10 Most Bizarre Wrestling Title Lineages

If a wrestling promotion is faithful and committed to building and maintaining a sense of prestige around a wrestling title - over a period of years and years - virtually any match contested for it is an easy sell. It becomes a king maker. It becomes that which it was designed to be: a symbol of excellence, a gold-plated endorsement of a career.

An achievement, not a prop.

The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is the most prestigious in all of wrestling. Built via men who were or would become legends across multiple disciplines - the pioneering, mega-drawing strong style of Antonio Inoki, the innovative technical prowess of Tatsumi Fujinami, the hoss awesomeness of Shinya Hashimoto - the title was promoted as a reward only the hardest, most skilled work could obtain. Even the wobble it experienced in the Inokism of the mid-2000s is marketed wonderfully in the modern era. When NJPW promotes an IWGP Heavyweight Title match, a still image parade of former holders, with a suitably epic brass soundtrack, is broadcast ahead of it.

Even acknowledging this warty history gets it over: it's not immaculate, but it's authentic, and legendary men like Hiroshi Tanahashi have elevated it from the swamp to the stratosphere. Or, alternatively, just get somebody to win a World title because you want to get them over.

It's that easy!

Not rendered bizarre through a series of wild, unfortunate events nor complete neglect and decay, the WWE 24/7 Title finds its way onto this list by obnoxiously pushing its way past the queue. It wants to be here. It was made to be here.

It's too zany not to be!!1

Mick Foley introduced it last year knowing damn well how ugly its diminished return was, but largely as a result of incredible commitment and genuinely, fairly amusing work between R-Truth and Drake Maverick - who used his shoot wedding day to get the thing over - the belt and its tactical wacky strategy got over as a not inconsiderable YouTube hit.

The lineage is a sadder read than WWE intended for its goofball comedy prop, since many of the early holders were needlessly sh*t-canned on Black Wednesday. Several Olds held it across RAW Reunion in lame callbacks to the actually good Hardcore Title, after which it was folded into Paul Heyman's long hot cuckold summer of 2019.

Hilariously, since WWE were concurrently showering them with money and promises to take tag team wrestling seriously, the Revival captured the singles title on August 12.

Various suits also won it as cross-promotional exercises.

*Rubs eyes furiously and opens them widely in astonishment*

"Whoaaaaaaaaa! Haha! They're not wrestlers, but they're actually winning wrestling titles!"