Belts Should Look Like Championships, Not Toys!

   Call me old school or a purist, but I miss the days when wrestling championships actually looked like championships. WWE, I'm looking in your direction!  To the left of this writing is an evolution of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the last 30 years.  The first image is of the classic "Eagle wings" belt, which happens to be my favorite of all time. To me, that's what a championship should look like!  That design began when "Macho Man" Randy Savage won the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IV.  Some of the major superstars to hold that design include Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, the Undertaker, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels.  That design lasted for 10 years before Stone Cold Steve Austin won the Title  at WrestleMania XIV.

   The next picture is of the new design, which I like but not as much as the first one.  Bear in mind, Austin had his own signature belt, the "Smoking Skull" title.  That was cool but I still prefer my title belts to look classic. When he wasn't sporting that, this was the belt used during the Attitude Era.  Main event superstars that held this belt also include The Rock, Mankind, Kurt Angle, and Chris Jericho, who unified it with the WCW Title to become the Undisputed WWF Champion.

   Jericho held the two belts simultaneously until a new belt was created.  This version was then held by Triple H, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, and JBL.  It still looked like a championship but it was a little boring looking.  When John Cena won the title from JBL at WrestleMania XXI, he replaced it with this eyesore to the left, the infamous "Spinner" title belt.

   Cena was fresh off his "Thuganomics" days when this atrocity came to light.  It looks like a damn toy and I hate it with a passion! It stopped spinning at some point but the look remained.  Edge had his own Rated R version which still looked ugly to me.  This was fine for Cena but anyone else holding it just looked silly.

   When The Rock came back in 2013 to win his 8th WWE Title, they changed the design to this, which we currently see today.  While it was a major improvement from the last abomination, I strongly dislike the giant WWE logo.  It still looks like a toy!  I like the side plates and the black background but the overgrown logo is killing me.  Just my opinion, folks!  I'm a traditionalist, yes, but this is not about refusing to evolve with the times.  It has more to do with the professional look of a championship.

   With the exception of the Intercontinental Title, which is in its glory with the classic design and white strap, the rest of the belts in WWE are atrocious. Color aside, both sets of Tag Team Championships look like giant pennies.  The Women's titles look like different versions of the WWE Title and while they are a massive improvement from the Diva's Title, I still prefer the one held by women such as Trish Stratus and Lita.  The Universal Title is just a red strap version of the WWE Title.  It's a lazy attempt at a new belt and looks like a Fruit Roll-up.  The Cruiserweight Title is okay but that purple strap has got to go.  The US Title is fine but I'd like it to look like it used to in WCW.

   I might have to create an entire blog dedicated to my opinion of the 5 worst looking title belts in the history of professional wrestling.  For now, I'll focus on some of my favorites.  As stated above, my favorite version of the WWE Title is the "eagle wing" belt.  It might even be my favorite looking belt, period!  A close second is the Intercontinental Championship.  We have Cody Rhodes to thank for bringing the classic look back to prominence.  Since 2011, we have had the pleasure of looking at this magnificent championship. Whether it's the black strap or white strap, this design looks prestigious.  Some of my favorite wrestlers held it, including "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Honky Tonk Man, Ultimate Warrior, Ravishing Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Razor Ramon.  I love everything about this belt!

   Another title belt I really enjoyed was the NWA World Television Championship.  What I liked about it was it was set aside from the other titles.  The silver plates made you understand it was a mid-card championship but it still looked prestigious.  This belt makes me think of greats such as Tulley Blanchard, Magnum TA, Dusty Rhodes, and Arn Anderson.

  Some of you reading this might disagree with me but I was never of fan of the "big gold belt."  While it does scream World Champion, it's a little too gaudy to me.  I might choose the old NWA "ten pounds of gold" title instead.


   One new title belt that I personally like a lot is the WWE United Kingdom Championship.  It's a pretty good looking title if you ask me!  Whether it's the inaugural champion Tyler Bate or the bruiserweight Pete Dunne, anyone would look important holding this championship belt.

   The main take-away from this is that I prefer my wrestling belts to look like championships and not toys.  This is my opinion but I'm curious to know what others think. 

If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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