3 Extremely Emotional Title Relinquishes in WWE

We often see superstars win the top prizes that WWE has to offer in an emotional manner, and prove to the entire WWE Universe that they’re better than what their critics think about them.

From Daniel Bryan’s victory at WrestleMania to win the at WrestleMania 30, to the underdog Rey Mysterio winning his first World Heavyweight Championship, we’ve seen a lot of tears being shed by the fans of the wrestlers, and the wrestlers themselves.

However, what’s worse is that many a time, wrestlers have had their years of work undone by the result of things beyond their control, and even lost their hard-fought and hard-earned championships due to such reasons.

While wrestling fans always hope that their favorite wrestlers do not have to go through any such circumstances in their career, there still have been a few instances when crowd favorites have lost their titles due to unforeseen circumstances.

Here are 3 such superstars who had to relinquish their championships in the WWE in extremely emotional fashion.

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#3 Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan has seen himself getting stripped off titles a few times in the WWE. He was stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to an injury, and just 11 months later he suffered a similar fate once again.

After winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania while battling shoulder and neck injuries, the die-hard superstar was once again forced to vacate the title.

Bryan took to Monday Night Raw to address the WWE Universe, and announce that he was willingly vacating his Intercontinental Championship due to injury. However, this time the injury was much worse and thought to be career-threatening.

Many believed it was the last they’d watched Bryan wrestle as doctors had advised him to stay away from the ring or end up with life-threatening results.

Daniel Bryan was man enough to even name Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose as deserving candidates for the championship, as he believed they’d be the fighting champions which the WWE Universe wanted.

The promo and the title vacancy was very emotional for fans of Daniel Bryan, who defied all odds about three years later and returned to the ring as an active wrestler in 2018.

#2 Finn Balor

Finn Balor made history at SummerSlam 2016 by beating Seth Rollins and becoming the inaugural WWE Universal Champion against all odds.

The match saw a lot of brutality from both men, who tried their best to win the championship and become the first title holders.

The Irishman was caught by Seth Rollins at one point in the match and powerbombed into the barricade where his shoulder was smashed in the process. This left his shoulder requiring surgery, and at least four to six months recovery period.

Balor came out on Raw on the next episode and announced this with Mick Foley by his side, which saw his title reign coming to an end prematurely in just 24 hours.

To much disappointment of the fans and his well-wishers, his title reign came to an end in an emotional manner rather than after a battle. Since recovering from the injury, Balor has been unable to find his footing in the WWE again.

#1 Roman Reigns

The opening moments of Raw on October 22nd saw one of the most shocking revelations and emotional moment come from The Big Dog Roman Reigns.

After taking to the ring in rather casual attire, one that he’s not usually seen in during his WWE performances, Roman Reigns cut one a very emotion and heartfelt promo.

Roman announced that he has been living with leukaemia for 11 years and the disease had returned to haunt him once again. In order to fight the disease, the current Universal Champion had to relinquish his title and take a leave of absence from the WWE.

For the first time in recent memory, the entire WWE Universe seemed like it was on Roman’s side during a battle, and the entire arena was filled with chants of “Thank You, Roman”.

He laid the title out in the middle of the ring and walked up to the ramp to be embraced by his brothers Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.

The only thing that remains clear at the moment is that Reigns has always fought whatever has come his way, and he will be back for more.

“I will beat this, and I will be back, so you will see me very, very soon.” - Roman Reigns