10 WWE Champions Who Forfeited Their Title Due To Injury

Asuka joins a long list.

Daniel Bryan IC Title Wwe2
WWE

Asuka's record-breaking NXT Women's Championship reign came to a disappointing end last week when she was unceremoniously stripped of the title following injury.

It's not the ideal way for her run to end, but the 35-year-old can take solace from one thing.

Well two things, the first being that she is being tipped to change the face of women's wrestling in the United States after she makes her long-awaited main roster bow later this year.

The second is that she is in some very good company. Wrestling being as dangerous and unpredictable as it is, a great many champions over the years have been forced to relinquish their titles after succumbing to injury.

Most of the time, they come back, a few months down the road, stronger and more popular than ever before. Fans are usually so keen to see them make up for lost time, in fact, that they begin to put pressure on WWE to elevate them to new, even greater heights.

That's the positive side to getting injured - the downside, though, is the intense physical pain and months of rehab, so all things considered you should probably try to avoid them.

10. Triple H

Daniel Bryan IC Title Wwe2
WWE.com

If this injury had happened to anyone else, you may have feared the worst.

After all, 'The Game' was just beginning to find his niche as a singles star, having emerged from Shawn Michaels' shadow following his retirement in early 1998.

His Intercontinental Championship feud with The Rock did wonders for both men's careers but, after winning the belt in a pulsating ladder match at SummerSlam, Trips found himself on the sideline with an ill-timed knee injury.

Ken Shamrock stepped into his shoes in the meantime, but it didn't harm HHH's career one bit. In fact, if anything it probably hastened his step up to the world title scene, where he began a career-defining feud with Mick Foley early the following year. Some guys have all the luck.

In this post: 
Daniel Bryan
 
Posted On: 
Contributor