Published: 3 seconds ago by Sanchez Taylor | Last Updated: 3 seconds ago by Sanchez Taylor
Sanchez has over six years of pro-wrestling news writing experience, covering the biggest news stories in WWE, NXT, AEW, TNA Wrestling and more. He has personally interviewed a number of top stars, producing exclusive content with the likes of AEW's Swerve Strickland and WWE's Nick Aldis.
WWE
Stephanie Vaquer is now the WWE Women’s World Champion, winning the gold from Liv Morgan during the September 12 house show in Chile.
While title changes at non-televised events are rare nowadays, this is far from the first time a star has picked up new hardware at shows not initially intended for broadcast.
These title changes have went on to greatly impact WWE TV, with fallout occuring on Raw, SmackDown and NXT.
Here are five of the most recent times WWE championships have changed hands at non-televised live events.
Stephanie Vaquer wins the Women’s World Championship – September 12, 2026
While many fans had predicted that Stephanie Vaquer would be the next holder of the WWE Women’s World Championship, few predicted that she’d pick up the gold in a dark match in her home country.
Vaquer challenged for Morgan’s title at the live event in Santiago, Chile, with Becky Lynch serving as the special referee for the match.
The Chilean star won the gold back from Morgan in a rematch from WrestleMania 42, where Liv Morgan had defeated her to take the title.
With Stephanie Vaquer earning redemption, it will be interesting to see what’s next for her on Monday’s edition of Raw.
Andrade wins the US Championship – December 26, 2019
Prior to this weekend, the last time a WWE title changed hands at a non-televised house show was during the 2019 Holiday Tour.
During the December 26, 2019 event in Madison Square Garden, Andrade El Idolo challenged for Rey Mysterio’s US Championship, and defeated the legendary luchador for the gold.
The current AEW star held this title for 150 days, before losing the US Title to Apollo Crews on the May 25, 2020 Raw episode.
AJ Styles wins the US Championship – July 7, 2017
If I had a nickel for every time the WWE US Championship changed hands in a dark match at Madison Square Garden in the 2010s, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?
AJ Styles and Kevin Owens traded the US Championship several times in 2017, with one title switch happening at the world’s most famous arena.
Styles ended Owens’ 65 day reign with the gold on July 7, 2017. This championship reign lasted for just 16 days, with Owens winning the gold back at Battleground 2017 in a finish which confused viewers at the time, with both stars looking puzzled following their premium live event bout.
Styles recently confirmed on his podcast that he was originally meant to win at Battleground, meaning his Madison Square Garden live event victory was meant to be the start of a longer title reign.
Shinsuke Nakamura wins the NXT Championship – December 3, 2016
Before AJ Styles and Kevin Owens’ US Title feud, there was Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe’s NXT Championship rivalry.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe traded NXT’s top prize during the developmental brand’s top shows in 2016, with Nakamura winning the gold from Joe at TakeOver: Brooklyn II that August, and Samoa Joe winning the title back at TakeOver: Toronto that November.
Samoa Joe only held the gold for 13 recognised days before Shinsuke Nakamura became champion once again, winning the title at a live event in Osaka, Japan.
Nakamura kept hold of this title for 56 more days, before Bobby Roode defeated him for the gold at TakeOver: San Antonio.
Samoa Joe wins the NXT Championship – April 21, 2026
This wasn’t the only time the NXT Championship changed hands away from live cameras in 2016, with Samoa Joe shocking the world that April.
Defeating Finn Balor in Lowell, MA, Samoa Joe’s NXT Championship victories is considered one of the most surprising title changes in the history of the developmental brand, with a story beat the company had so heavily built towards ultimately taking place at a house show.
He went on to hold this title for 121 days, before losing it to Shinsuke Nakamura in their aforementioned rivalry.
Finn Balor has noted on numerous occasions that this is one of his favorite moments of his career, believing that Samoa Joe brought the best out of him.
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