5 WWE stars who were forced to vacate their titles in the past year

In the world of WWE, where storytelling meets physicality, a championship represents the pinnacle of achievement. It is a symbol of dominance and excellence that pushes wrestlers to their absolute limit. However, things take a cruel turn sometimes, as real-life events have a way of intruding with devastating unpredictability.

Over the years, several champions had to vacate their titles due to various reasons. Although there are other causes, injuries and concussions have been the most common culprit that have robbed champions of their reign. Well, joyous milestones in wrestlers' lives like pregnancies have also compelled women to step away from the spotlight.

Here are five WWE stars who were forced to vacate their title in the past year:

#5. Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan was having a great run with Raquel Rodriguez as the WWE Women's Tag Team Champion this year. She was part of a compelling storyline on Monday Night RAW and was at the peak of her career. Just when everything was running smoothly, tragedy hit Morgan in the most unfortunate way.

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The Miracle Kid sustained a separated shoulder injury during a match against Kairi Sane on an episode of RAW in June. As a result, she had to vacate her Women's Tag Team Championship due to the unfortunate event. Liv Morgan has been away from WWE television since then, recovering from the surgery.

#4. Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley was enjoying an incredible Women's World Championship reign in 2024. She was in the midst of a heated rivalry with Liv Morgan during that time. During a backstage scuffle between the two stars, Morgan pushed The Eradicator into a wall and Ripley's right arm bumped right into the concrete.

As a result, Mami suffered a shoulder injury and had to relinquish the Women's World Championship. Her 380-day title reign came to an abrupt end in April last year. It was one of the most unfortunate incidents that derailed Rhea Ripley's red-hot momentum as she was sidelined for a considerable amount of time.

#3. Jade Cargill

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was the first title Jade Cargil won in WWE and it came in 2024. The Storm was having a dominant run with Bianca Belair as tag team champions, defending the title against top teams. However, her title reign did not last long as she was stripped of the gold right before Survivor Series 2024.

Cargill had to vacate the Women's Tag Team Championship due to an undisclosed real-life injury in November. However, WWE turned that into a storyline where the company revealed that Big Jade suffered a mysterious backstage attack. Amid The Storm's injury, Naomi replaced her as Belair's tag team partner on SmackDown last year.

#2. WWE star Naomi

Naomi is one of the prominent names in the list to have vacated her title. However, it was not due to an unfortunate event but rather a joyous occasion. Coming off a blockbuster rivalry with Jade Cargill and a Money in the Bank win, The Glow was at the peak of her career this year. She cashed in her MITB contract on an episode of RAW to become the Women's World Champion.

However, Naomi's title run didn't last long, as she had to relinquish her Women's World Championship due to her pregnancy this August. The 37-year-old made the announcement on an episode of RAW. She placed the coveted title in the center of the ring and vowed to return after her maternity leave to reclaim the championship.

#1. Seth Rollins

One of the most recent incidents where pro wrestling once again saw its cruel state involved Seth Rollins. The Visionary was at the mountain peak of his career in WWE as he had the World Heavyweight Championship. Not only that, he was also involved in one of the biggest storylines on RAW involving his newly formed faction, The Vision.

However, an unfortunate injury ruined everything. Rollins reportedly suffered a shoulder injury, perhaps a torn rotator cuff, during his Crown Jewel match against Cody Rhodes. As a result, he had to vacate his World Heavyweight Championship this week on RAW. What was supposed to be a phenomenal title reign ended up as a sheer tragedy.

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Edited by Subhasish Deb