5 WWE Champions who relinquished their titles 

#1 - Shawn Michaels

Due to a serious knee injury, Shawn Michaels' career in the ring was at a risk back in 1997. The Heartbreak Kid was the WWE Champion at that time but had to relinquish the title and head for his knee operation.

Shawn cut a touching 'lost his smile' promo announcing his decision to let go of the title. He was just three and a half weeks into his reign as the champion that time but it had an abrupt end.

“Over the last few months, I've lost a lot of things and one of the things I've lost is my smile, and I know it doesn't mean a lot to everyone else, but it means a lot to me and I have to go and fix myself and take care of myself and find my smile because somewhere along the lines I lost it and I don't care if it's unpopular and people want to make fun of me because I'm an emotional guy.”

The vacant title was put on the line in a Fatal 4-Way match with Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vader competing for it. Bret eventually ended up picking the title and that led to his feud with Shawn Michaels when HBK returned.

The storyline ended with the infamous Montreal Screwjob and that will forever be remembered as one of the most iconic moments in WWE's history.