5 Times WWE Superstars who were forced to relinquish their titles due to real-life injuries

Winning a championship with WWE is a great feeling for a Superstar. Every aspiring wrestler dreams to one day hold the world title at a top promotion. When that dream comes true, their happiness is unmeasurable. However, what seems like a dream can very quickly turn into their worst nightmare, being forced to relinquish the championship.

Throughout the years, there have been several instances where WWE Superstars have been forced to relinquish their titles due to a real-life injury. One can imagine how disheartening it could be for a Superstar to see their opportunity taken away from them in that manner.

"On the path there are obstacles, but for me, the obstacles are the path."

Due to injury, @WWEKarrionKross must relinquish his #NXTTitle. #WWENXT @Lady_Scarlett13 pic.twitter.com/usClkIAdMX
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 27, 2020

On Wednesday, Former NXT Champion Karrion Kross was forced to vacate his title due to a separated shoulder he suffered during his title match at NXT TakeOver: XXX. Let's take a look at five more similar instances in WWE history.

#5 Finn Balor - WWE Universal Championship

On this day in 2016,

Finn Bálor (the first WWE Universal Champion) was forced to relinquish the title due to a shoulder injury that was suffered the night before at Summerslam. pic.twitter.com/R6iATLqpQR
— This Day in WWE History (@wwehistorydaily) August 22, 2020

Finn Balor had a dream main roster debut in 2016 when he was picked by RAW in the first round of the 2016 WWE Draft. In addition, Balor went on to headline SummerSlam 2016 as "The Demon King" alongside Seth Rollins and became the inaugural Universal Champion.

What looked to be the beginning of a monster push came to an abrupt halt as Finn Balor suffered a nasty shoulder injury during his match against Rollins. While he was able to finish the match, his injury turned out to be more serious which forced him to relinquish his title the next night on RAW.

WWE fans still wonder how amazing Balor's title reign as the Universal Champion would have been. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to get his hands on the title since. He moved back to NXT last year in 2019 and it's unclear when he will return to the main roster.