10 Times Wrestling Championships Were Vacated For Bizarre Reasons
2. Dolph Ziggler Has His Reasons
Wrestling fans have witnessed many champions relinquishing their titles for different reasons. But it remains a mystery as to what was the whole point behind WWE choosing to put the United States Championship on Dolph Ziggler in 2017, only to have him vacate the title a few days later in a bizarre segment.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin to win his second United States Championship at the 2017 Clash of Champions PPV. However, it looked like WWE only needed the shock factor of Ziggler winning the title and had no plans for him to keep it long-term, as Ziggler relinquished the title on the following episode of SmackDown.
After delivering a scathing promo about feeling under-appreciated after years of hard work, he stated that the fans didn't deserve his presence and placed the title in the ring before leaving. He didn't return for the next few weeks, prompting the fans to speculate if this would be the beginning of a significant push for Ziggler.
He returned as the surprise final entrant in the 2018 Royal Rumble match but got eliminated by Finn Balor. He then went on to lose the six-pack WWE Championship match at Fastlane. But WWE placing him in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34 made it clear that there was no solid plan in place for Ziggler, and that was enough to undo all the hype he gained with the US title situation.