3 WWE Superstars Who Refused to Drop Their Titles and 2 Who Refused to Win One

#2 Refused to win the title: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin - ECW Championship

The Texas Rattlesnake didn't want to get the title without any work

Steve Austin, the sturdiest wrestler of his time, once worked for the ECW too. After leaving WCW, Austin joined ECW where he was offered a championship reign. However, Austin didn't do something extraordinary to earn the title and it is why he refused to win it. He revealed all this in Lillian Garcia’s podcast Chasing Glory:

It was also because I figured if I rolled in there and Paul [Heyman] wanted to put the strap on me; but, Mike [Whipwreck] had it. I said, ‘No man.’ Here I just came waltzing in and because I came from WCW. I was a very good mechanic in the ring; but, I wasn’t a Superstar yet although we’d call myself “Superstar” Steve Austin there in ECW – I said, ‘Man, everybody’s expecting me to take the Title. Let me chase it. Let me earn it.’ I want to get over with that ECW crowd or wherever it is from a television standpoint. Those people in that sh*t hole arena, the ECW Arena – it was a dump and when I say that I mean it as a compliment. It was just this raw crazy atmosphere with a lot of guys working their asses off to build that place up and doing a hell of a job with all those great promos. I just didn’t want to waltz in there and get handed a belt. I wanted to earn it through the boys in the company and earn the fans respect. I just didn’t want it handed to me….I wanted to earn it and I wanted to work for it.

Even when Austin became a box-office Superstar, he never won this championship as he was working for WWE but just imagining him as an ECW Champion would give goosebumps to some fans. He, alone, was capable to rebuild this brand.