Injuries are one of the harsh realities of being a pro-wrestler. They can strike at any time, sometimes when it's at the least opportune time. Sadly, for some wrestlers, injury has struck at the worse possible time - when they are a champion. Sometimes a champion's injury allows them to perform to at least some degree, allowing them to drop the title to somebody else, then take the time off to recover. But there have been times when a champion is struck with a severe injury that means being immediately put out of action. If an injury is severe enough for a wrestler to have to take time off, they can no longer fulfil the duties of being a champion. Being unable to defend the championship means they cruelly have to have it taken away. This isn't just frustrating for the champion. Both the fans and WWE invest time and effort into making somebody a champion, only for something as uncontrollable as an injury quickly undo it. Stone Cold Steve Austin actually won a championship with a broken neck, but was made to give it back so he could take the time of to recover. Batista suffered an injury while he was the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. His reign was the longest World title reign in WWE's history, and could have gone on longer had he not been so unfortunate. Of all the unusual ways to lose a title, losing it by injury has got to be the cruellest.
