Wrestling is never something that should stay the same or becomes stagnant as that isn't the way to guarantee new fans or maintain the long-term viewers. Lots of things are constantly changing within the wrestling world and that includes the championship designs.
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Titles are routinely tweaked in order to give them a new, fresh look, keeping them from ever becoming boring. It also moves the titles on as they often become far more modern over time, which is certainly a good thing. But while some title design changes are fantastic, others aren't quite as good, which leads to fans missing the original designs.
10 Best: United States Championship
This is the most recent title design that has changed in the world of WWE, and it is certainly a great one. The old version of the title was over the top and very outdated, having been around for far too long.
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Fans had been screaming out for a re-design for a long time and MVP recently brought out the title with the fresh look on Raw on July 6, 2020. It went with the current WWE side plate design which adds an element of uniqueness with each holder, and it certainly looks a lot better.
9 Worst: Intercontinental Championship
Sadly, many fans aren't happy with the new design of the Intercontinental Championship. While some people are fond of the design, the new black and gold look just isn't as sleek or stylish as the old-school title with the white strap.
Sometimes, heritage is a good thing and the old-school title that Cody Rhodes actually brought back in 2011 was a great example of that. However, the recent change for Shinsuke Nakamura, which happened in November 2019, is one people didn't enjoy.
8 Best: TNT Championship
AEW may not have been a company for very long, but they have already had a title redesign. It was one that the company didn't originally plan on, but they unveiled the TNT Championship before it was fully ready.
Because of that, the company had to redesign the belt as soon as they could. When the new design was unveiled, earlier in August, it was certainly much improved. With far more detail, it looked much more like a major title which was very impressive.
7 Worst: Fiend Championship
The Universal Championship, in general, is something that isn't particularly aesthetically pleasing. The over-the-top blue or red color doesn't look too pleasing, but when Bray Wyatt won the title for the first time, The Fiend title was something that really didn't look great.
While it suited the character and it was certainly unique, it was also very over the top and quite hard to take seriously. It's not something that other characters would be pushing to win, which is why it wasn't a great re-design and why Goldberg didn't bother holding this version of the championship.
6 Best: Eco-Friendly WWE Championship
Many top wrestlers have had their very own versions of titles that they have personalized to them, but one of the best recently has been Daniel Bryan's WWE Championship. This title was debuted during his most recent run in 2019 and it just perfectly fit his character and it was incredibly unique.
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The title re-design was environmentally-conscious, which is never a bad thing, but it was something that added to Bryan's over-the-top, smug, eco-friendly character, making fans hate him more. However, the title was aesthetically really cool and this is something that people will certainly remember. This design obviously came to an end when Bryan's run did, as Kofi Kingston brought back the traditional look.
5 Worst: Cruiserweight Championship
The original Cruiserweight Championship was a really nice old-school title, but when WWE brought it back for TJP at the end of the Cruiserweight Classic, they did so with an in your face purple wrapped around the silver plates, and it wasn't a good look. But even though this title had the same name as the previous Cruiserweight Championship, it lacked the lineage or history tying it back to WCW. The title has since been moved from the main roster to NXT.
Thankfully, WWE has since changed the design of this title, making it black and gold instead which was a great change, with this version of the title lasting for three years. But the original purple design is one fans will be quick to forget.
4 Best: NXT Championship
A lot of people actually forget that the NXT Championship changed designs. However, the original title with the huge 'X' as the design certainly wasn't the most pleasing on the eye and was taken out back in 2017 prior to WrestleMania weekend.
But, the alteration to make it a more well-rounded design was certainly a big improvement. It looked sleek, modern, and very much like an old-school world title.
3 Worst: Copper Tag Team Championships
Wrestling championships always use a variety of metals and colors, but gold and silver with leather have always been the main focus. However, copper is something that isn't often used but WWE decided to use this material for the Tag Team Championships.
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While it was something different, they simply looked horrendous. The titles looked cheap which is a real shame, as that should never be the case, especially for a top company. They were brought out by Bret Hart himself in the summer of 2010 with The Hart Dynasty getting the new design. This particular designed lasted until the current titles were introduced in December of 2016.
2 Best: Women's Championship
WWE brought back the Women's Championship after a hiatus to replace the horrendous Divas Title. However, this new title was far sleeker and aesthetically pleasing than the old-school Women's Title. For whatever reason, WWE opted to not carry on the title history from the old WWE Women's Championship to the one currently being defended on Raw.
Making it similar to the men's titles certainly helped to make the belt feel important, raising the prestige of mainstream women's wrestling. Plus, the white leather really worked nicely against the red/blue of the Women's Championship which was really enjoyable. The title was unveiled at WrestleMania 32 by Lita, and certainly created an epic moment.
1 Worst: NXT Tag Team Championships
The NXT Tag Team Championships weren't changed too heavily and the slight differences made weren't great. The original titles with the black and gold combination really worked well together and was a little less in your face then the new titles.
The new titles came along with the new NXT and NXT Women's Titles, but this was the weakest of the bunch. The new NXT Tag Team Championships debuted back in 2017 prior to WrestleMania weekend.
