History of the Big Gold World Heavyweight Title
When you talk about the greatest looking pro wrestling titles in the world, without a doubt, one of the first names that comes up in the minds of most fans is the Big Gold World Heavyweight Title.
Originally it was commissioned by Jim Crockett Promotions for Ric Flair in 1985 who was at that point of time, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. The belt was not actually designed by a championship belt maker. It was made by a silversmith named Charles Crumrine who was known for his rodeo-styled belt buckles.
In fact, if you see some of the belt buckles that Crumrine has made in the past, you’ll see just where some of the inspiration for the Big Gold World Heavyweight Title came from.
The Big Gold was made to replace the old NWA Title, which was known back then as the Domed Globe or Ten Pounds Of Gold, and it became one of the most iconic-looking titles in the history of pro wrestling. The Domed Globe title came back in 1994 and is currently being held by Nick Aldis but that’s a different story for a different time.
The NWA or the National Wrestling Alliance in the 70s was a collective that had many wrestling promotions in it and at one point in time, WCW was its flagship promotion. NWA Champion Ric Flair, debuted the belt in February 1986 at a Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) event called "Battle of the Belts II”, where he defended his title against Barry Windham.
Originally the strap on the title was a brownish burgundy color, which probably became black thanks to all the sweat, baby oil and very likely a fair amount of alcohol.
If there’s one superstar whose name should permanently be attached with this belt, it would be Ric Flair. And the story of how he would take the belt from WCW to WWF and how the belt made its way back to WCW and then eventually back into WWE is pretty spectacular and too long to share in one column.
If you’re a history buff and love the wrestling business, it is highly recommended that you read up or watch a brilliant documentary DVD called “The History Of The World Heavyweight Championship”.
Some of the most iconic superstars have held the World Heavyweight Title
Between WCW and WWF, the World Heavyweight Title title was held by some of the most iconic superstars in pro wrestling history. I’m talking about the original belt before it was christened the WWE World Heavyweight Title.
Let me give you my top 10 names in no particular order:
- 1. Ric Flair
- 2. Sting
- 3. Hulk Hogan
- 4. Goldberg
- 5. Bret Hart
- 6. Booker T
- 7. Scott Steiner
- 8. Kurt Angle
- 9. Chris Jericho
- 10.The Rock
The title was retired in WWE when Chris Jericho unified the WCW Championship (rebranded as the World Championship) and the WWF Championship to create the Undisputed WWF Championship on December 9, 2001 at Vengeance. He defeated then WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin and World Champion The Rock on the same night.
Eventually, when RAW and Smackdown became two different brands in 2002, the title was brought back as the “World Heavyweight Title” to be the main title on the Red brand. It was eventually retired for good in at TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs on December 15, 2013, when it was unified with the WWE Championship. Triple H was the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion and Randy Orton being the last.
In this era, from 2002-2013, here are my top 10 champions:
- 1. Triple H
- 2. Goldberg
- 3. Chris Benoit
- 4. Randy Orton
- 5. Batista
- 6. Kane
- 7. The Undertaker
- 8. Edge
- 9. John Cena
- 10.CM Punk
Of all these names, who would you pick as the GOAT - the greatest of all time? Who did I miss? Who would you remove or add to this list? Let me know on Twitter.
And speaking of this incredible title, Sportskeeda Wrestling, Fandu Belts and I have come together to give you a chance to win the belt too. Check out @SKWrestling's post embedded below:
You can also check @mihirjoshimusic's post on Instagram to find out how you can take part in the giveaway!