Wrestling Championship Design Changes That Were An Upgrade From The Original

Like many other professional athletes, most pro wrestlers enter the business with a common goal in mind, becoming a champion. At one point or another, every wrestler has pictured themselves hoisting up one of the sport’s coveted championship belts – namely the WWE Championship. Over the years, like most things in pro wrestling, championship belts have improved significantly.

Before the 80s, the appearance of championship belts was a lot more simplistic. Since the 80s though, championship belt designs have taken a significant leap. Not all updated championship belt designs are home runs. However, these specific championship belt designs were significant upgrades compared to their immediate predecessors.

The Updated ECW World Television Championship Was A Big Step Up From The Original

What A Huge Difference Side Plates Make

When ECW hit the wrestling scene in the early 90s, they were far from the renegade blood and guts promotion most fans remember. At the time, the company was just a simple independent promotion with extremely low production value. Their lack of money was even evident through their championship belts, namely the ECW World Television Championship.

While the belt’s center plate wasn’t bad looking at all, the championship didn’t feature any side plates. That may not sound like a huge deal to some fans but it hindered the belt’s appearance. The updated version from 1996 might’ve just been a Winged Eagle rip-off, but it was a significant improvement.

The Black & Gold Brand Gets Their Top Title Upgraded

Nobody Was Sad To See The “X” Design Go

WWE has had many development territories during its existence. At one point, ECW was a bit of a developmental territory for WWE or a feeder system at a minimum. In 2010, WWE launched a new developmental system, NXT. Since then, most top WWE stars have gone through the NXT system at some point during their WWE tenure. This likely means that at some point, many of today’s top stars aspired to be NXT Champion.

The original NXT Championship left a lot to be desired though. The old belt featured an oversized “X” as the center plate. While the new design which debuted in 2017 still featured a prominent “X,” it was a lot more subtle and didn’t completely dominate the design of the title like its predecessor.

The Rock Debuts A New Championship & Puts An End To The Spinner Belt Era

Not The Greatest Design But Better Than A Belt That Looks Like A Toy

The more time passes, the more WWE fans forget the time when John Cena was hated by half the audience. It may be easy to forget now, but at one point, WWE fans were suffering from Cena fatigue and were openly rejecting WWE’s golden boy. The hate even trickled down to Cena’s spinner WWE Championship belt.

Most wrestling purists hated it even when it was still considered cool by fans. The main complaint about the spinner belt is that it looked like a child’s toy. When The Rock replaced that belt with a new title in 2013, it was seen by almost all fans as a huge upgrade. Even though the new title had some deficiencies itself.

A Few Subtle Tweaks Make WWE’s Top Prize A Lot More Visually Striking

A New Center Plate Went A Long Way In Improving This Belt

While a lot of fans were happy to see John Cena’s spinner WWE Championship belt retired, the new updated WWE Championship still wasn’t perfect. The foundation of the design was solid but it needed a few adjustments to truly be visually striking. When Brock Lesnar won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2014, he was awarded an updated belt.

This update did away with the old WWE scratch logo on the center plate and replaced it with the sleeker WWE Network logo, It also added a splash of red under the logo. For the most part, fans liked the new design. That is until WWE burned it out by making all its top championships follow the same mold.

A New Championship Design Finally Ends The Divas Championship’s Run

The Women’s Roster Finally Gets A Prize Worth Fighting For

The label of “Divas” was a double-edged sword for women in wrestling. Sure, the division experienced significant growth during the Divas Era. However, to many fans, the word “Diva” was closely associated with a time when women were no more than eye candy in WWE. In 2016, WWE would finally do away with the label and the Divas Championship.

As if being called “Divas” wasn’t bad enough, the WWE Divas Championship might just be the worst championship belt in wrestling history. The butterfly design made it difficult to take seriously. When a new design that mirrored the men’s WWE Championship was introduced at WrestleMania 32, it was a welcome and much-needed change.

A New Design Makes The IWGP Heavyweight Championship More Relevant

A Who’s Who Of Japanese Wrestling Legends Held This Title

There is not a standard or template for a good championship belt. For the most part, a championship belt is made up of an eye-catching center plate and some side plates. That design strategy puts a lot of emphasis on the center plate. The third version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is a good example of a prestigious belt with a bad center plate.

The third version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship was an improvement from the second one, but still not a great belt. The center plate had an odd oval shape to it and was a bit on the small side. Luckily that belt wouldn’t last too long before it was replaced by a vastly superior new one which featured a big gorgeous center plate.

The Big Gold Belt Made Most Fans Forget All About The 10 Pounds Of Gold

Many Fans Still Consider This The Best Championship Design Ever

In wrestling, it’s never easy to replace a legend. That even applies to championship belts. For an entire generation of wrestlers and wrestling fans, the 10 Lbs Of Gold NWA Championship was the ultimate prize in the sport. Holding the domed globe design was something that became synonymous with being NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

That is until Ric Flair introduced what many fans today still consider the greatest championship belt ever, the Big Gold Belt. The massive all-gold championship would make fans immediately forget about the domed globe championship, which wasn’t an easy task. The design was so legendary that fans were sad to see it go in 2014.

The Classic 1980s Tag Team Championship Belts Had A 20 Year Run

When You Have A Great Design You Stick With It

What’s that old saying? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” Well WWE followed that rule with their WWE Tag Team Championship belts for close to 20 years. Before introducing the classic Tag Team Championship belt design that many fans are familiar with, WWE went through quite a few designs. The design right before these classic belts debuted is one that most fans don’t remember.

The belts shared some similarities with the 10 Lbs Of Gold NWA World Heavyweight Championship. At least as far as the shape of the center plate was concerned. When the new belts were introduced, they quickly became the standard for tag team championships all across the business. The majority of fans still consider these the best tag team title belts ever.

Out With The Hogan ’86, In With The Legendary Winged Eagle Belt

A Design That Is Arguably The Most Beloved In WWE History

The Tag Team Titles weren’t the only championship belts in WWE that went through a few iterations before landing on a classic design. The same is true for the WWE Championship. From 1984 to 1988, Hulk Hogan went through several different WWE Championship designs. The belt affectionately known as The Hogan ’86 belt was the most prominent of these belts.

The design featured a big center plate with black banners on the top and bottom of a globe etched in the center. While it was a solid design, it paled in comparison to its successor, the Winged Eagle Belt. The Winged Eagle featured a smaller center plate but was more eye-catching and would ultimately become 10 times more beloved than the Hogan ’86 belt.

The 1980s Intercontinental Championship Is A Design That Stood The Test Of Time

The Design Was So Good It Even Made A Comeback

Some championship belt designs are so iconic that many fans can’t even remember a time when they didn’t exist. That’s honestly the case with the classic WWE Intercontinental Championship. The championship existed well before the 1985 Reggie Parks classic design was introduced, however, most fans couldn’t pick its predecessor out of a line-up.

The previous version of the belt was held by legends like Greg Valentine and Tito Santana. When the belt was updated though, the new design was burned into the minds of fans. When the belt was updated again in 1998, many fans were sad to see it go. When Cody Rhodes reintroduced the classic design in 2011 many fans rejoiced. Sadly, the design was once again updated in 2019, much to the chagrin of many fans.