10 Times Wrestlers Had Their Title Belts STOLEN
Chris Jericho, WALTER, Bruno Sammartino, and other victims of Grand Theft Wrestling.
From The Genius and Mr. Perfect conspiring to snatch Hulk Hogan's WWE Championship to apparent free agent CM Punk seemingly walking out of Money In The Bank 2011 (and the company) with the bedazzled spinner strap, pro wrestlers "stealing" title belts is a well-worn, decades-old trope that may never go out of style.
But when belt theft happens in the real world, it's more often a sheepish wrestler explaining the failures to the local police officer than Jinder Mahal yelling triumphantly through a limousine's roof.
In fairness to the offending kleptomaniacs, if you're going to steal something, you might as well steal something valuable. Professionally, few things could ever be worth more to a wrestler than a prized championship belt, which is often more of a symbol of their success (and the hard work it took to accomplish it) than a mere strap of gold and leather. If said criminal is particularly skilled, they'll surely be able to flip it for more than a pair of Randy Orton's discarded socks too.
The people within definitely should have kept a closer eye on their pride and glory.
From Mount Rushmore stalwarts to indie standouts, let's run through them...
10. Chris Jericho Falls Victim To Grand Larceny
Crowned AEW's first-ever World Champion at All Out 2019, Chris Jericho chose to kill time on his way home by heading to a Longhorn Steakhouse on Tallassee, Florida when bad weather meant his flight to Tampa had to be rerouted. Le Champion flubbed at the airport, taking the wrong bag by mistake. "No problem," he likely thought, sending his limousine driver back for the luggage swap while he dined on fine ribeye, only for things to go horribly wrong when he returned.
Stored in a nondescript bag it may have been, but the AEW World Title was gone. This was quickly reported to the Tallahassee Police Department, as the hunt for a prize valued at $29,250 began.
Jericho soon styled it into a storyline, because of course he did:-
Chris Jericho’s (@IamJericho) statement on Missing #AEW World Championship - Worldwide Investigation Launched pic.twitter.com/aLubwjkpW6
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 4, 2019
That the veteran worker chose to work led to conspiracy theories that the whole deal was a storyline. It wasn't, though. A police report was legitimately filed - and an officer posed for mark pics with the belt when it was recovered.
Recovered from the side of a road less than 24 hours after going missing, the AEW World Title was soon on Jericho's shoulder again. How did he celebrate?