10 Devastating Times Wrestling Champions Had Their Titles Taken Away From Them
9. Shawn Michaels (WWE Championship)
One of the most infamous speeches ever given in a WWE ring, Shawn Michaels' "lost my smile" promo has become a joke of sorts amongst old-school fans. While it seemed to be a genuinely heartfelt speech at the time, looking back it becomes obvious that he just didn't want to drop the belt to Bret Hart.
Despite all this, the promo was a damn good one, with many a fan breaking into tears at the prospect of Shawn Michaels having to retire at only 31 years old. Had he actually retired, we would have seen arguably the best in-ring performer in the company a retiree, and the main event scene of WWE in 1997 was far too unstable to support such a loss.
For what it's worth, he found his smile about three months later.