WWE History Vol. 26: Vacated Titles

#2 Wrestlemania IV--The Ultimate Warrior, double champion

It's the Uuuuuuuulimate Warrior with both the Intercontinental Championship and the WWE World title at Wrestlemania VI.

Sometimes in WWE, a title vacancy doesn't happen due to illness, injury, or contractual disputes. In other cases, it's just that one championship is getting in the way of a greater destiny.

Such was the case of Jim Hellwig, better known--and loved--by wrestling fans as The Ultimate Warrior. A former bodybuilder turned wrestler, his early ally Sting also went on to great success in the NWA/WCW. Meanwhile, Warrior went to WWE.

The Warrior ran roughshod over the roster, defeating Hercules Hernandez in his first major feud before capturing the WWE Intercontinental title in under a minute at the very first SummerSlam.

But that was only the beginning. The Warrior would be groomed for the world title picture, being built up and seen as an eventual replacement for Hulk Hogan, who was interested in leaving the wrestling world for Hollywood.

The Ultimate Warrior was named the number one contender, and he and Hogan had a tremendous build-up to their title match. Champion vs. Champion, the main event of Wrestlemania VI was billed as 'The Ultimate Challenge.'

Warrior went down in history as one of the few people to cleanly pin Hogan for a championship, and a new era began.