Rey Mysterio’s WWE Championship Victory On RAW Reaches 15-Year Anniversary

Fifteen years ago today, on the July 25, 2011 edition of Monday Night RAW, Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz in the tournament final to become WWE Champion.

Mysterio would lose the WWE Championship to John Cena less than two hours later in the show’s main event. It remains the only WWE Championship reign of his career, although he is also a two-time World Heavyweight Champion.

At the time, the WWE Championship had been vacated following CM Punk’s infamous victory over John Cena at Money in the Bank on July 17, 2011. Punk left the company with the title after his contract expired, forcing WWE to hold a tournament on Monday Night RAW in the following weeks to crown a new champion. Other competitors in the tournament included Kofi Kingston, Alex Riley, and R-Truth.

Cena’s victory led to the infamous return of CM Punk, who debuted ‘Cult of Personality’ by Living Colour as his WWE entrance theme for the first time. Punk returned with the WWE Championship he had previously won from Cena, before coming face-to-face with the reigning champion as both men raised their titles to close the show.

Fast-forward to 2026, and Rey Mysterio continues to compete on Monday Night Raw while also serving as the General Manager of AAA.

CM Punk, meanwhile, is once again the Undisputed WWE Champion. The pair could potentially cross paths again in the near future, with Punk recently teasing an appearance at AAA Worlds Collide in Chicago on September 26. You can read more about that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on future plans for Rey Mysterio as soon as we hear more.