10 Awful Championships WWE Doesn't Want You To Remember

What's the difference between a World champion and an International champion?

WWE decided it was worth having both for a while. The first incarnation of this belt was won by Antonino Rocca in 1957 as a spinoff of the NWA International Heavyweight Championship. Rocca kept the strap for 1,554 before it was quietly retired in favour of the brand new WWWF World Heavyweight Championship held by Buddy Rogers. Coincidentally, Rocca had defeated Rogers to become the inaugural champion.

Records don't say how it happened, but somehow Tony Parisi found himself holding the International title in 1982. When New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Tatsumi Fujinami won the strap he took it to Japan and the name finally made sense. International meant a belt that was shipped off to another continent to give WWE exposure. Minimal effort but maximum reward. Nice one 'E.

Let's not pretend Fujinami isn't a legend. His collection of gold includes just about every belt NJPW has ever produced; he's even in the WWE Hall of Fame. What makes the International Heavyweight Championship one to forget is that there was only seven reigns in 25 years, with one of the longest still disputed to this day.

Fujinami won the title by countout at Summer Fight Series 1983, but threw the belt down because he didn't want to win it that way. His first defence was set for a week later in Canada, but he couldn't get into the country, so Akira Maeda ended up with the strap instead. Eventually, Fujinami had the belt returned to him after it was vacated, but the damage was done.

WWE quietly retired the belt, all the while still disagreeing with NJPW over whether Fujinami's second reign was uninterrupted or not. Wrestling is complicated, but it doesn't have to be.