Every Major Wrestling Title Ranked From The Ugliest To Most Beautiful

It is reductive to state that mainstream U.S. pro wrestling was entirely dismal when WWE monopolised it, but if you break it down into categories, the scores aren’t high. 

Promos declined, and to a pathetic, excruciating level. Match quality, you could argue, did not, but only at the main event level. The cookie cutter midcard was very bleak. The angles increased in silliness; true hatred vanished, mostly, as WWE embraced soap opera and dismal comedy. 

The title designs were vile, as removed from the glorious late ‘80s Winged Eagle/IC/World Tag trifecta as Vince McMahon was from his senses. The repurposed Big Gold Belt was sensational, obviously, but the mid-to-late 2000s WWE title, whether it spinned or not, was disgusting. A tasteless, blocky nightmare. 

The bronze Tag titles of the 2010s were bizarre. They looked vile, and not even in a cheap, modern way; underscoring how directionless WWE was across much of the 21st century, the gladiator helmets aimed for a classic prestige as the promotion, in parallel, desperately hired a hundred disinterested celebs to guest host Raw and make it feel “fresh” and “hip”. 

In recent years, however, elegance has made something of a comeback. 

*In the interests of brevity and in consideration of image rights, this list will span the United States only.

It’s a monstrosity - literally. 

The main plate looks like two kitten’s faces fused together, in that the four triangles that sprout from each corner look like cartoon cat’s ears. Gold and silver, individually, look beautiful and can convey a certain prestige, but paired together here, the colour scheme is gaudy. A white strap tends to only work when the plate design is unfussy, but the use of it here just adds to the chintzy quality. A men’s title wouldn’t look like this. 

It’s just cheap and, much like the division itself, poorly thought-out.