10 Ridiculous Ways WWE Champions Lost Their Titles

7. Dean Douglas Is Taken To School

Sable Debra
WWE Network

As several entries in this list can attest to, Shawn Michaels knew his way around losing titles without actually losing titles, but the circumstances around what happened at October 1995's In Your House 4 are so multifariously cloudy that it's easier analyse what did happen that what didn't. That being - Dean Douglas not leaving as Intercontinental Champion despite promises that supposedly made.

The former 'Franchise' was apparently assured that he'd be going over Michaels at the event, but 'HBK's infamous Syracuse sh*tkicking got in the way of all that anyway. The Champion only turned up to tearfully surrender his title to Douglas, who then lost it just minutes later to Shawn's pal Razor Ramon.

The pair had a rotten match, ensuring that Douglas' reputation was just as sullied in kayfabe as it was with much of the roster thanks to an alleged smear campaign by The Kliq. Michaels disappeared from view until November, when the injuries sustained were folded into a major angle for his 1996 Royal Rumble build.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett