Hi Scott,
Questions about your favourite belts -
1) Best World title belt
2) Best mid-card belt
3) Best tag belts
I pick the Big Blue belt worn by Austin circa 98 for world, the black I-C strap with red wwf logo (savage/steamboat) and the money inc tag belts with "World" in black instead of red. Your picks?
Thanks,
Wow, those are some super-specific picks. OK, let's see:
1. The original jewel-encrusted version of Flair's Big Gold Belt. The WWE's toy belt version really killed the prestige after a while, but if you go back and see the original you really appreciate all the work that went into it.
2. The Nikita Koloff/Lex Luger version of the US title. Probably just nostalgia talking, but that's the one I always associate with the title.
3. Probably the NWA tag team titles from the same period. And they lasted a LONG time, all the way into the NWA appearances on RAW in the 90s and I think into the TNA era as well.
OK, so probably nostalgia was tinting my views here, I'll admit.
IC belt all the way for Midcard belt
ReplyDeleteJeff Hardy's TNA World belt was awesome for a character specific belt.
ReplyDeleteThe Divas belt?
ReplyDelete1. The Western States Heritage Title with a plate slapped on it
ReplyDelete2. Tie between Shane Hagadorn's Ring of Honor Top of the Class Trophy and the WCW TV Title Jim Duggan pulled out of the garbage.
3. The WWF Tag Team Titles, but only when they were held by Johnny Polo wearing a Montreal Canadiens sweater.
Yeah that one! It looked exactly like what you get if you left Jeff alone with a pad of paper, a pound of weed and a shitload of molly and told him to design a belt.
ReplyDelete1) Big Gold Belt. The previous NWA title looked like a joke compared to that one.
ReplyDelete2) The IC belt The Rock wore
3) Demolition era tag title belts.
World Title: winged eagle belt or big gold belt (Both looks like a championship and something that could go out into public and people wouldn't laugh like at the spinner belt)
ReplyDeleteMidcard: IC title from the savage days/ wcw us title with the tiny us flag on top (ditto for reasoning)
Tag: wwf world from demo days
#1 title I would buy: million dollar belt
Always a big fan of the WCW tag team titles.
ReplyDeleteWorld Title: Attitude Era Belt used in 2000. My all-time favorite championship belt.
ReplyDeleteMid-Card Title: Current(retro) IC title.
Tag Titles: SmackDown Titles created in 2002.
Why does everyone always say "winged eagle"? Don't all eagles have wings?
ReplyDeleteI'm with Scott - the NWA World tag team title belts associated with Blanchard and Anderson were awesome,
ReplyDeleteFor a midcard belt, I always had an affinity for the NWA TV title that Rotundo used that had the network logos on the sides.
And I'll personally always love the winged eagle WWF World title,
I like the Demolition era tag belts. Those were classic!
ReplyDeleteBut not all Eagles are depicted with wings out.
ReplyDelete1,) Original Big Gold
ReplyDelete2.) The NWA TV Title belt (or the Mid-Atlantic title)
3.) U.S. Tag belts.
I was never a huge fan of WCW but damn if the Big Gold Belt doesn't scream "Pro Wrasslin" more than any other.
ReplyDeletePersonally I always preferred the WWF World Title from about the mid-90's, the one Bret kisses in that "Biggest dreams can still come true" promo.
I always loved the NWA TV title and the NWA US tag-belts. A buddy of mine that I go to Miami tailgates with has a few UM themed belts that are awesome. I'll have to see if I can dig up some pics.
ReplyDeleteScott gave the perfect picks. The Winged Eagle would be my runner-up.
ReplyDeleteWWF Belts of 1991.
ReplyDeleteWorld title either the big gold belt or the wwe undisputed title (02-03)
ReplyDeleteMid card definitely the white ic title...
Tag titles any but the ones wwe use now..they look like big 2p coins
My favorite belt that most probably hate: Cena's spinning US title. Never liked WWE's design of the US title and I thought Cena's US title looked better than the WWE Title spinner.
ReplyDeleteThe winged eagle belt (1988-1998) is my favorite world title. I love the big gold belt, but growing up as a wwf kid, the winged eagle was the shit.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I liked the ROH title that Punk/Joe/etc... held as well.
I love the IC title but another one of my favorite mid card belts is the US title that debuted in the mid 90s. For reference, it's the belt that Goldberg/DDP and others held in the late 90s. My buddy has a replica of this one and I've always been jealous.
Tag belts have to be the 80s/90s wwf tag belts although the 90s wcw belts were pretty cool also. What was up with that one that was missing a side plate for like a year?
One title I never warmed up to -- that is greatly revered by most fans -- is the winged eagle WWF Championship belt. It's nice looking, but it looks so small and diminutive. It looked physically smaller than the Intercontinental Championship (when I was younger, I thought the IC title was more prestigious just because it looked so much bigger) and especially the tag team titles. Not to mention that it was about half the size of the Big Gold Belt when Flair debuted with it. I understand that sometimes less is more, but your top title SHOULD still be the grandest and most imposing of all the championships.
ReplyDeleteI've always preferred the altered eagle belt used from 98-01 over the classic one used from 88-98
ReplyDeleteI agree on original Big Gold and those sweet, sweet NWA Tag belts. There was a time I'd have said 80's IC belt for mid-card, but WWE bringing it back has overexposed it for me. So yeah, I'm 3-for-3 with Scott's picks.
ReplyDeleteWhich, to be fair, is probably how that went down.
ReplyDelete1. AWA title, 70s/80s
ReplyDelete2. The red TV title, 80s/early 90s
3. WWF tag team titles, 80s/90s
I'm going to use this time to bring up the fact that I really dislike the current Bronze Roman Centurion belt for the tag team title. Mostly the color.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the original Bug Gold Belt is the standard on which all other belts are measured.
ReplyDeleteOther World belts I like are the Watts UWF title, the AWA belt Rick Martel and Stan Hansen had, and the WWF belt Hogan had before the Winged Eagle. Speaking of, the Winged Eagle looked perfect on the Macho Man. There's a topic: Best Belt/Champ Combo?
ReplyDeleteI would turn down a tag title reign if I had to wear those monstrosities.
ReplyDeleteTriple H/2000 WWF Title. Perfect and the Intercontinental Title.
ReplyDeleteDemolition and their tag belts.
ReplyDeleteFlair and the Big Gold Belt (obvious choice).
Rude and that version of the US belt.
Bret and the IC belt.
I disliked the WWE Championship they used for the "Cena era", I think from 05 to last year. Other than that, I have had no issues with any designs.
ReplyDeletePlus, let's give some love to that there Million Dollar Belt.
Punk getting such a long reign with such an UGLY belt made me a little sad.
ReplyDeleteHe should come back to get a reign with a decent looking strap.
I always thought the Lance Storm US title was cool....
ReplyDeleteWhat bummed me out about the spinner belt even more is that I liked the Undisputed Belt they were using before.
ReplyDeleteOld IC title, particularly Warrior's yellow strap and HBK baby blue strap.
ReplyDeleteIt always felt like he was just holding the title for Cena.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I thought the Big Gold Belt was ridiculous looking. It took a long time for me to really realize the detail and craftsmanship that went into it.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a problem with the WWE-ized versions of it.
Cena truly is one trifling omnipotently omnipresent trifling ass bastard ain't he?
ReplyDeleteI agree. I really liked the undisputed title. I thought it was a solid mix of the big gold and the WWE. It LOOKED like a championship belt.
ReplyDeleteHarley and the Domed Globe. Its understated style allowed him to hold it comfortably while punching out horses.
ReplyDeleteDamn straight. I really miss that one.
ReplyDeleteI liked the soinner version of the US title. I have an autographed replica somewhere in my closet.
ReplyDeleteHe wanted to bring back the '88 Hogan belt or Winged Eagle.
ReplyDeleteI loved the UWF belts. Their designs were so original.
ReplyDeleteThey are unique, but you'r thin they would have custom Gold versions of them for Goldust and Stardust.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like that belt either. Very small.
ReplyDeleteI liked that belt. Even though it spun the design was understated like a real jeweler made it.
ReplyDeleteHonorable mention to Hogan's original belt. It had a more boxing influence but I was digging it.
ReplyDeleteWCW's U.S. Title, the Attitude Era WWF Title, the 1990s WWF Tag Team Title abd the Smokin' Skull WWF Title.
ReplyDeleteSome belt designs I've never had any hatred for & actually sort of like are the newest Tag titles, the WWE's United States belt, or the silver WWECW belt (if it wasn't so damn big). They're different, but I don't think they're necessarily bad. Nostalgia comes into play a lot when aesthetic preferences come into play, and during the time I was watching there were much shittier belts than those.
ReplyDeleteBest World title for me is either the pre-Big Gold NWA belt or the original Big Gold (although I like all the variations honestly. Yeah, they got a little cheaper looking with every slight redesign, but the main plate is just so frickin' awesome looking). I loved when TNA still used the classic NWA design, because by that point in wrestling it looked different than any other belt.
World belt- Big Gold belt, then later it goes the undisputed belt, old school NWA belt, ROH current belt and the IWGP HW title
ReplyDeleteSecondary- The late 80's until 98 IC title with the black strap, I also like the current version of NJPW's IC belt
Tag team- Attitude era title belt, current ROH tag belt.
For those who never saw:
ROH world title
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/ROH_World_Championship_2012.jpg
ROH tag belt
http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130717030516/prowrestling/images/9/95/2012_ROH_Tags.png
NJPW IC title
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/2nd_version_IWGP_Intercontinental_Championship.jpg
NJPW Heavyweight title
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110121173841/idomination/images/2/28/IWGP_Heavyweight_Championship.jpg
The Domed Globe was great for TNA, It made the promotion look classy despite being called TNA.
ReplyDeleteI actually have no use for belts. I wear suspenders.
ReplyDeleteSort of surprised they never did championship suspenders as a joke. Angle could've pulled that off
ReplyDeleteThey are beyond awful.
ReplyDeletePretty much all of the WWE belts look like shit.
ReplyDeleteThis idea is magic waiting to happen.
ReplyDeleteSame, I use to like the WWE spinner title more than the others, now it's the other way around.
ReplyDeleteWorld: Big Gold Belt/Winged Eagle (tie)
ReplyDeleteMidcard: Intercontinental Title 1987ish
Tag Titles: NWA world tag 1988