10 Most Prestigious Wrestling Titles Of All Time

10. WWE World Title

Deeming the origins of this championship "inauspicious" is generous - at least if you disregard WWE's revisionist history. Its lineage does not stretch back to the days of Lou Thesz. That is a separate prize altogether.

No, this title was literally handed to Triple H, spurning weeks' worth of prospective television and talent-enhancing tournament matches in the process. Its subsequent first few years were similarly dubious. Triple H's self-preservation crusade was an exercise in dashed hopes and dire matches.

Purposefully or otherwise, his 2002-2004 stint did furnish the title with legitimacy - which only grew alongside the reputation of Batista, whose cathartic WrestleMania 21 win ushered in an era in which the title was held alongside the WWE crown, equal in stature.

In ensuing years, Edge emerged as a headliner as a result of his WWE title win - but his permanent residence to the club arose from his many reigns with what is still fondly remembered as The Big Gold Belt.

You need look no further than this title - which sadly saw its aura diminish alongside WWE's early 2010's talent pool - to view the future of the Universal Championship with some optimism. A title can transcend its status as an exercise in ego and necessary brand parity to live on as a powerful symbol of achievement and legacy. That's the magic of pro wrestling.