw Ron Bass in a heinous spur-slicing assault.

When the Memphis crooner came to the show with no opponent, he declared anyone who came out he’d face for the title. Famous last words, as The Ultimate Warrior bolted to the ring and in 30 seconds flat won the IC title.

9 JBL Couldn’t Handle The Almighty

Bobby Lashley’s First Title On The Roster Came Easily

• JBL’s first ever singles title in WWE was the WWE title.
• The cowboy first pitched the idea for Tribute To The Troops.
• He tried his hand at football before becoming a professional wrestler.

Shortly after losing the WWE title to John Cena at WrestleMania 21, JBL’s career was in a bit of a downswing. But the momentum seemingly came back for The Wrestling God when he won the US title. But he then came up against a new challenger – Bobby Lashley. Even as a young Almighty, Lashley was hard to handle for anyone. The two collided on Smackdown in May 2006 – The Almighty overwhelmed JBL and, in less than two minutes, became the new US Champion.

8 The Fiend’s Big Run Ends In Saudi Arabia

Somehow, The Monster Couldn’t Handle Goldberg

• Bray Wyatt debuted The Fiend in April 2019 and was Universal Champion by October.
• Most fans felt he was heir-apparent to The Undertaker’s macabre babyface legacy.
• His last match (as The Fiend) was against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37.

After several years of stops and starts with Bray Wyatt, he seemingly struck gold when he debuted The Fiend. Unfortunately, “gold” eventually struck back. When the WWE headed to Saudi for Super Showdown 2020, The Fiend defended the Universal title against Bill Goldberg. It didn’t last long, but The Fiend lasted longer than Ricochet did in his WWE title challenge against Brock Lesnar.

7 Kevin Owens Also Fell Victim To Goldberg

Jackhammer, Spear, Finish – KO Got KO’ed

• Kevin Owens learned how to speak English by listening to Jim Ross.
• He is one of four Ring Of Honor alumni to become a WWE world champion.
• He is the first ROH superstar to headline back-to-back WrestleManias.

Speaking of Goldberg – several years earlier, he was on the beginning of his second comeback tour. He had defeated Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series in resounding fashion and set his sights on Kevin Owens, then the longest reigning Universal Champion of all time.

The two collided at Fastlane 2017. While KO lasted longer than a few champions on this list – you could still not finish cracking an egg, let alone frying one in the time it took Goldberg to win the Universal titles for the first time.

6 AJ Lee Gets Her Own Kiss Of Death

You Might’ve Been Distracted Too

• AJ Lee was the second-longest reigning Divas champion (295 Days).
• She and Eve Torres are tied for most reigns as champion (3).
• Lee and her writing partner, Aimee Garcia have written several comic books and screenplays.

For nearly 300 days, AJ Lee was not only the top diva but derided most of the other divas for their perceived lack of skill. Those chickens came home to roost at the 2014 Survivor Series. AJ Lee was set to defend her title against Nikki Bella, accompanied by her sister, who was forced into being her slave. But the big double-cross happened when Brie planted one right on The Black Widow, allowing for Nikki to capitalize and start her own record-setting run.

5 Bianca Belair Was Starstruck

Becky Lynch Entered The Big Time In Less Than 30 Seconds

• The EST was discovered by Mark Henry.
• She was one half of the first ever singles women’s main event at WrestleMania.
• Bianca Belair currently holds the record for longest reigning WWE Women’s Champion (420 days)

At WrestleMania 37, Bianca Belair made amazing history. She made some history too at SummerSlam the following year. But not for great reasons. The rematch between her and Sasha Banks was booked, but par for the course – The Boss wasn’t cleared to compete. Carmella tried to take the spot instead, but The Man came to town and intervened instead. Bianca was so starstruck that after shaking hands, a quick elbow to the face and a Man Handle Slam later was all it took for The Man to step into The Big Time.

4 Yokozuna Gets Too Big For His Britches

Bret Vs. Yoko, Hogan’s The New Champion

• To date, the Samoan Sumo is the heaviest champion of all time.
• Yokozuna is the only man to win / lose and retain / lose the WWE title in two consecutive WrestleManias.
• Bret Vs. Yokozuna is the first back-to-back Mania main event.

It’s not easy to squash a mountain of a man like Yokozuna. But in the Samoan Sumo’s defense, he had just wrestled Bret Hart to win his first ever WWE title. Mr. Fuji then decided it would be a good idea to challenge Hulk Hogan right on the spot. Yoko was winded and, after an attempt to blind Hulk with the salt failed – big boot / leg drop time and Hulk Hogan was back on top for the then-historic fifth title reign.

3 John Cena Can’t Stop The Conqueror

Eat. Sleep. Squash Cena. Repeat

• John Cena has never defeated Brock Lesnar for a championship.
• He has an eclectic family – he is related to a scientist, baseball player, and rapper.
• The squash match was longer than most, but The Beast still tortured Cena.

After injuries forced The Yes Movement to end, John Cena picked up the ball and claimed the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. But like so many before and after him, Cena came up against an unstoppable Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014. Not only unstoppable, but The Conqueror was simply unconquerable on this night and destroyed John with suplex after suplex until he put him out of his misery with the F5.

2 Bob Backlund Gets Hit By A Mack Truck

The Surging Diesel Wins It All In The Garden

• Backlund had defeated Bret Hart for the WWE title at Survivor Series just days before this match.
• At the same event, Diesel split up with Shawn Michaels and vacated the WWE tag team titles.
• The win was Diesel’s first ever world title.

It had been over a decade since Bob Backlund was robbed of his WWE title due to Arnold Skaaland heaving in the towel for his man.

After working so hard to get back to the WWE title, needless to say, Backlund was drunk with power. In his first and only title defense, he ran afoul of Diesel, who made short work of Mr. Backlund with a kick to the gut and a Jackknife later, and Big Daddy once again had some gold.

1 Kofi Kingston Gets Smacked Down By Brock Lesnar

KofiMania Ends With A Crushing Defeat

• Kofi is the first ever Ghanaian-born WWE champion.
• KofiMania came out of nowhere thanks to his work in the ring, and fans’ respect.
• The loss to Brock upset a lot of fans on Social Media.

It’s hard to predict what wrestling fans will get behind and push through to epic proportions. KofiMania was one of those feel good moments, that seemingly the entire WWE Universe was solidly behind. But none of that good mojo mattered when Kofi defended the WWE title against Brock Lesnar on the first ever Smackdown On Fox. Kofi made the mistake of leaping into battle when the bell rung. He sadly jumped right into F5 position and eight seconds later, The Beast was back on top.