5 WWE Champions who relinquished their titles 

#4 Batista

When Batista won the Royal Rumble in 2005, it was only a matter of time before he turned on his Evolution leader, Triple H. The Animal did exactly that and challenged The Game to a match at WrestleMania 21.

The match put Batista in the main event scene and the win via pinfall to win his first major singles title cemented his place in WWE history. He enjoyed a good run as the WWE Heavyweight Champion but the end was not how things were planned.

Batista's reign of 282 days came to an end when he was forced to relinquish his title in January 2006. His 282-day reign was a huge success as he became one of the top babyfaces in the history of SmackDown.

He was forced to let go of the title because of a triceps/biceps injury. It did not take long for him to return and get his hands on the title again as he was the Heavyweight Champion towards the end of the same year after beating King Booker at Survivor Series.