WWE World Championship belts have changed designs over the years in a bid to keep the strap fresh and visually attractive while eliciting excitement with their every reveal.
The image of one's favorite wrestler straddling around with a top championship in the world's most popular wrestling promotion is bound to bring fond memories. There is no gainsaying that good designs on titles make for stellar imagery and play a major role in elevating the champion.
However, not every championship belt has grabbed the imagination of the fans. While some excellent designs have been seen over the years, others have left a strange taste in the mouth.
An aesthetically-pleasing championship design does make a compelling case for the holder of the title to be taken seriously by the fans. On the contrary, the first champion of a new title belt whose design is not well-received makes for an underwhelming crowning moment simply because the fans are unable to view the championship favorably. Thus, the telling moment of holding the championship belt aloft does not strike the chord required to elicit the desired response.
While WWE has given hits and misses across the board, for this list, the top singles championships held by the different world champions over the years will be in focus. Without further ado, here is our take on the five best WWE World Championship designs, and also the five worst.
10 Worst - Original WWE Championship
The WWE Championship was introduced back in 1963 and the first belt bears a rather uninspiring look. It is difficult to quantify or contextualize the essence of how this was received back in the day. However, it certainly does not hold up well in comparison to the ones that have come after.
Perhaps the sheer magnitude of the introduction of the championship, which signaled a monumental moment in the promotion's history, helped in neutralizing any negative emotion toward the belt.
Then known as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship belt, Buddy Rogers was the first holder of it before Bruno Sammartino got his hands on the prestigious prize. Following Sammartino's victory, the red championship design was replaced with a similar blue one.
9 Best - Spinner WWE Championship
Perhaps a victim of what it followed and what it was followed by, the spinner championship belt synonymous with John Cena's supercharged main event run does not get the flowers it deserves. Contrarily, this is a much-maligned championship design.
Introduced by the future 16-time world champion in 2005, the championship received a resounding cheer when it was first revealed. At the time, it was in keeping with the champion's gimmick and persona. The whole ensemble was quite cool. Emblazoned with gold, the spin-wheel diamond-studded "W" was undeniably a fresh change.
Maybe if the championship had been customized for Cena, it would then not be as hated in retrospect. However, there is no denying the fact that it has a terrific brand recall given its wrestler association, and it managed to sell itself quite well too. Maybe they should have retired this design earlier, but that takes nothing away from the fact that it actually is a pretty cool championship, perfectly aligned with WWE's incursion into the children and teenage market.
8 Worst - Eco-friendly WWE Championship
Daniel Bryan swerved everyone with his environmentalist gimmick, and being the master professional he is, Bryan pulled off the persona extremely well. Back during his final reign as a top singles champion in WWE, Daniel Bryan turned heel and portrayed a character obnoxiously conscious about the environment.
As part of that shtick in January 2019, Bryan dubbed the existing WWE Championship as "trash" and replaced it with a very dull new title design. It may have served the purpose of establishing Bryan's gimmick in that the leather was replaced by hemp and the other parts were also made from "entirely sustainable materials". But combined with Bryan being a heel and the design basically mimicking its predecessor, it lacked any authenticity and fell flat.
The fact that those in live attendance were confused at its reveal drives home the point. Thankfully, it lasted till WrestleMania that year.
7 Best - Unified WWE World Heavyweight Championship
The Rock swapped John Cena's spinner title design for a new one to rapturous applause in 2013. The title was the WWE Championship which was subsequently unified with the World Heavyweight Championship a year later. The design would be altered to christen the unified WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
In essence, it is very similar to the one introduced by The Rock, but with slight alterations including one to the logo at the center to represent WWE's official change of the same. This design retained the good bits of the previous title. For example, the side plates which were customized to represent the titleholder were also part of the new one introduced in August 2014.
This title is still around in the WWE and is one of the best designs among active championship belts. Unfortunately, though, the reveal received no reaction from the live crowd, which has a lot to do with expectations being of a major design change as opposed to the subtle ones.
6 Worst - Rated-R WWE Championship
The personalized championship made for Edge is supremely unforgettable, not for the right reasons though. While Cena's spinner belt looked cool, Edge's Rated-R spinner design is a poor knockoff that looks clunky and was fit for what it was - a hurried substitute.
Edge revealed in an interview that he had helped design a different championship for his 2006 reign, but given its time constraints, his customized belt had the same design as Cena's with the scratch WWE logo making way for the "R" that represented Edge's then gimmick. Edge also stated that his design had no spinning element to it.
Maybe Edge's original idea would have been a better customization for the superstar because the sole purpose of customizing something is to make it unique to a particular person. While the Rated-R Championship was meant to serve that very purpose, it came across as a lazy, John Cena bootleg title design.
5 Best - Undisputed WWE Championship
This is such a beautiful championship design. It represents pride and honor, adding such legitimacy to the holder and making it one of those titles one would crave to have. The design elements are brilliant with the globe, and the much-loved eagle all part of it. The gold and black used in the design work extremely well, making the colors pop out.
The fact that this design was part of an iconic time in the promotion's history adds further credence to it. Designed by New York-based tattoo artist Keith Ciaramello, this sleek title was introduced by Ric Flair following WrestleMania 18 and Triple H was its first holder. The title would remain in WWE until 2005, passing by the shoulders of The Rock, The Undertaker, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, JBL, and finally, John Cena in 2005.
The Undisputed Title became the WWE Championship during Brock Lesnar's title reign in 2003 and was exclusive to the SmackDown brand till it was retired.
4 Worst - WWE Universal Championship
If a grand mess could be manifested and materialized into a title design, this would be it. Introduced by Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon in 2016 to crown a second champion in tandem with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the bathed-in-red championship was such a cringe-fest on first viewing. And it looks worse in retrospect.
The fact that it was a lazy replica with a frightening color change did not do its visual appeal any favor. Its nomenclature is not too inspiring either and while the Universal moniker is a tribute to the WWE Universe (what the company calls its fans), one would not instantly associate the two either.
The jarring red of the belt was replaced by a comparatively less shocking blue in 2019, but the damage was done by then. The Universal Championship is currently held by Roman Reigns.
3 Best - Big Gold Belt, World Heavyweight Championship
The Big Gold Belt is one of the best-looking championships in all of professional wrestling. It is a design fit to be worn by a champion around their waist and to be carried around their shoulder.
Visually so legitimate, its carrier automatically feels like a big deal. And its design is so heavy on the gold that the nomenclature also feels apt. It is a grand championship and the design rightly crowns the heavyweight champion of the world. It is a worthy championship and, by the magnificence of its design, makes the one wearing it equally worthy.
In its WWE run, the Big Gold Belt has been worn by Triple H, Edge, Batista, John Cena, CM Punk, Goldberg, Daniel Bryan, King Booker, and Kurt Angle, among others.
2 Worst - WWE Divas Championship
Anything to do with the word "diva" should be mentioned by WWE with an apology. Especially the championship title and its design. The championship is simply a big, pink butterfly and has the name of the championship it represents. No gold, no thoughts, and consequently, zero prestige.
It was introduced in 2008 and beats logic that following its unification with the better-looking WWE Women's Championship in 2010, WWE decided to proceed with its worst design in history. One would imagine a bit more effort could be spent on designing the top championship of an entire division.
Over the years, since Michelle McCool became its inaugural champion, the Divas Championship has been held by many esteemed superstars including Charlotte Flair, Nikki Bella (longest-reigning champion), AJ Lee, and Paige (the belt's youngest winner). This title and the term "divas" would be retired in 2016.
1 Best - Winged Eagle WWE Championship
This is the magnum opus of any championship belt ever created by the WWE. And it is perhaps the greatest championship belt design of all time across continents and promotions. It just is really that good. The black-and-gold color scheme, as mentioned earlier, works extremely well and the design elements incorporated, back in 1988 when it was introduced, made it so unique.
The championship design, with the eagle whose wings are spread out in full glory, has the maximum brand recall of any WWE singles championship and was around for approximately a decade till Stone Cold was presented with an altered version of it in 1998.
Hulk Hogan was the first holder of this gorgeous variant before it was passed on to the likes of Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, and Diesel among others.