Title Changes On This Day in Wrestling (August 18th)
August 18 has also been a pretty busy day when it comes to pro wrestling title changes, keeping up what has already been a week around the 250+ per day range. According to wrestlingdata.com, there have been around 272 major/notable title changes on this day historically.
Some of the bigger changes on this day include Daniel Bryan winning the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2013 before dropping it to Randy Orton (who cashed in his MITB briefcase), Cien Caras winning the CMLL World Heavyweight Title in 1991, Arn Anderson & Paul Roma winning the WCW World Tag Team Titles in 1993 and Ricky Steamboat winning the WCW World Television Title on the same night.
Pro Wrestling Title changes on August 18th
| Year | Championship | New champion(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | PWF United States Heavyweight Title (AJPW Version) | Mil Máscaras |
| 1984 | NWA World Middleweight Title | Gran Cochisse |
| 1984 | Mexican National Lightweight Title | Módulo |
| 1991 | CMLL World Heavyweight Title | Cien Caras |
| 1993 | WCW World Tag Team Titles | Arn Anderson & Paul Roma |
| 1993 | WCW World Television Title | Ricky Steamboat |
| 2000 | IWC World Heavyweight Title | Cibernético |
| 2000 | CMLL World Women’s Title | Vacant |
| 2001 | CMLL World Women’s Title | La Diabólica |
| 2002 | WWE Hardcore Title | Steven Richards |
| 2002 | WWE Hardcore Title | Shawn Stasiak |
| 2002 | WWE Hardcore Title | Tommy Dreamer |
| 2009 | Occidente Light Heavyweight Title | Mictlán |
| 2011 | TNA World Tag Team Titles | Anarquia & Hernandez |
| 2013 | WWE Title | Randy Orton |
| 2013 | WWE Title | Daniel Bryan |
| 2018 | NXT Women’s Title | Kairi Sane |
| 2018 | NXT North American Title | Ricochet |
| 2020 | IMPACT Wrestling X-Division Title | Rohit Raju |
| 2025 | WWE Women’s World Title | Vacant |
1978-1991
The earliest August 18th entry is from 1978, when Mil Máscaras won the PWF United States Heavyweight Title (AJPW Version). In 1984, Gran Cochisse won the NWA World Middleweight Title and Módulo won the Mexican National Lightweight Title. Cien Caras won the CMLL World Heavyweight Title in 1991.
1993
Arn Anderson and Paul Roma won the WCW World Tag Team Titles, and Ricky Steamboat won the WCW World Television Title.
2000-2001
In 2000, Cibernético won the IWC World Heavyweight Title and the CMLL World Women’s Title was vacated. La Diabólica won the CMLL World Women’s Title in 2001.
2002
Three WWE Hardcore Title changes took place on August 18th, 2002, under the championship’s 24/7 rule: Steven Richards, Shawn Stasiak, and Tommy Dreamer each held the title on this date.
2009-2013
Mictlán won the Occidente Light Heavyweight Title in 2009. Anarquia and Hernandez won the TNA World Tag Team Titles in 2011. In 2013, the WWE Title was recorded twice, won by Randy Orton and won by Daniel Bryan.
2018-2025
In 2018, Kairi Sane won the NXT Women’s Title and Ricochet won the NXT North American Title. Rohit Raju won the IMPACT Wrestling X-Division Title in 2020. The most recent moment is from 2025, when the WWE Women’s World Title was vacated.
Jake Jeremy
Jake is the Head of Audience Development at F4WOnline, having previously worked as a Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief and Sports Coordinator. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012.
He previously also worked for PROGRESS Wrestling as Head of Media as well as working on the social channels of the company.
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