10 Devastating Times Wrestling Champions Had Their Titles Taken Away From Them
5. Steve Austin (Intercontinental/Tag Team Championship)
To say Steve Austin had a long road to the top would be an understatement. Dragged down by strange gimmicks, personal issues and bizarre names, the fact that Austin became as great as he did is an impressive feat.
His biggest adversity of all, however, was undoubtedly his bloodcurdling neck injury against Owen Hart at SummerSlam 1997.
In one of the most notable instances of a spot gone wrong, Hart botched a piledriver, breaking Austin's neck in the process. Austin was subsequently forced to relinquish both the Tag Titles and the Intercontinental Championship.
However, this was appropriately worked into Austin's rise to the top, with 'The Texas Rattlesnake' insisting on competing like the tough S-O-B he was. When Austin returned, he returned with one objective: to win back the title he never lost. After ensuring that Hart remained champion until Survivor Series, Austin beat him at the same show to become Intercontinental Champion once again.
He would go on to vacate the championship months later in a bold act of defiance, forfeiting the title to The Rock before tossing the belt into the Piscataqua River. While months later he was forced to relinquish a title in a moment that could have ended his career, this time it propelled him it to bigger and better things.