10 Most Prestigious Wrestling Championship Belts Ever
2. The Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (AJPW)
Date established: 18 April, 1989 # Of Reigns: 51 Wrestler with Most Reigns: Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada (5 each) Longest Reign: Mitsuharu Misawa (705 Days) Shortest Reign: Terry Gordy (3 Days) How often does a Heavyweight Champion carry three title belts instead of one? It happens only when they win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, the premier title of All Japan Pro Wrestling. This title was originally three separate championships: the NWA United National Championship, the PWF Heavyweight Championship, and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship. On April 18th, 1989, then International Champion Jumbo Tsuruta defeated United National and PWF Champion Stan Hansen to unify the three titles to represent one championship. Throughout the 1990s, Giant Babas All Japan Pro Wrestling showcased the best wrestling on the planet, and some of the greatest matches in history were Triple Crown title matches, including many that were deemed 5-Star Matched by Dave Meltzer, and those are extremely rare. One that stands out in particular is the match between then-champion Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada on June 3rd, 1994. That match has since become known as simply 6-3-94, and when a match is referred to by its date, you know its exceptionally good. In this case, its considered by many to be the absolute best singles match in professional wrestling history. Even after 95% of the AJPW roster left to form Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2000, there were still many fantastic matches for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship throughout that decade as well, especially Satoshi Kojima vs. Toshiaki Kawada on February 16th, 2005. In August 2013, the original three belts were returned to Motoko Baba, Giant Babas widow, and a new, single belt with parts from all three of the others, and an engraving commemorating Jumbos 1989 win, was introduced. Despite the new design, the championship still retains its considerable prestige and reputation as one of the most desired belts in professional wrestling. Considering its rich history, and the quality of the wrestlers and matches surrounding the title, it would be really hard for any championship to top the Triple Crown
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
