10 Times Wrestling Championships Were Vacated For Bizarre Reasons
7. Because Dean Malenko Wasn't Himself
Dean Malenko engaged in a heated rivalry with Chris Jericho in 1998 over the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Jericho got the edge over Malenko over a series of successful title defenses, and the latter had a meltdown after tapping out to Jericho in their third encounter over the title at Uncensored 1998 and went on a two-month hiatus.
Jericho used those two months to mock Malenko at every opportunity and even attacked his brother, Joe Malenko. At this time, WCW Commissioner J.J. Dillon announced that Jericho would defend his title against the winner of a battle royal at Slamboree 1998.
At the event, the masked wrestler Ciclope won the battle royal after Juventud Guerrera shook his hands and climbed over the top rope to eliminate himself. After the match, Dean Malenko revealed that he was behind the mask and proceeded to challenge Jericho for the Cruiserweight Championship.
Malenko got his retribution against Jericho and won the title after making him tap out to the Texas Cloverleaf. However, despite holding on to the title for 26 days, Jericho had Malenko stripped of the title since he didn't win the battle royal as himself but competed under the guise of Ciclope.
Going by that logic, The Miz shouldn't even be in WWE right now since he won a contract on a pole match as The Calgary Kid in 2009.