10 Awesome Ways Wrestling Promotions Made Titles Prestigious
7. Cody Makes His Own Plate
The original design of the AEW TNT Championship was unfinished and objectively ugly and small-time.
Left in a tin pot state by the pandemic, it was revealed proudly, nonetheless, by its first holder Cody. He didn't care what it looked like. It was a recognition of achievement more than it was something pretty to flog to the replica set. This was astute work that went towards establishing its prestige - why would he wear an accolade with anything other than pride? - and the master storyteller reflected the work onto the plate.
The unfinished design - an unvarnished blank template - mirrored its subsequent arc. Nothing was set. Destiny wasn't fixed, which is how Eddie Kingston rewrote his own by earning a contract as a result of a tremendous verbal and physical showcase of his talents. Norms weren't set, which is how the endearing but indieriffic Warhorse made it to cable TV in a less successful - but no less admirable - segment. Built traditionally in parallel via several excellent matches, in which undercard acts entered great performances in spirited, stature-enhancing defeats, the title was equally symbolic of the promotion itself.
AEW listened, and rewarded the wrestlers you wanted to see with a blank template on which to get over - or go home - on their own merit.