10 Awful Championships WWE Doesn't Want You To Remember

You know a wrestler must be good when WWE creates a championship for them.

When the legendary Antonio Inoki came to the United States in 1978, Vincent J. McMahon thought it was only fitting to award him a WWE title. That belt turned out to be the World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship, which Inoki gladly accepted on a visit to New York City.

It was a surprisingly thoughtful gift; Inoki was famous for his strong style, having trained in and promoted martial arts over the years.

It sounds too good to be true, because it is.

Inoki took the belt back to Japan, but only defended it three times in nine years. The matches were meant to be shoot wrestling fights with rounds, which never work in a scripted environment, so the title became a prop instead. He was kind enough to put the strap on the line at WWE's Showdown at Shea, before dropping it to Shota Chochishvili. He'd win it back a month later, letting the title disappear from the history books at the end of 1989.

You can't fault WWE for trying something different, but this championship seemed like more of a burden than anything else. Inoki's legacy speaks for itself without an honorary title to carry around.

The belt itself lived on; it became the Greatest 18 Club Championship, which celebrated 30 years of Inoki. That title only lasted 18 months.

Was WWE trying to mark its territory by giving Antonio this belt? To keep him away from the National Wrestling Alliance and other companies sniffing around the Japanese star would've been a smart move. It's hard to find another reason for this belt existing.