5 unusual reasons Superstars had to vacate their Championships

Pro-wrestling's rich and storied history is chock-full of Superstars who have carved out legendary careers for themselves. Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and many more will always be mentioned whenever fans talk about the Mount Rushmore of Pro-wrestling.

This business isn't entirely a walk in the park though. Over the course of the past several decades, we have witnessed multiple instances where a wrestler reached to the top of the roster by scratching and clawing, only to be put back down almost immediately, due to unforeseen circumstances. WWE Superstars are always prone to injuries, courtesy getting physical in the squared circle on a weekly basis. Sometimes, injuries prevent a Superstar from wrestling further, forcing them to relinquish their title. On the other hand, there have been several strange, and sometimes ridiculous reasons which forced a Superstar to vacate the title. Here are five of those instances.

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#5 Asuka leaves to pursue bigger opportunities

The October 2017 TLC PPV saw Asuka make her big main roster debut by defeating arch-rival Emma. Before moving up to the main roster though, Asuka had to relinquish her NXT Women's title. Asuka's reign as the NXT Women's Champion lasted for 510 days and she was dubbed by NXT GM William Regal as "one of the greatest champions in WWE history".

William Regal announced during Asuka's farewell ceremony that he and Asuka had started negotiations with the GMs of both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, and that Asuka would be vacating her title to move on to seek new challengers. The Empress of Tomorrow carried her legendary winning streak to the main roster, remaining undefeated for months on end, before losing for the first time to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34.

#4 Hulk Hogan uses nefarious means to put down The Undertaker

At Survivor Series 1991, Hulk Hogan battled The Undertaker, with the WWE title on the line. The ending to the match saw Ric Flair interfering and costing Hogan the title, resulting in a rematch being immediately signed for the This Tuesday in Texas PPV, emanating from the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas.

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This time, Hogan managed to pin The Deadman by blinding him after throwing a handful of ash from Paul Bearer's urn. This was the second chaotic finish in a row, and President Jack Tunney wasn't thrilled one bit. He vacated the title and put it up for grabs in the Royal Rumble Match, which was won by Ric Flair.

#3 Shawn Michaels gets into trouble

When one thinks of the most controversial Superstars in WWE history, Shawn Michaels' name is bound to come up. The Montreal incident is just one of several controversies Michaels was a part of.

In October 1995, Shawn Michaels got into a fight outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. Michaels ended up being on the receiving end of an assault and suffered injuries as a result of the same. This forced Michaels to forfeit his Intercontinental title to the opponent he was scheduled to face, Dean Douglas, at In Your House: Great White North.

#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!

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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.