At one point or another, every pro wrestling enthusiast has dreamt of one day holding one of the sport’s prestigious championship belts. Every fan has their own particular favorite belt, but for the most part, the Big Gold Belt, the winged eagle belt and the classic WWE Intercontinental Championship belt get the most love.
There have been countless championship belts featured in pro wrestling over the years. Some have been a bit more outlandish than others. Still, just because they were outlandish doesn’t mean some of them weren’t top-notch designs. Here are some of the most outlandish championship belt designs in wrestling history.
10 The AEW American Championship Is Purposely Outlandish
Outlandish Or Not, It’s A Beautiful Belt
- In 2022, AEW Introduced Their All-Atlantic Championship
- The Championship Was Renamed The “International Championship” In 2023
- In July 2024, MJF Redubbed The Title The “American Championship”
If there’s one thing wrestling fans have learned about MJF over the past five years it’s that he’s certainly a showman. His recent redesign of the AEW International Championship is just the latest example of this. Honestly, this belt is only this low on the countdown because it’s the most recent. It honestly deserves higher placement.
The USA theme on the redesign is very eye-catching. The stars and stripes on the strap just make the plates pop even more. Sadly this beauty of a championship wasn’t long for this world. At All In 2024, Will Osprey defeated MJF for the International Championship and immediately restored the original design.
9 John Cena’s Spinner United States Championship Was A Precursor Of What Was To Come
The Custom U.S. Championship Fit The 2000s “Bling” Era Perfectly
- The WCW United States Championship Was Featured In WWE In 2001 During The Invasion Storyline And Retired That Same Year
- The WWE United States Championship Was Introduced In 2003 To Be SmackDown’s Secondary Championship
- In 2004, John Cena Introduced A Custom United States Championship
We move from one United States-themed Championship to another one. It’s not exactly clear what caused it but American society loved anything that was shiny and spun in the early 2000s. Be it rims, jewelry, or even wrestling championships. Enter The Doctor of Thuganomics.
After winning the WWE United States Championship at WrestleMania 20, John Cena eventually introduced a custom U.S. Title that fit the times perfectly. The Spinner U.S. Championship got a lot of grief back in its day but today, hindsight allows us to appreciate it for what it was, a fun, eye-catching, if not outlandish prop.
8 Jay Briscoe Put His Own Spin On The ROH World Championship
The Design Embodied Briscoe’s Unique Personality
- Jay And Mark Briscoe Are Arguably The Greatest Tag Team In ROH History
- The Briscoes Were 13 Time ROH World Tag Team Champions
- Mark Briscoe Was Also A Two-Time ROH World Champion As A Singles Competitor
The secret to having a memorable custom championship belt is to make it embody the performer holding it. Well, there may never be a custom championship that embodies its holder more than Jay Briscoe’s custom ROH World Championship. In 2013, Jay Briscoe was the ROH World Champion but his contract would expire during his reign leading to an injury angle to explain him being stripped of the title. When Briscoe returned, he introduced a custom belt which he referred to as the “Real World Title.”
Aesthetically speaking, the title was outlandish but fit Jay to a tee. The camouflage strap and confederate flags on the center plate played right into Jay’s redneck persona. Sadly, Jay Briscoe passed away in 2023 in a tragic car accident. His brother, Mark, is currently the ROH World Champion. It would be awesome if Mark dusted off Jay’s custom ROH Championship for one final run as a tribute to his brother.
7 “The Long Island Iced Z” Had A Championship Belt That Was Hard To Ignore
The Internet Championship Wasn’t An Official WWE Championship But Was Still Memorable
- In 2011, Zack Ryder Introduced The Wrestling World To The Internet Championship
- The Internet Championship Was Never A Sanctioned WWE Championship
- Despite Not Being Sanctioned, The Internet Championship Was Featured In WWE Video Games And Action Figure Line
In 2011, Zack Ryder was struggling to gain any real traction in WWE. This led to Ryder getting himself over online. Ryder’s new popularity made him an overnight sensation in WWE. On his web series, Ryder often featured the outlandish Internet Championship belt.
The belt was pretty darn unique. The center plate featured a silhouette of Ryder’s head wearing a headband and sunglasses. The side plates were branded with the logos of popular social media sites as well as Ryder’s personal logo. The belt was never an official WWE championship but for a while there it took on a life of its own.
6 Herb Abrams And The UWF Had An Eye-Catching Championship Belt On Their Hands
The UWF Didn’t Feature Much Else Worth Watching Though
- In 1990, Herb Abrams Launched The UWF
- The Promotion Had A Strong Start But Ultimately Ended Up Being A Disaster
- The UWF SportsChannel Television Championship Was The Premiere Championship In The Promotion
The history of the UWF is long, complicated, and frustrating. At the start, the promotion had some promise and a lot of momentum. Sadly, it quickly became clear that the promotion’s leader, Herb Abrams, was in way above his head. Bluntly, Abrams didn’t know what he was doing and was out to make himself a star, above all else.
During its six-year existence, the UWF featured upwards of 10 wrestling championships, including the UWF SportsChannel Television Championship. Despite never reaching any true level of prestige, the belt was very eye-catching and outlandish. The white strap and UWF side plates were different enough to stand out but the title never caught on the way Abrams had hoped for.
5 The Fiend’s Hideous Custom Championship Was One Of The Character’s Few Flaws
It Took A Lot For A Championship Belt To Be A Step Down From The Universal Championship
- Bray Wyatt’s Fiend Persona Was Introduced In 2019
- The Character Was An Immediate Hit With WWE Fans
- The Fiend Defeated Seth Rollins For The WWE Universal Championship At Crown Jewel 2019
Today, it’s almost blasphemous to say anything negative about Bray Wyatt or his Fiend persona. When taking off the rose-colored lenses though, it’s pretty obvious that The Fiend character wasn’t perfect by any means. Aside from the frustrating booking the character received, he also had one of the worst custom championship belts ever.
The belt, which had The Fiend’s likeness on the center plate, was the worst type of outlandish there is. Sure, it made sense for The Fiend to have a title belt like that but it was too self-serving to appeal to a wider audience. The custom Universal Championship is one of the few things about The Fiend that fans didn’t get on board with.
4 The Divas Championship’s Butterfly Design Was Hard To Take Serious
Not To Mention It Was Pretty Ugly
- During The 1980s, 1990s & 2000s, The WWE Women’s Championship Had Three Different Stints In The Promotion
- In 2008, WWE Introduced The WWE Divas Championship
- The WWE Divas Championship Was Retired At WrestleMania 32
Specific divisions within a promotion often experience highs and lows in terms of quality. WWE’s Women’s division clearly entered a low point in 2008 when the Divas Championship was introduced. Firstly, “Diva” is a derogatory phrase. A diva is a self-important person who is temperamental and difficult to please.
Second, the WWE Divas Championship wasn’t a joy to look at. The outlandish butterfly design was yet another subtle slap to the face of the entire division. Just about every Women’s Wrestling fan was happy to see the title belt go when it was retired in 2016 in favor of the current WWE Women’s Championship design.
3 Jeff Hardy’s Custom TNA World Championship Was Outlandish But Made Sense For His Character
The Belt Had Two Outlandish Versions Of It
- In 2010, Jeff Hardy Left WWE And Returned To TNA
- Hardy Would Turn Heel And Join The Villanous Immortal Stable
- After Winning The TNA World Championship, Hardy Was Presented With A Custom Championship
Jeff Hardy has one of the most accurately descriptive nicknames ever, “The Charismatic Enigma.” There is just something about Hardy’s free spirit attitude that appeals to a large portion of wrestling fans. That’s not to say Hardy never had any creative missteps during his career. Case in point, Hardy’s custom TNA Championship.
Honestly, the title is undeniably outlandish but it always seemed to fit Hardy’s persona and overall vibe. Hardy is an artist and the belt is artistic. The problem was that it only made sense for Hardy to have. When Sting held this particular belt it made him and the championship seem out of place. Makes sense considering the championship essentially had Hardy’s face on the centerplate. An alternate version of this belt would later be introduced with a black strap and redesigned center plate.
2 Jeff Hardy’s Custom Championship Had Nothing On The TNA Beer Drinking Championship
It Was A Fun Belt With A Short Lifespan
- “Cowboy” James Storm joined TNA in 2002 and became a mainstay in the promotion
- Storm was part of two popular and successful tag teams in TNA, America’s Most Wanted, and Beer Money, Inc.
- In 2007, Storm introduced a fun gimmick championship during a feud with Eric Young
As far as gimmick championships go, this may just be the silliest one ever. In 2007, before James Storm and Bobby Roode formed the popular Beer Money, Inc. tag team, Storm found himself in a beer-centric feud with Rhino, and eventually Eric Young. The feud with Young eventually led to the introduction of an outlandish championship.
The Beer Drinking Championship was never an official TNA Championship. It wasn’t even a real belt. The title was simply a toy WWE Spinner belt with beer bottles glued on it. The quality of the belt didn’t matter much though since the title was simply a gimmick. The belt would only exist a few months before Rhino destroyed it but it was fun while it lasted.
1 John Cena’s Spinner WWE Championship Was Every Bit As Polarizing As He Was
Fans Either Loved The Belt Or Hated It With A Passion
- John Cena’s First Custom Championship Was Introduced In 2004 When He Was The WWE United States Champion
- When Cena Captured The WWE Championship In 2005, He Immediately Introduced A New Custom Championship
- The Spinner Belt Would Remain The Primary WWE Championship Belt Until 2013
Like any other top star, John Cena had his fair share of detractors. Those detractors often rolled their eyes in disgust at anything Cena did. The WWE Spinner Championship belt was high on the list of things that got Cena more hate. The Spinner Championship was a fun prop. There’s no denying it fit Cena’s character perfectly.
The real issue with this particular championship is that it was too outlandish to fit anyone else’s character. When it permanently replaced the WWE Championship belt, a big portion of fans hated it. Again, it made total sense for Cena to wear a blinged-out monstrosity of a championship belt but on anyone else that title seemed out of place and borderline silly.
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