Does Vacating A Wrestling Title Damage Its Prestige?
Do championships lose their shine when the holder loses their smile?
Over the past few days we've seen two of WWE's major championships being vacated by the title holders. Becky Lynch announced on this week's episode of Monday Night Raw that she could no longer defend the Raw Women's Championship due to the exciting news that she is pregnant. Sami Zayn however, was stripped of his Intercontinental Championship because he is unable to compete and defend his crown as a result of his decision not to work through the ongoing global health crisis.
This news has sparked (on WhatCulture's Google Hangouts at least) a discussion about whether vacating a title damages it's prestige? It's not exactly the first time a championship has been relinquished by the champion without a match taking place. Over the years we've seen the likes of John Cena, Batista, Edge et al. have to surrender their belt due to injury, Shawn Michaels infamously "lost his smile", and the WWE Championship was declared vacant when CM Punk left the company with it following Money in the Bank 2011.
Nevertheless, does a title vacation affect it's reputation with the fans? Adam and The Dadley Boyz discuss this topic and notable occasions when championships were vacated in today's podcast...