Deactivation
The WWE European Championship, as it was next known, was retired in a ladder match on July 22, 2002 when Rob Van Dam (RVD) put his WWE Intercontinental Championship on the line, along with Jeff Hardy's European Championship. By winning that match, RVD merged the two titles together, and continued to hold the Intercontinental Title. RVD's title reign is not listed in the official European title history on WWE's website, but is acknowledged in WWE's official encyclopedia and past superstar profiles. The championship was once again deemed inactive.
Read more about this topic: WWE European Championship