5 WWE Superstars who've won titles in their home state

If you've been a lifelong fan of WWE, you may have noticed an astonishing fact about superstars wrestling in their home state.

They rarely win titles.

Perhaps it's for the sake of generating heel heat. It could also be used as a way for a babyface to gain sympathy.

Regardless of the reason, it's almost always a given that if a wrestler is competing in their hometown, state, or city, they're probably not walking away with a championship victory.

While that statement rings true most of the time, here are a few occasions where the hometown Superstar has managed to come out on top.

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#5 Stone Cold Steve Austin sells his soul for the gold

It was the year 2001. The Attitude Era was at its peak. The Rock was the WWE Champion and Stone Cold Steve Austin had recently returned to the ring after getting run over by Rikishi, of all people.

After The Texas Rattlesnake settled the score with Big Kish, he set his sights on regaining the WWE Title.

He entered that year's Royal Rumble at number 27 and won the match after eliminating The Big Red Machine, Kane.

The stage was set for Austin and The Rock to cross paths a second time at WrestleMania; this time in Austin's home state of Texas.

The conclusion of the match sparked the start of an unprecedented partnership between Mr. McMahon and his arch enemy, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

After hitting The Rock profusely with a Vince McMahon -steel chair, Austin stood tall in his home state as the champion at the cost of selling his soul to the owner of the company.

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#4 Naomi recaptures the Smackdown Women's Title at the Show of Shows

2017 saw a massive change in WWE. The PG Era was a thing of the past. Fresher faces like AJ Styles, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Shinsuke Nakumara had now been given the spotlight.

Smackdown became The Land of Opportunity. While the brand's main focus pertained to pushing newer faces, some of WWE's most underrated superstars benefited from the change as well.

One such talent, in particular, was Naomi.

She initially defeated Alexa Bliss at that year's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view to capture the Smackdown Women's Title for the first time.

Alas, this win was short-lived, as she'd relinquish the title due to injury on the February 21 edition of Smackdown that year.

Vacating the title may have been a bitter moment, but it also made her second Women's Title win all the more sweet. She recaptured the belt at WrestleMania 33 in her hometown of Orlando, Florida in a 6 pack challenge.

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#3 John Cena's emotional return leads to an emotional championship victory

It was late 2008 and the days of the Dr. of Thuganomics were long gone. John Cena, at the time, was all about hustle, loyalty, and respect.

This new gimmick typically wasn't well-received amongst the older demographic who felt that the 16-time world champion turned phony in the midst of his first WWE Championship reign.

Be that as it may, Survivor Series 2008 marked one of the few times Cena didn't get booed out of the building during that time frame.

This also marked his second return in 2008, with the first being at that year's Royal Rumble event. There, he competed against 29 other men. This time around, there was just one.

Y2J, Chris Jericho.

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thought Jericho would be walking out of Boston, Mass., holding the Big Gold Belt above his head with that iconic smug smirk on his mug.

Little to no one's surprise, Cena ended the current AEW star's reign with his patented Attitude Adjustment finisher that night.

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#2 Lita triumphs over Trish Stratus in Charlotte, North Carolina

Some say Trish Stratus & Lita's main event bout on the December 6 edition of RAW in 2004 was the first time a women’s match main evented the show. Others argue that this accolade goes to Lita and Stephanie McMahon for their match on June 12, 2000.

No matter the opinion, it's safe to say that a lot had changed during those four years. For one, WCW and ECW folded, leaving the company without any real competition for the time being.

The Attitude Era came to an end shortly after, and thus the Ruthless Aggression Era was born. It was the early 2000s and the women of WWE were still featured in rather risqué matches such as lingerie pillow fights and mud wrestling.

Despite this and the fact that they were hardly ever given a lengthy amount of time to compete, they still managed to steal the show on a few occasions during that time. Trish & Lita's RAW main event bout is a prime example of that.

Despite all of Trish's underhanded tactics and not quite connecting with a nasty-looking Topé Suicida, Lita dethroned Stratus that night to become WWE Women's Champion in her homeland of Carolina.

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#1 CM Punk leaves Rosemont, Illinois with the WWE Championship

Twas 2011 and the PG Era was in full effect. John Cena was the face of WWE and a certain Second City Saint was fed up with it.... or more so, with the idea that Cena was the best.

On June 27, 2011, CM Punk aired his grievances in front of a live audience and everyone watching at home. The promo was met with high praise as a large number of fans felt the exact same way Punk did in regards to the direction the company was going at the time.

During the segment, Punk mentioned that his contract was expiring and announced that he'd be leaving WWE with their most prestigious title after Money in the Bank concluded.

Well, Money in the Bank went down that year and part of Punk's plan came to fruition.

Despite all of Mr. McMahon's tricks, Punk defeated Cena and walked out with the WWE Championship in his homeland. However, this would not be the last time Punk appeared on WWE Programming.