5 championships which are now defunct in WWE
WWE has introduced numerous championships over the years. The current setup consists of the prestigious WWE Championship, Universal Championship, Intercontinental Championship, Tag Team Championship (RAW, SmackDown, and women's), and Women's Championship (RAW and SmackDown), to name a few.
The company has also discontinued specific titles with the latest being WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Championship, which was introduced and made defunct in 2018. Braun Strowman was the inaugural and only champion.
In this article, we will look at five similarly defunct championships of WWE.
#5 WWE European Championship (1997 - 2002)
The European Championship was one of the most prestigious titles in the WWE from the late 90s to the early 2000s. The title was introduced on February 26, 1997, with the late British Bulldog being the inaugural winner. He won the title in a tournament held over several shows in Germany, culminating in a final victory over his brother-in-law, the late Owen Hart.
In 1999, the European title incurred a temporary hiatus with the reigning champion, Shane McMahon, expressing his desire to retire as an undefeated champion.
The title was finally discontinued in July 2002 when Rob Van Dam unified with the Intercontinental Championship after defeating Jeff Hardy in a ladder match. The reason to discontinue the European title was a problem of plenty. WWE inherited multiple titles like the WCW Championship and WCW Tag Team Championship when it took over WCW in 2001.
The reintroduction of the European Championship in the current WWE setup seems improbable. There are already two similar mid-card titles i.e. the Intercontinental Title and the United States Title.