10 Most Beautiful Belts In Wrestling History
3. The 'Big Gold Belt'
The National Wrestling Alliance's even weightier successor to their famed 10lbs of gold was very nearly left to slowly, well, not rust, but at least lay dormant, on the shelf of a rodeo belt maker's warehouse, such was the price originally quoted to the company.
Though the dual-plated strap didn't quite cost the $25,000 deposit champions were obliged to post the NWA, it still came in at a mammoth $12k, to which the company said, "thanks, but no thanks." Nelson Royal, a veteran wrestler and company official who had commissioned the belt, decided to buy it for himself, but once Jim Crockett caught sight of the strap it was love at first sight, and he bought it on behalf of JCP.
His instant affection is understandable: just look at the thing. The 'Big Gold Belt' is a big gold beauty, even if the 'gold' in this case is actually sterling silver, inlaid with cubic zirconium and faux rubies. Sadly, because they could do no right by this point, WCW had the legendary belt hideously replated in the late '90s, a visual metaphor for its increasingly tarnished legacy.