5 WWE Superstars who refused to win championships

The quest for championship gold is a journey that every WWE Superstar aims to complete. Not just a nice trophy, becoming a champion means that the company has faith in you to be a representative of their brand.

A championship win also means that in the years and decades after your career has wrapped up, your name will live on in the history books as a champion.

There are some stars, however, who actively fought being crowned a champion.

Whether it be due to backstage politics, worrying about the pressure of holding the gold, or just feeling they didn't deserve such a prestigious accolade, these Superstars had their reasons for saying no to the prize.

Here are five WWE Superstars who reportedly refused to win championships.

#5 The Rock (WWE Championship)

The Rock was reportedly poised to defeat JBL for the WWE Title at WrestleMania 21.

The Rock may go down in history as one of the greatest WWE Champions of all time, but in 2005, the Brahma Bull could have added another huge win to his legendary career.

According to 411Mania, there were plans for the Great One to return to the company in 2005, with a match between him and then-Champion JBL slated for WrestleMania 21.

There were reportedly even plans for The Rock to win the gold, just to lose the title days later, if nothing else, to swerve the fans.

Ultimately, this never came to light, as Bradshaw ended up facing a young John Cena.

Defeating the Texan, Cena would win his first of 16 World Championships, with one of these title wins being at the expense of the Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment at WrestleMania 29 in 2013.

#4 Scott Hall (TNA World Championship)

Hall was a big star in the early years of TNA.

Given how popular Razor Ramon was during his peak in the World Wrestling Federation, it is baffling to many fans that the Bad Guy never held the WWF title.

Years later though, Scott Hall, the man behind Ramon had his chance for World Championship gold, as part of the young new promotion By the name of NWA: TNA.

As the company was eager to get fans tuning in, the brand often relied on former WWE stars, including Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner and then-NWA Champion Ken Shamrock.

Despite being given the opportunity to topple Shamrock for the gold, Hall turned down the title win.

Though the Bad Guy has never given an exact reason for this snub, the pressures of being champions, his uncertainty over whether or not TNA would succeed, and Hall’s infamous personal problems could all be a factor.

#3 Bret 'Hitman' Hart (Intercontinental Championship)

Hart left the WWF in ate 1997.

1997 was a strange year for WWE, and no-one knows that better than Bret 'Hitman' Hart.

After turning on the fans early in the year, Hart's real-life issues with Shawn Michaels continued to play in the on-screen characters of both men, and even began incorporating other stars.

According to rumors, Hart declined the chance to defeat Rocky Miavia (later The Rock) for the Intercontinental Title early in the year, feeling the loss would be a major hindrance to the future Brahma Bull.

In addition, Hart reportedly also felt that the title was only being offered to him to keep him and Michaels apart, and if Bret was to receive the IC gold, that'd leave the Showstopper with a beeline for the WWF title unopposed.

Of course, Shawn and Bret would face off that November at Survivor Series, in the infamous Montreal Screwjob.

#2 Steve Austin (ECW World Championship)

After getting fired from WCW, Austin appeared in

ECW,

and mocked some of his former employer's top stars.

Eric Bischoff fired Steve Austin from WCW in late 1995, deeming the Texan as 'unmarketable'.

In response, Austin went on to become arguably the biggest name in wrestling, but before joining the WWF in 1996, made a brief stop in ECW.

As part of the extreme promotion, Austin became a cult-hit with the fans, but rejected any major long-term plans.

Paul Heyman reportedly wanted to make Austin the ECW Champion as soon as possible, but the future Stone Cold rejected the offer, knowing his time in ECW was destined to be brief and feeling a quick title run wouldn’t fit his character.

Though he had no plans on winning the gold, Austin did compete in a three-way dance for the title in December 1995, in a match which featured Mikey Whipwreck and winner The Sandman.

#1 Eddie Guerrero (World Heavyweight Championship)

Eddie as WWE Champion in 2004.

When Eddie Guerrero entered a feud with Batista in late 2005, fans were excited.

It had been over a year since Guerrero had last held singles gold in the company, losing the WWE Title to John 'Bradshaw' Layfield at the Great American Bash 2004.

In an interview, Stephanie McMahon inferred that Eddie was given the opportunity to become champion again, but turned it down.

The reason behind this was that Eddie put a lot of pressure on himself during his WWE title reign, and didn't want to go through that again, though these plans have been disputed by some.

Sadly, Latino Heat would never win a second World Championship in WWE, as in November 2005, Eddie Guerrero tragically passed.

A loss that was a crushing blow to the company and its fans, Guerrero was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame the next year.