Breaking Down a List of Every 2022 AEW and WWE Championship Title Vacated or Retired

The year 2022 has been a tumultuous one for title reigns in All Elite Wrestling and WWE, with a variety of belts being vacated, relinquished or retired, and interim champions being crowned.

Several reigns didn't count, and others ended almost as soon as they began.

In a year that saw some titleholders fail to budge, others went through so many changes that it was hard to keep track. Luckily, though, we've done the work for you.

Let's break down all the times this year when the championships in WWE and AEW had anything but a normal transition from one titleholder to the next.

By far the biggest brand to be hit with championship woes this year was NXT and NXT UK.

Bron Breakker temporarily dropped the NXT Championship to Dolph Ziggler and won it right back. But while Carmelo Hayes did the same with Cameron Grimes, the second time he lost was far stranger.

Wes Lee had won the right for a title shot, only to be replaced suddenly by Solo Sikoa, who lifted the NXT North American Championship and forfeited it the following week because he wasn't part of the roster anymore. Strangely, it still counted as a proper reign.

Lee also had to vacate the NXT Tag Team Championship after his partner, Nash Carter, was released from the company.

Toxic Attraction played hot potato with the women's tag titles, dropping them to Raquel Rodriguez and Dakota Kai but winning them back three days later. Then, two weeks after they lost to Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez, Jade tossed her belt in the trash.

WWE acknowledged Perez as a solo tag team champion to continue that reign for one more week before vacating it.

The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was retired when Hayes defeated Roderick Strong to merge the titles, setting up a pattern to be repeated with the dissolution of NXT UK.

After Ilja Dragunov vacated the NXT UK Championship, it was won by Tyler Bate, who lost it in a unification match to Breakker.

Mandy Rose unified the women's titles by beating Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport in a Triple Threat match at Worlds Collide in September.

The NXT UK Tag Team Championship was vacated by Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter, won by Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs, and then unified by Pretty Deadly at Worlds Collide.

The WWE 24/7 Championship has never meant much of anything, but this year saw an even steeper decline in its purpose that was the final straw.

For months, it was defended almost entirely on non-televised house shows. These events would frequently see Dana Brooke drop the belt, only to win it back moments later.

Since these were just to pop the crowd, though, WWE doesn't even recognize them as official reigns.

Finally, Brooke dropped the title on Raw to Nikki Cross, who threw it in a trash can later that same night to put the championship out of its misery.

One of the biggest stories on this list is Sasha Banks and Naomi vacating the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship after a little over a month as holders.

Stemming from frustration over a lack of care for the titles, they made a big statement by leaving WWE in May rather than playing the cards dealt to them.

Vince McMahon responded by stripping them of their titles and having the commentary team pass on talk of disappointment before saying new champions would be crowned eventually.

It took three months to settle on new titleholders Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez, who promptly lost the belts in two weeks to Damage CTRL.

The heels would temporarily lose the belts for less than a week to Alexa Bliss and Asuka before winning them back, proving that these titles still can't catch a break.

AEW experimented with the interim champion concept this year but not always by design.

First, Sammy Guevara became interim TNT champion on January 8 before beating lineal champion Cody Rhodes later the same month.

Then, CM Punk fell to an injury and was out of action, prompting Jon Moxley to become interim AEW world champion at Forbidden Door in June. Mox would also go on to defeat the lineal champion and solidify his title reign.

However, Punk won the belt back at All Out in September, only to become involved in the fiasco of the media scrum after the event and has not been seen since.

Stripped of the title, Moxley again became champion on September 21, before dropping it to MJF at Full Gear in November.

All Out also took away the inaugural trios champions, with The Elite also involved in the backstage fracas with Punk, forcing them to vacate the belts they had just won.

AEW women's world champion Thunder Rosa had to step away due to injury, which led to Toni Storm becoming interim titleholder at All Out. She dropped the belt to Jamie Hayter at Full Gear, and it was announced that Rosa had relinquished her title, too.

Luckily, it wasn't all bad news. Three championships saw their first holders in 2022.

Jade Cargill became the inaugural AEW TBS champion by winning a tournament on January 5.

Though The Elite didn't get even one full day as trios champions, they'll still go down in the record books as the first holders after winning the belts at All Out.

AEW also introduced the All-Atlantic Championship with a tournament that culminated with PAC's victory at Forbidden Door.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, Spotify and everywhere you find podcasts. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.