WWE Summer Slam 2011: Which Champions Will Be Stripped of the Title?

For the first time ever we have two WWE Champions at the same time. 

This Sunday, there is a match set between the two, where for the first time the loser isn't giving their title to the winner. Instead, the winner just gets to keep their title and the loser gets stripped of their championship.

Some have asked, why wasn't CM Punk stripped of the title already? He technically left the WWE and was no longer an employee.

Just because there wasn't a relinquishing ceremony of the general manager taking the belt, or the late Jack Tunney coming on screen to announce he's taking the belt, doesn't mean that he gets to keep the belt.

Other superstars have vacated the belt and left due to injury, then come back, but they didn't get to keep their belt as if it were a souvenir.  

The belt was essentially vacated, won by Mysterio, held by Mysterio for a little while and then Cena got it back that night with a rematch clause.

Shenanigans! (I am also hoping Sheamus picks that up as his finisher, especially now that JR is back. Shenanigans! Shenanigans! Shenanigans!)

Throughout the history of the WWE, the title belts have been vacated for reasons of controversy, injury and at one point, apparently if you won the Heavyweight title you had to give up your Intercontinental Title. The days of holding all the belts like others have more recently are long gone.

Lets take a look at the titles and see who's had to give them up before.

The World Heavyweight Championship: WWE

This title in the WWE has surprisingly had the least amount of turnover.

Triple H became injured in 2004 and relinquished the belt.

Batista, in 2006, followed his mentors lead by giving up the title and apparently his shirt after getting injured.

Edge, in 2007, suffered some major injuries and stepped down as champion.

In 2008, the Deadman used an illegal move and was stripped of the title by Vickie Guerrero

And of course, this past year we saw Edge retire due to injury while he was still the World Heavyweight Champion and he relinquished the title.

There's a reason they say at the beginning of their shows, don't try this at home. Injuries for guys in the top spot run rampart and throwing your body all over the ring for years on end is bound to, at one point or another, take you out for a bit.

Five times vacated, however, isn't so bad when you compare it to the other titles.

The WWE Championship

As far back as 1979, when a controversial win from Antonio Inoki won the belt from Bob Backlund has the WWE Championship seen controversy and vacancy.

In 1988, Andre the Giant won the title, only to sell it immediately afterwards to The Million Dollar Man, Ted Dibiasse Sr. However, President Jack Tunney stripped Dibiasse of the title and vacated the title.

In 1991, even the immortal Hulk Hogan was not immune to the power of Tunney and he stripped Hogan of the title.

In 1997, Shawn Michaels had to vacate the title and then the next year, fellow Texan Stone Cold Steve Austin had to vacate the title as well. 

In a legendary match of the ages, Vince McMahon won the WWE championship and then vacated himself from the title, putting it up for grabs.

The unstoppable John Cena was injured in 2007 and stopped with a torn pectoral. He also had to vacate the title.

In 2009, when Batista was using his Jersey Shore D-Bag character, got injured. Maybe by his woman's sunglasses and had to vacate the title.

The Intercontinental Title

The Intercontinental Champion has long been a catapult to bigger things, as well as leading to injuries.

The Ultimate Warrior had to vacate the title back in 1990 when he beat Hogan for the WWE championship. At the time, you apparently weren't allowed to hold both belts at the same time.

HBK held the white IC belt for a bit and he apparently liked it so much that he put the picture up on his MySpace page. He didn't defend the title for 30 days, so he had to vacate the title.

Jeff Jarrett lost the title due to a controversial match and due my dislike of Mr. Jarrett, I found the worst picture possible of him.

Golddust lost his title again due to a controversial match.

Ahmed Johnson in 1996 forfeited the title out of fear...ummm what? Yep, fear.

Stone Cold in '97 and Triple H in '98 gave up the title due to injury, while poor Edge, who seems to get hurt most when wearing the gold, had to give it up in 2004.

The US Title

The list of times the US title has been vacated is almost ridiculous.

At least 16 different times the belt has had no owner, going all the way back to 1975 when Johnny Valentine was injured, forced to retire and had to vacate the belt.

Wahoo McDaniel vacated the belt twice, once in 1981 due to injury and then again in 1984 do to interference in a match. (Rules were a lot different back then)

My favorite listing of the 80s has to be that Magnum T.A. was stripped of the title for attacking President Bob Geigel.

The 90s saw the belt vacated another seven times by major superstars like Lex Luger, Big Van Vader, Ric Flair, Goldberg, Scott Hall and Scott Steiner. Steiner was stripped of the belt by Flair so that he could give it to his son David Flair. Ahhh, the good old days of WCW.

Scott Steiner would be the final person to be stripped of the belt in WCW due to using an illegal move, he Steiner Recliner on Mike Awesome at Bash at the Beach.

Once it arrived in the WWE universe, it was stripped off of two more well-decorated champions.

It was taken from John Cena when he attacked then SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle. Later on it would be taken from Booker T when his match against Benoit ended in a double pin.

Who Will Win Who Gets Stripped

This Sunday someone will lose their WWE Championship and someone else will retain theirs in the same match. Triple H has declared that the winner of this match will be considered the undisputed champion.

Will this bring us a new title belt? 

For the first time, we have two champions who they face each other for a belt that they both hold. If the match runs as well as their encounter at Money in The Bank, we are in for an amazing spectacle of two of the top performers in the industry that at the top of their games.

This article was inspired not just because we are at a new point here in the WWE where the championship is taking a pivotal turn, but other reasons as well.

I have been writing here on Bleacher for years, but have taken some time off lately, mainly because I felt the articles I was reading on here were doing a fantastic job of relaying everything that was going on in the business.

My other writing obligations to my own sites, www.theboompage.com and www.mr100days.com, (Mick Foley cheap pop) took up a lot of my time. That along with a well-deserved family vacation kept me reading Bleacher, but not writing and because of that, I was stripped of my title. I'm no longer a Featured Columnist, I'm a contributor level two and I have some points to go before i get back up there. 

But here's the thing, I like that. I'm back, with a passion and bringing my A-game.

I'm going to get my title back and love every minute of climbing that ladder. But what good is a battle for a title if you don't have a feud with a guy who's already on top. I got my eye on someone and this is going to be a great ride.

Stay tuned.