Is the new WWE Championship belt an improvement?

This past Monday night on RAW, current WWE Champion, The Rock, debuted a new version of the WWE Championship belt, something fans have been clamoring for, for several years now. It finally replaced the “Spinner Belt”, the version of the WWE title belt that has been in existence (in some way or another) since 2005 when John Cena debuted it a few nights after winning it for the first time at WrestleMania. The “Spinner” has since become a major hot button with longtime fans, not only for the ridiculous spinning accent, but the fact that it is extremely garish, being covered in gemstones on every single plate.

Well, that version of the belt is gone, and in its place is a new championship belt. However, is it really much of an improvement?

For those that haven’t seen the new title, the center plate says “WWE Champion” on it, as opposed to the spinner’s “WWE Champ”. While this is certainly a step up, the main plate is almost entirely the WWE logo, and it is basically a cut-out. You can see the leather strap underneath the logo thanks to the gold plating being completely removed around the logo. The side plates have also been customized with current champion The Rock’s “Brahma Bull” logo, although versions of the belt that are for sale (which were immediately available following RAW) have those plates removed and more standard title belt plates have replaced them. Beyond that, the belt is still covered in gems, one of the most hated aspects of the spinner.

Personally, I think it’s an improvement over the spinner, as it was one of the ugliest belts in pro wrestling history. However, the improvement is minimal. The belt is still very ugly in my opinion, and the cut-out logo makes it look very cheap. The gems covering the belt still make it look overly garish, and a garish title belt has never really had a point outside of Ted DiBiase, Sr.’s “Million Dollar Championship”, which was a belt made just for an angle and wasn’t a recognized championship.

Most fans I have talked to seem to be in agreement about the new championship. Even though the ugly spinner is gone, it has been replaced with an only slightly less ugly belt. What makes it worse is this belt has been in existence in some way or another for 2 years, and some of the original aspects to it were even worse than what is now officially the championship.

While I am glad to see the spinner retired, its replacement is bittersweet at best.