When WCW began, it was still under the banner of the NWA and thus using its championship belts. It took until early 1991 for the company to break away and start creating its own title belts. Over the next decade, WCW could boast a bevy of championships, some faring better than others. That meant having to craft some unique designs for them, sure more successful than the rest.
RELATED: 10 WCW Storylines That Had Potential (But Were Rushed)
WCW often went for a uniform logo design amid some plates of the globe, but a few times could spark it up. The coloring and the plate designs were key to whether a belt worked or not, as too often, it looked like WCW was mimicking the designs of other promotions. But a few of their belts could be not just lovely but iconic to stand out. Here is how every WCW championship belt design ranks to show they did try to make their titles look good in their history.
15 Cruiserweight Tag Team Title
The shortest-lived WCW championship, the Cruiserweight tag team title was created just before the company went under, with only two teams holding them. Looking at it seems evident WCW was going broke, as it just looks cheap.
The eagle design may have looked good on paper but not on a cheap leather strap and resembles a shop class project more than a serious championship. It's probably a good thing these didn't last long, as it is the ugliest belt in WCW's long history.
14 WCW TV Title (Version 2)
A rare case in WCW of a redesign being a step back. It looked like someone just took the older version of the tag team title belts and slapped the Television champion label on it.
The globe in the center was the same and the side platings also didn't push the TV aspect of it. It was home to some great feuds, but when Scott Hall literally threw it in the trash, fans didn't miss it much, as this take on the TV title lacked the flash of the original.
13 Light Heavyweight Championship
An issue with early WCW championship belt designs was they looked too much alike. Such a case was the Light Heavyweight championship which posted the same "global" design as the other titles of the time.
The red plating for its name did shine a bit better and the plates emphasizing grappling fit the motif. But it was too easy to mix this up with just about any other title in WCW in this period and lacked the spark, which fit as it was retired less than a year after its creation.
12 Tag Team Championship (1991-95)
It's not a bad-looking belt in some ways but just too interchangeable with other titles. Take away the "tag team" part and it'd be hard to differentiate from any other championship belt of the time.
The side plating of two guys grappling doesn't spell out "tag team" and it also looks a bit too much like the later WWE Intercontinental title designs. It wasn't bad when WCW started out, but a good thing they changed it later.
RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About The WCW Tag Team Championship
11 World Title (1991-94)
When Ric Flair left WCW in 1991, he took their classic World title belt with him in an ugly mess. WCW had to create a new title belt, which frankly came off as a lame copy of the WWE title.
It had the globe in the center, a winged design, it was okay but frankly interchangeable with any of the title belts around at the time. It just didn't stand out like it should have, so a good thing WCW eventually went back to the fancier Gold belt.
10 Women's Cruiserweight Championship
An odd belt, the Women's Cruiserweight Championship was created in 1997 with a tournament and pretty much only involved Japanese talent. It didn't last long as WCW sadly didn't care too much for women's wrestling.
Yet the belt wasn't too bad, with a nice design for the main plate and the international flag plates on the side reminiscent of the classic NWA World title. The bright gold also shone well and a design that really deserved to last longer.
9 WCW TV Title (Version 1)
A case where the original just looked a lot better than the previous version. The old NWA TV title was pretty good with its red and silver design, but WCW did a fine job updating it.
The red and blue plating make it stand out more and while the TBS plates on the side may seem a bit much, it does fit the TV theme and how it was defended on that network a lot. It was a good belt for the company and something was lost when the redesign made it look more generic.
8 Hardcore Championship
WCW's hardcore division may have paled next to WWE's, but they could boast a much better-looking title. Rather than the "broken" old WWE title belt, WCW had guys with a bright gold belt with the "Hardcore" looking like it was sprayed on.
The "cracked wall" background was also a fun touch to emphasize how crazy it could get. Some may argue a hardcore division having such a golden belt was off, yet WCW gets points for an actually fun design that was better than the division deserved.
RELATED: Top 10 Most Ridiculous Ways WCW Champions Lost Their Belts
7 World Six-Man Tag Team Championship
The World Six-Man tag team championship was a title that seemed to come and go in the NWA. WCW tried to make it a serious deal in 1991, but it didn't last long. However, it did have a pretty spiffy title belt. The design was different from other championships of the time in the plate size and the bright red "6" numeral got attention.
Better was the inventive bit of showing a trio of guys in the side plates holding up a globe. AEW could consider this design for their Trios belt as it's one of the best for a title that didn't last long.
6 United States Tag Team Championship
A holdover from the NWA, the U.S. tag titles only lasted until 1992. Yet they stood out nicely and not just for the red straps. The red-white-and-blue lettering was a fun touch and the "badges" for the side plates were also good.
The company kept the old NWA lettering on it and never rebranded it for WCW, but for their existence, it was easy to tell these apart from the World tag titles thanks to the great patriotic design.
5 Cruiserweight Championship
Even WWE credits WCW for its amazing Cruiserweight division. Throughout the Monday Night Wars, fans could enjoy some amazing action with these guys, with the title a major prize. It was a great-looking title with a bold golden plating and the great mix of colors helping.
The bold red WCW logo on the side plates was also good and one time the "global map" plate they enjoyed really worked well. It was little wonder so many guys in WCW were fighting to get their hands on this gorgeous belt.
4 Women's Championship
WCW sadly could never get a women's division going despite some good talent there. They were serious as you don't make a belt this good-looking unless you're serious about trying. The golden crown design is fitting for the champion and the classic international flag plating made it look better.
Sadly, the belt was barely defended before being retired in 1997 as WCW forgot pushing the women at all, meaning fans didn't get much of a chance to enjoy this lovely design work.
RELATED: What These 10 WCW Women Look Like Today
3 World Tag Team Championship (1996-2001)
WCW hit it out of the park with this design. The figure holding up the globe in the center is a fun touch and the way the banners with "tag team" flow outward fits. The side platings are good emphasizing the company name and the way it integrates the globe.
It's just a much better design than the previous belts to be amazing and why they remained the tag title design all the way to the company's end. It's a great case of a WCW redesign working out well.
2 United States Championship
The original NWA U.S. title belt was good, but when WCW upgraded it in 1992, it got even better. It's a terrific design, with the eagle linking to the belt's title and the mix of red-white-and-blue done well. The gold plating is perfect for the belt's strap and a reason it stuck around.
While WWE may have emphasized the flag more with their own version of it, WCW's more stylish take was better to make this one of the best-looking titles around.
1 World Title (Big Gold Belt)
It's hard to beat the classic big gold belt. It was the World title when WCW was part of the NWA, then an ugly legal mess when Ric Flair left in 1991. When he returned, WCW revived it as the "International" title before finally going back to making it the World title.
It still stands out with the huge gold plate and lettering and became a mainstay to the company's end. It's little wonder WWE used it for the World Heavyweight title, as this belt remains one of the best in wrestling history.
