10 Most Bizarre Wrestling Title Lineages

The absolute state of that Wikipedia page, man. It is a disgrace. The year 2000 and its giveaways and reboots looks like a chapter from House of Leaves.

Even before Vince Russo took a succession of drizzling morning sh*ts, deemed them better than the pro wrestling he hated, and smeared them onto blank pieces of paper he called Nitro and Thunder scripts, the Big Gold Belt was born under a bad moon.

Very confusingly, Ric Flair by 1991 was billed as both the NWA and the WCW World Champion, as if they were separate titles, precisely when the two entities were essentially synonymous following the collapse of every other territory under the former's purview. Pointless. Absolutely pointless sh*t that spawned advanced algebraic confusion.

And then Flair f*cked off to the WWF after Jim Herd's omni-idiocy hounded him out, after which the prestige of a new title created out of thin air took a further battering when contention was decided at one point via raffle. The 'International' years are profoundly painful on the eyes, which you will attempt to squeeze from your skull after trying to grasp the craic for five minutes.

Flair returned in 1993, and claimed back the NWA World Heavyweight Title created after his exit, following which WCW seceded from the NWA. This title was subsequently referred to as the WCW International Title while the WCW World Heavyweight Title still existed. World and International mean the same thing. But they were different! WCW instead of ridding itself of the confusing governing body system created a brand new one with no historic name value.

Jesus Christ, they should have brought Russo in to clear it all up, it was that f*cked.

Things got very unified and normal and linear from there, as megastars won it from one another at a digestible and very effective rate.

And then a B-level actor won it, which it's only ever remembered for because WWE now owns the lineage and uses that fact to get the mighty WWF Attitude Era over.