10 Strange Things WWE Champions Did With The Belt

2. Made It Environmentally Friendly (Daniel Bryan)

Dean Ambrose
WWE.com

Daniel Bryan's fury with the WWE fanbase for not adhering to planet-saving environmental procedures was already awesome before he trashed his leather and gold prize for a hemp-based alternative.

A brave and inspired bit of character-based booking, WWE's decision to overhaul the company's top title so spectacularly paradoxically increased the value of it, as proven when The New Day unveiled the original after Kofi Kingston defeated Bryan in their evocative WrestleMania scrap.

WWE, because of course they did, even merchandised the seemingly un-sellable - Bryan's belt was reproduced for collectors and fans, in a humourous contravention of everything the Champion was rallying against. And it wasn't just merch he was flogging. Shortly before depositing the actual strap in the bin, WWE cannily used Bryan's character to promote the 'Royal Rumble Burger', a meat-filled treat available from the food kiosks at Phoenix, Arizona's Chase Field.

This would have saved the final entry in this list from needing to take his title out of the arena...

In this post: 
dean ambrose
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett