10 Wrestlers Who Turned Down Title Reigns

10. Bret Hart

The WWE Intercontinental Championship is one of the most misunderstood titles in WWE history. Many fans still have it in their heads that the belt is one of magnificent lineage, the perfect stepping stone for a midcard performer to make the vaulted leap to the main event. Sure, that happens, but nowhere near as often as it should for such a reputation to stand. For every Triple H, The Rock and Steve Austin, there was a Godfather, Rikishi or Ezekiel Jackson. After all, only 43% of Intercontinental Champions also won World Championships in WWE.

When fans think of their idealised IC title, it is Bret Hart that they are really thinking of. In 1991, Hart was a tag team guy ready to break into the big time, a break that came with a win over Mr Perfect at SummerSlam 1991 for the secondary title. Within a year, Hart was WWE Champion, solidifying an idealised existence for the championship in the process.

A few short years later (1997, for the record), The Hitman was in line to become Intercontinental Champion once again. That sounds all good and well, but Bret was a bona fide main eventer at that point. What's more, the man he was in line to beat for the title was a blossoming newcomer by the name of Rocky Maivia. Luckily for the future Rock, Hart wasn't one to fall prey to petty politics, and the Calgary-born star refused to take the title from the third generation performer.

Bret won the WWE Championship again shortly after, holding it through the year until dropping it to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series, in a match that wasn't controversial at all. Nope, not in the slightest.