5 unusual reasons Superstars had to vacate their Championships

#2 Vince McMahon vacates the WWE title

In 1999, Triple H got into a rivalry with the McMahon family and offered to defend his WWE title against Vince McMahon. The match was on and Shane McMahon was made the special referee for the same. The match saw Triple H destroying Vince and Shane trying to pep-talk him into getting up. At one point, Shane was knocked out and Stone Cold came out to change the course of history. He delivered Stunners on Triple H and Chyna, helping the boss win the WWE title!

Also read: 10 WWE heels who went too far

Vince appeared on Raw soon after and stated that he is prohibited from engaging in day-to-day business activities, hence he is vacating the belt.

#1 Austin refuses to defend the IC title

On the road to WrestleMania 14, Stone Cold Steve Austin held the Intercontinental title, but the authorities didn't want him to take the title to 'Mania. They also didn't want him to lose it. So, a storyline was created which saw Austin refusing to defend his title. This resulted in The Rattlesnake being forced to vacate the belt, and award it to The Rock.

Austin did the unthinkable and threw the belt into a river and recorded a video of the incident, in one of the most memorable moments of the Attitude Era. Austin went on to win the WWE title from Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14, kicking off the Austin Era.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Kaushik Das