Belt is there for a reason. No greater feeling for athletes and fans alike when champion is being crowned and acknowledged by hoisting heavy and richly decorated belt. Nothing says ‘you are our hero, epitome of excellence’ like belt accompanying the title.
What makes a great belt? First of all the meaning it carries, the weight of authority of the organization that bestowed it. However, since belt is being paraded, meant to be displayed, the design means quite a lot.
Over the years we’ve seen many WWE belts coming and going, replaced by new design or new title. Debate is still raging among the fans and experts about belts that made history or belts that were rightfully tossed to the trash heap of history.
While rankings of WWE title are somewhat subjective, there is a list that many will agree with. Obviously the top one is WWE Championship. It has endured since 1963 and has been held by the greatest stars of the industry. Second most important would be the World Heavyweight Championship. While it was established in 2002, it does inherit weight of importance of now defunct WCW. Currently it is awarded to champions of WWE’s SmackDown. Interestingly enough Smackdown (ex-Intercontinental Championship) and USA Championship (now RAW) were the two titles carrying more or less the same weight and importance. Since WWE has established practice of awarding Tag Team Championship to lesser stars of the industry, the importance of this title slided down, with Triple H declaring his intention to upgrade and promote this championship. With its treatment of Diva’s Division, WWE has obviously made sure that this title is the least respected in the industry.
So, let’s take a peek at the best WWE championship belts of all time. We narrowed our choice down to five belts forever to remain in the history of wrestling.
05 WWF Hardcore Championship (1998-2003)
Ugh! How could we pick THIS one? Certainly wasn’t the best looking design, but it was the perfect example of nailing down a theme. Hardcore Championship was indeed hardcore with wrestlers running amok through arenas, parking lots and other interesting playgrounds. So it makes sense that such rugged competition gets this lovely out of the box solution for title belt.
04 WWF Tag Team Championship (1983-2002)
This belt comes from the era when Tag Team Championship carried more weight. From Road Warriors to The Rockers and Dudley’s and Hardy’s, some truly amazing teams held these belts. Comparing to later designs, these were really inspired. The design of the belt was similar to other belts in use at the time, with appropriate shape and details to celebrate tag teams. With decline of importance of the Tag Team Championship, it’s not likely that wrestlers will get to carry prize as gorgeous and iconic as these wonderful title belts.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
