5 Times WWE stars were forced to vacate their championships

Rhea Ripley was forced to vacate the WWE Women's World Championship on the April 15 episode of Monday Night RAW. She is dealing with a severe injury she sustained on the RAW after 'Mania following a backstage assault by Liv Morgan.

It is unclear how long The Eradicator will miss, but she said she should be out for a few months to fully recover.

Ripley is not the first WWE star (current or former) to be forced to vacate the title, so let's examine five other instances in which superstars have had to vacate their championships.

#5. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez had to vacate the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were the Women's Tag Team Champions a year ago, but their title run was cut short due to Morgan's injury.

The former SmackDown Women's Champion sustained an injury that forced her to stay out for months. Thus, she and Raquel Rodriguez had to vacate their titles, which were decided on a Fatal Four-Way match in late May 2023.

#4. The Undertaker

16 years ago, The Undertaker defeated Edge at WrestleMania 24 to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. However, his title run didn't last long.

His feud with the Rated-R Superstar continued, and SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, who was on Edge's side, stripped the Hall of Famer of his title while she prohibited him from using his Hell's Gate finishing move.

#3. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan became the Intercontinental Champion in 2015 when he survived a brutal Ladder Match at WrestleMania 31 to win the title.

However, he was competing through an injury he sustained in mid-March of 2015 (concussion), which forced him to vacate the title in mid-May, as he wasn't medically cleared to compete.

During his run with WWE, Bryan dealt with a few injuries, which forced him to retire temporarily before returning to the ring. He is now part of the AEW roster, performing under his real name, Bryan Danielson.

#2. Edge

Edge had to retire in 2011 due to a serious neck injury. The Rated-R Superstar was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time, but doctors left him with no option but to retire, and he made his decision public on a RAW episode back on April 11, 2011.

Edge returned to WWE nine years later at the 2020 Royal Rumble. He won the contest in 2021 but never managed to become the Universal Champion. He left WWE a few months ago, and like Bryan Danielson, he joined AEW as Adam Copeland.

#1. Sasha Banks and Naomi

This may be the strangest case when it comes to vacating championships. Sasha Banks and Naomi became Women's Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022.

Still, a month later, they walked out of a Monday Night RAW episode because they were unhappy with the creative direction. As a result, the company suspended both indefinitely, and the titles were vacated.

Fast-forward to today. Sasha Banks has moved to AEW, while Naomi recently returned to WWE and is part of the SmackDown roster.