Every Major Wrestling World Title - Ranked From Least To Most Prestigious

2. WWE Championship

Adam Cole ROH champion
WWE.com

The WWE Championship is bulletproof.

It doesn't matter that it rarely headlines pay-per-views in 2018. It doesn't matter that the current holder, AJ Styles, has entered relatively underwhelming performances of late, not helped by dire handicap and undermined stipulations. It doesn't matter that it was wrapped around the waist of Jinder "F*cking" Mahal in a risible rupee quest last year, nor does it matter that it was used just prior to that as a last-ditch attempt to prop Bray Wyatt up.

The WWE Heavyweight Title has been used for dubious means in the past, and invariably recovered.

Its prestige is informed by decades of in-ring genius and unparalleled PPV box office. It's little wonder that WWE attempts so often to make the man via the title, so synonymous is it with household names, diverse classic matches that make something of a mockery of the "WWE style" accusations, and awesome in-ring rivalries. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels became Gollum-like bastardisations of themselves in pursuit of it in 1997.

Its importance is that critical.

Your writer is almost apoplectic at the quality of WWE's output, post-WrestleMania 34 - to such an extent that this cynicism sometimes obscures the good. Even I will never doubt the legitimacy of the WWE Title. It is the apex of sports entertainment achievement - a near-constant source of escapism longtime fans use as the last bastion of belief.

But not pro wrestling achievement...

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!