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For a professional wrestler, winning a championship is a culmination of years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears. If it happens in a major promotion, it etches their name in the annals of wrestling history.
However, there are times when they, for one reason or the other, throw away the opportunity to hold on to their championship. Most recently, Enzo Amore was suspended – and subsequently released, while he was the WWE Cruiserweight Champion. It wasn't the first time that a champion was released from a major wrestling promotion, while still holding a title.
Lets take a look at five Superstars who were released from a major wrestling organisation, while still holding a title in the company.
#5 Meng
Tonga Fifita, better known as Meng to the WCW fans, and as Haku to the WWE fans, was one of the legitimate tough guys in the business. There have been numerous stories, recounted by his peers and veterans in the industry, about Meng's toughness, and how he always protected the integrity of the business.
During his time in WCW, Meng worked on a weekly deal with the company. This meant that he did not have a long term contract, but would show up to the show every week and get paid for it. Just a few weeks before WCW went out of business, Meng was given the Hardcore Championship at WCW Sin.
However, only a week later, Meng showed up at the Royal Rumble as Haku, and the Hardcore Championship was declared vacant. The WCW management did not have to come up with an elaborate reason however, as one week later, Vince McMahon bought the company, and WCW folded!
Alundra Blayze
#4 Alundra Blayze
Madusa, who worked in WWE under the ring name Alundra Blayze, was a three time WWE Women's Champion, and was the first ever female wrestler to have won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
Blayze is considered to be one of the pioneers of the women's division in WWE, and when she was brought in by Vince McMahon, she remained the focal point around which the rest of the division was built. In December 1995, when Blayze was in the midst of her third and final run as the WWE Women's Champion, Vince McMahon decided to let her go owing to financial troubles the company was in at the time.
Blayze never formally dropped the title, and instead showed up on WCW Monday Nitro with the championship. In one of the most controversial angles at the time, Madusa threw the WWE Women's Championship in a trash can on live television, and the title was left vacant for the next three years.
This also resulted in WWE blacklisting Blayze for nearly two decades – until she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015!
#3 Chyna
Talking about pioneers, Chyna was one of the few women that proved that the fairer sex can do anything their male counterparts can. Chyna became the first woman to ever compete in the Royal Rumble match, won the Intercontinental Championship twice, and was also the first and only woman to ever compete in a number one contender's match for the WWE title!
Chyna won the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania X – Seven, and successfully defended the title against Lita at Judgment Day. However, this was also when her personal life was in turmoil, as her former boyfriend, Triple H began seeing Stephanie McMahon behind her back. This led to Triple H breaking up with Chyna for Stephanie – something Chyna couldn't get over at the time.
While there have been multiple theories about the circumstances leading to Chyna's departure from WWE, the woman who was dubbed the 'Ninth Wonder Of The World' was sent home after a meeting with Vince. Chyna was told that her services were no longer required, and was stripped off the title. A new champion was crowned at Survivor Series in a Six – Pack Challenge, which Trish Stratus won.
Chris Benoit
#2 Chris Benoit
While Chris Benoit's wrestling career will forever take a back seat to the events that unfolded in 2007, his name will still remain in history books, as a former World Heavyweight Champion.
Benoit worked for all the major promotions that existed in the 90's in North America, and while WCW refused to acknowledge Benoit as a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, he did win the title at Souled Out in 2000.
Benoit married Nancy, who was earlier married to Kevin Sullivan. Nancy, who was known as 'Woman' in WCW, was dragged into a storyline involving Sullivan and Benoit, where she was forced to spend time with Chris. Their on – screen relationship soon turned real, and Nancy divorced Sullivan.
So when Kevin Sullivan was promoted to the position of a head booker in the company, Chris Benoit wasn't exactly thrilled. Kevin and the WCW management, in an attempt to pacify Benoit put the WCW World Heavyweight title on him at Souled Out in 2000, but Chris had already made up his mind to leave WCW.
Chris, along with Eddie, Malenko and Saturn jumped ships to WWE, and WCW stripped Benoit off the title. The WCW management explained that Sid Vicious, who was Benoit's opponent, had his leg under the bottom rope, and thereby Benoit's win was annulled. While WCW did not acknowledge Benoit as a champion, WWE has since listed Benoit as a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion on their website.
Ric Flair
#1 Ric Flair
Ric Flair, in the mid 80's, was synonymous with NWA. 'The Nature Boy' won the NWA World
Heavyweight Championship on nine different occasions, and won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship eight times in his career. In the late 80's, the wrestling fans wanted to see the 'super fight' between Ric Flair, and WWE's marquee name, Hulk Hogan. But with Ric being loyal to WCW, it was considered to be a distant dream.
However, in 1991, Ric Flair had a contractual dispute with WCW's president at the time, Jim Herd.
Flair was the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, but was asked to take a substantial pay cut, and according to Flair, was forced to alter his gimmick – something Flair wasn't ready to do. Herd reportedly wanted to reduce Flair's role in the company, and when Ric refused to comply with his wishes, Herd fired Flair from the promotion.
Herd even refused to pay $25,000 to Flair, which was the champion's deposit – something the champions were forced to pay, to avoid predicaments exactly like the one Flair found himself in. Ric then took the championship with him to WWE, where he was introduced as the “Real World Champion”. The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was then vacated, and Lex Luger was crowned the new champion at The Great American Bash PPV.
