Championship (professional wrestling)

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In professional wrestling kayfabe, a championship or title is a recognition of a wrestler being the best in his or her promotion, or for lesser championships (such as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship), his or her division. A wrestler can earn a championship by defeating the current champion in a match (by far the most common) or in other ways determined by the promotion, such as winning a tournament for a vacant championship. Most championships are represented by a championship belt, which the wrestler wears around his or her waist or carries over the shoulder. Outside of kayfabe, championships are usually won/held by a wrestler whom the promotion's bookers believe will generate fan interest in terms of event attendance and TV viewership. Usually, these are wrestlers who generate large fan interest and crowd reactions over a sustained period of time, whether as a face or a heel. The wrestler can create this crowd reaction either through in-ring skill or from mic skills while cutting promos. Generally, the wrestlers who draw the greatest fan response will be rewarded with a storyline in which he or she competes with the current champion for the title, and eventually the championship itself.

Professional wrestling's championship belts are modeled after the championship belts in boxing. They are made of elaborately designed gold plates, usually bearing the name of the title and the wrestling promotion, on a leather strap. The color and designs vary with each title and promotion. Since 2002, all major WWE titles have included a nameplate with the current titleholder on the bottom of the main faceplate. This is in the style of the WCW Championship of the 1990s (nicknamed the "Big Gold Belt"), which included a nameplate. When the WWE and WCW titles were merged into the WWE Undisputed Championship, the new belt included a nameplate, which has since been added to the design of new WWE championship belts.