10 WWE Champions Who Vanished Without A Trace After WrestleMania

Shawn Michaels’ WWE Championship loss to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV was the dawn of the Attitude Era — and the end of HBK’s first run. Battling a serious back injury, Michaels gutted through the match, but it was clear he was in no shape to continue.

And he didn’t.

After dropping the title, Michaels was out and the Austin era had begun. Triple H took over D-Generation X and the Heartbreak Kid was in the rear view mirror.

It would be over four years before HBK returned to the ring, and while he made sporadic appearances as Commissioner, his absence from the title scene opened the door for superstars like The Rock to step up. Having said that, for a guy who had been the top heel in WWE, his sudden disappearance left a massive hole for a while.

At least this exit made sense — his injury was 100% real, and the unexpected retirement seemed permanent. At the time, it felt like WWE had lost one of its biggest stars overnight, with no explanation.