Roundtable: Best Championship Belts

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we share our picks for best championship belts.

WWF Heavyweight Championship (Attitude Era): The championship that was presented to Steve Austin the night after WrestleMania 14 was a transformation/upgrade from the “Winged Eagle” title. The circle design and length is amazing along with the navy blue leather strap along with it. This championship is in my personal collection and it is gorgeous. – Neal Wagner

This is the first world title that I’ve ever seen so I associate it with my great childhood and early wrasslin’ memories. Triple H spitting water with that title strapped around his waist as “My Time” blasted throughout the arena…ah, youth. – John Corrigan

The first TNA Heavyweight Championship: Before the belt was ruined by having a big silver letter planted on it, Impact Wrestling’s title was fresh and had identity. It looked pretty damn good. – Juan Bautista

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: A symbol of excellence that means you’re probably the best wrestler in the world. It has the names of each champion along with the date they won the title on the side plates, telling a story of the past, present and future. The belt bears the names of legends like Vader as well as today’s top stars like AJ Styles, Hiroshi Tanahashi and now Jay White. – Juan Bautista

Titles are supposed to look valuable. You’re supposed to covet this strap, be willing to fight till you can no longer stand for this. This title looks regal. Classy. Important. – Jenna Leigh

I have been in love with it since I first laid eyes on it. It looks like a royal crown deserving of the champion. I like how the side plates on the side tell the history of the men who have held the title in the past. – Neal Wagner

WCW Heavyweight Championship/WWE World Heavyweight Championship aka “The Big Gold Belt” (1986-2014): Talk about simplicity being strength. No belt in the last 30 years has had the longevity that “The Big Gold Belt” did. It spanned (technically) three different companies because it was such a good looking piece of hardware. It had black leather, rectangular gold side plates and a big, circular gold center with the text “World Heavyweight Champion” engraved into it. The marketing certainly didn’t hurt it, either. While I would later come to find out that WWE was just going to better promote whatever title Raw carried, it was conceivable to me that calling yourself “World Heavyweight Championship” meant just a TINY bit more than calling yourself “WWE Champion.” The simplistic, yet majestic design certainly fit the bill. – Jack Goodwillie

In its prime, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship symbolized what it meant for wrestlers to chase the gold. – Juan Bautista

Solid gold. Rubies. Ric Flair. Seriously, this title is stunning, and I miss it. – Jenna Leigh

This is the greatest pro wrestling championship belt ever. It’s huge, shiny and classy, looking exactly as the richest prize in the sport should. And of course, it’s synonymous with the greatest wrestler of all time, Ric Flair. – John Corrigan

Intercontinental Championship (1998-2011): Many will point to the white leather Intercontinental Championship from the 80’s as their favorite rendition of this championship, but I’m just going off of what was nostalgic to me. The “Attitude Era” IC title that The Rock introduced in ’98 was a simple design, but definitely one more befitting of a modern era. The shape of the belt with the mixed hues of blue and gold are what really do it for me and everybody who carried this belt did so with such pride… even if for only weeks at a time. – Jack Goodwillie

I’m talking about the “globe belt” held by Rob Van Dam. Easily my favorite WWE title belt, it’s beautiful and I wish they would bring it back. – Sam Gladen

WCWA World Heavyweight Championship: This title from World Class Championship Wrestling looks awesome in its simplicity. You could see a guy like Jerry Lawler taking pride in wearing it. – Sam Gladen

NWA National Championship: An odd-looking belt for sure, the NWA National Championship looks more like a topographical map than a major wrestling title. But its uniqueness is what earned its spot on my list. – Sam Gladen

1980s WWF Intercontinental Championship: The epitome of class, style and professional wrestling as a legitimate sport, the classic IC championship design is a thing of beauty. The biggest names in the history of the industry have held this illustrious design on their waist or over their shoulders, and it never ceases to bring back fond nostalgic memories to legions of wrestling fans. – Steven Jackson

Original ROH World Championship: A design based on the UWF title, the original look for the ROH championship might not be covered in jewels or gold, but the prestige the title holds has never been topped in the promotion. The ROH World Title design was a throwback to hard-hitting wrestling, proving you were truly the best in the world. I love that the belt was held for such long periods by so many different wrestlers and really did travel the globe! – Steven Jackson

Okay, the current title is awesome and looks amazing, but I slightly like the previous design better. The title that was held by Adam Cole three times and Jay Lethal twice, it is the title that I think about when I think about ROH. I have only been watching since June 2015. – Neal Wagner

WWE Undisputed Championship: The design for the WWE Undisputed Championship shadowed that of the classic NWA World Championship. A classy belt with a rounded design in a beautiful shade of gold, everyone wore it well in their reigns as WWE Champion. It also helped define my favorite era of WWE – the “SmackDown Six” era, and encapsulates a time when the art of pro wrestling was first, and all the bells and whistles came second. – Steven Jackson

NWA World Television Title: Even more than the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the TV Title was always at the center of the ongoing rivalry between the Four Horsemen and Dusty Rhodes’ allies. The belt looked fantastic and was competed for by many of the best wrestlers of the era. – David Gibb

WWF World Heavyweight Title (“Winged Eagle”): Yes, I’m well aware that all eagles have wings. I grew up with this belt, and it just looks right to me, especially on Bret Hart. – David Gibb

I always call this “the Bret Hart belt.” I know it was introduced at WrestleMania IV and Macho Man first sported it, but I just associate it with Bret. Simple, but ornate. Clean lines, elegant design. It’s everything a world title SHOULD be. – Jenna Leigh

NWA Word Heavyweight Championship: I’m a huge fan of the refurbished NWA Title that’s in use now. It’s got a great classic look that connects with the history of the NWA and the shape and style of the belt make the people who wear it look like legitimate sports stars (a lot of belts have gotten comically big!). – David Gibb

John Cena’s United States Championship (2004-2005): I’d say this is more of a guilty pleasure than a favorite, but remember, this was the original spinner belt. Kids at the time, myself included, just ate this up and when John Cena – the Dr. of Thuganomics – introduced his own custom United States Championship after taking the belt back from Carlito, it only served to endear him to us more. A lot of people may poo-poo this pick, but I don’t care! The abundance of silver to go along with the red, white and blue designs really do this belt a lot of justice and it set the tone for the WWE Championship spinner belt to follow (which saw a lot more longevity than I could have imagined). – Jack Goodwillie

Million Dollar Belt: The idea of a wrestler creating his own title is clever, but Ted DiBiase being so frustrated that he couldn’t win the WWE Championship (especially after crooked president Jack Tunney stripped him of the gold in 1988) that he went out and bought his own custom-made title is brilliant. – John Corrigan