10 Times Wrestlers Lost Their Title Belts

9. Pedro Morales's WWWF Championship Title Is "Stolen"

The old red WWWF title had an unfortunate history in this regard (more on that later) but one particular time it allegedly went walkabout was when it was entrusted to Hall of Famer Pedro Morales in the early 1970s. Departing from a show having successfully defended it, Morales entered a restaurant and, when he exited, he was noticeably lighter.

Morales immediately notified the authorities and claimed that the championship had been stolen (not the first time thieves had made off with the belt, in fairness) but a number of elements of his story didn't sit entirely well with the police. Even less so with his employers, who suspected that, in actual fact, there had been no theft.

With no culprits caught and the company quickly having a new one made, everyone just seemed to move on with their lives. However, years later, noted wrestling historian Tom Burke actually bought Morales' stolen championship from a pawn shop in New York. Given how idiotic it would have been for the thieves to dispose of such a recognisable item this way, the theory now suggests that Morales sold the belt himself in an attempt to pay off some gambling debts.

Whatever the truth of the story, he definitely lost it well before Stan Stasiak took it from him in '73.