10 Wrestlers You Completely Forgot Were Stripped Of World Titles
John Castro Wrestlers being stripped of a World Title is a big deal due to the nature of the situation, but it is also something that typically only happens rarely, therefore whenever it goes down fans can often recall it. However, there have been some instances where fans have forgotten about it, as the focus is often on those who hold the titles for longer.
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Sometimes a wrestler is stripped of the title because of injury, yet other times it ends up being down to storyline purposes, with this being to get heat on someone, or providing some babyface sympathy, which can end up being overlooked at points.
10 The Undertaker
The Undertaker is often remembered as a character rather than a champion, as he was always best when chasing the gold rather than holding it. However, he did have several runs as World Champion, and that was the case in 2008 when he won the World Heavyweight Championship.
Fans expected him to go and have a run, but Vickie Guerrero ended up stripping him of the gold to push the storyline between him and Edge. At this time she banned his Hell's Gate finishing move, and that move was the reason for him losing the title as well.
9 Finn Balor
Finn Balor relinquishing the Universal Championship was a huge deal at the time since he was the first person to ever win the title, but this was done due to a legitimate injury. Balor got hurt during his SummerSlam encounter against Seth Rollins when he won the championship, and that led to him having to drop the title on Raw the following night.
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It was an unfortunate situation as WWE seemed to have high hopes for Balor at this stage, but it didn't end up happening as he was then out of action for a long time. Because Balor hasn't gotten back to this level since a lot of fans have then forgotten about this moment in his career.
8 Edge
Edge has had some historic World Championship runs during his time in the business, but he has also had to drop it twice throughout his career. Him vacating the title when he retired due to injury is something that a lot of people remember well, but in 2007 he had to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship as well.
This time was less famous in regards to how fans remember it, with this one taking place due to him having a legitimate pectoral issue, but because he was back and holding the title later that same year, this one is forgotten about.
7 Batista
Batista is another wrestler who had to vacate his World Championship back in 2009 because of injury, which is something he sustained during his performance at Extreme Rules that year. The Animal had won the WWE Championship, but due to tearing his bicep, the title had to be dropped.
He was off television for several months following that, which is why he was unable to continue as champion. It was something that did come as a surprise in the moment, but it is something that a lot of fans have since forgotten about over time.
6 John Cena
John Cena vacated the WWE Championship in 2007 due to injury, and while the title reign was an incredibly long one, the moment he gave it up is often overlooked by fans. Because Cena has won so many titles throughout his career, it is easy to forget how he dropped them all.
This isn't a moment from Cena's time in the business that stands out, which is simply because he had so many other highlights throughout his career.
5 Steve Austin
Steve Austin was similar to John Cena in the fact he had such a historic career that vacating the WWE Championship is often forgotten, which was even more so the case for him because this was a storyline angle. The Texas Rattlesnake dropped the belt in a storyline fashion, which is different from Cena's when he was hurt.
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For Austin, he dropped the title after both Kane and The Undertaker pinned him at the same time, and while no new champion was created, he ended up losing the WWE Championship after it was stripped from him.
4 Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar is one of the most dominant World Champions in the history of the business in WWE, but he has never vacated a title for that company. However, he has dropped a World Title in his career, as that took place when he was the IWGP Heavyweight Champion during his stint with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Lesnar proved to be a hit for the company, with his physical style being something that fit in perfectly with the Japanese crowd. However, he had issues with his work visa and couldn't get to the country, which led to him being stripped of the title, which a lot of fans aren't aware of.
3 Vince McMahon
A lot of fans have forgotten that Vince McMahon ever won the WWE Championship, to begin with, but of course, that was a very short reign as he was never going to be able to defend the title regularly to be taken seriously, as a long run for him would have hurt the title overall.
That is why he opted to vacate it, which was dealt with in the storyline by Steve Austin defeating The Undertaker in a match that led to the former WWE Chairman being banned from television, which meant the title had to be removed.
2 Sting
Sting losing the World Championship in WCW was a strange situation, with his match against Hulk Hogan being overbooked massively by the company. Hulk had originally pinned him at Starrcade 1997 until the special guest enforcer Bret Hart changed it, with Sting then beating him with a Scorpion Deathlock.
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That move had controversy surrounding it as well and because of all that put together, WCW stripped Sting of the title completely. It was a strange call and a messy one that didn't make the company look good, but it certainly ended up being forgettable.
1 Daniel Bryan
Everyone recalls when Daniel Bryan relinquished the WWE World Heavyweight Championship following WrestleMania 30 as this was the start of his serious health issues which eventually led to him retiring. However, he had dropped the title before that following his win at Night Of Champions in 2013.
This was done to push The Authority as heels, as they stripped him of the title due to the controversial finish in how he defeated Randy Orton. It all worked to push the heat that they had at the time, but it is something that has been forgotten about.