As professional wrestling has evolved, so too has the imaging of the sport. That includes everything from the set designs, wrestler wardrobe, television production and yes, even the designs of championship title belts have changed dramatically over time. In the early, groundbreaking years of the industry, and champion may get a trophy of some sort, possibly a medal and of course, a belt. However, those belts left a lot to be desired, as far as aesthetics and overall appearance.
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Since those grassroots days, the look, feel and complete meaning behind the belts have changed significantly. The title is no longer just representative of a person who happened to win a particular match, it represents the way a superstar is perceived by not only fans but by their respective peers as well. The title has become a necessary piece of ones wardrobe, in which every wrestler strives to obtain at some point.
In this article, we will take a take a look at the most beautifully designed championships of all-time. This is the top 10 title belts.
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10. ROH World Championship (2nd GEN.)
Before the introduction of this title, Ring of Honor had a title with much less appeal. It was a very basic, bland and unattractive title. Once this particular belt was introduced, it really helped ROH obtain a much more relevant presence in the wrestling world. This design had more detail, more prestige to its appearance and most importantly, it represented a true world champion, which is something the company hadn't had until this point.
9. WWF Tag-Team titles (Classic Design)
As a fan who grew up on wrestling in the 1980's, this title represents a lot of fond memories of watching teams such as The Road Warriors, The Steiner Brothers, Money Inc., Demolition and many other legendary duos carry this title.
These belts remained in use until the late 90's, but the division has yet to see a design quite as bold and traditionally sound as this classic look.
8. TNA World Championship (1st Gen.)
If there was ever a title to come close to mirroring the look of the Winged Eagle, this is the closest thing. After TNA and NWA ended their partnership, this was the first title TNA put into use.
The first champion to hold this belt was Kurt Angle. Others such as Sting and Booker T have also held this design.
7. WWE Undisputed Title
This is one title that was taken away entirely too soon. Only lasting from 2002 until 2005, the Undisputed Championship represented a true, pure, undeniable top prize in the company. This belt had a big, bold design, with a very intricately designed globe in the center plate, along with the clear lettering made it a really nice belt. The belt weighed in at nearly 14 pounds.
Some of the memorable names to carry this title were Big Show, Chris Jericho, and Brock Lesnar.
6. WWF Championship (Attitude Era)
During the WWF's dominate reign of the Monday Night Wars, this was the championship belt used. The big, rounded design was something new for its time and included a flawless eagle on the center plate as well. The first person to carry this title was Stone Cold Steve Austin. During its use, superstars such as The Rock, Mankind, Chris Jericho, Kane and Triple H were just a handful of the legendary title holders.
This particular design was used from 1998 until 2002.
5. NWA/WCW Championship
Quite possibly the most elegantly designed title of all time. Dubbed "Big Gold," the famed NWA/WCW World Heavyweight Championship was one of the only titles to be completely gold, with the exception of a fee garnet accents.
This big beauty came in at an impressive 15 pounds of immaculate gold. Hulk Hogan, The Great Muta, Sting, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes are a few names that merely scratch the surface of the legendary names who have toted this beautiful wonder.
4. WWF Intercontinental Championship (Classic)
The Honky Tonk Man, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ravishing Rick Rude, The Ultimate Warrior, Razor Ramon....the list goes on and on. These are the men who made this title the clear-cut number two title in the WWF, throughout the 80's and 90's.
In 2011, Cody Rhodes brought this design back at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, which was a welcomed return by most, if not all who carried nostalgic memories of this legendary design.
3. NWA Domed Globe (10 lbs. of gold)
There could've easily been an argument made for why this title deserves a top spot on this list. If you close your eyes long enough, you'll see Kerry Von Erich, Ric Flair and maybe even Terry Funk defending this gorgeous, timeless classic during the great territory days.
For many years, this title disappeared, but these days, NWA President Bruce Tharpe is making significant strides in redeeming the traditional mystique once represented by the National Wrestling Alliance. Currently, Jax Dane is the keeper of the gold as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
2. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion
Not only does this title represent the top prize in Japanese wrestling, but it also represents all of the NJPW greats who carried it before the current stars of Japan. The design features a sensory overload of beautiful, bold gold, Asian artistry, with a hint of western culture as well.
Kurt Angle, Big Van Vader, Brock Lesnar, Shinsuke Nakamura and of course, the patriarch, Antonio Inoki have held this historic title.
1. "Winged Eagle" WWE Championship
Ever since I decided to do this article, there's been one constant as far as which title would have the number one spot and that title is the WWF Championship, "winged eagle" edition.
There's yet to be a more beautiful, carefully designed and elegantly placed belt. When a superstar held this title, his presence commanded reverence. There was no question, that person was THE guy. Period. With the overflowing eagle that it's infamously remembered for, this title also had crisp, gold detail, along with the classic black leather strap. However, there have been variant colored straps, such as the yellow one worn by The Ultimate Warrior. There's no question which title is worthy of the top spot, the legendary winged eagle.
