The Real Cost Of The New WWE Title And What It Can Mean Moving Forward
The new WWE Championship belt revealed during this week's Smackdown Live came at a price that the company has seen before.
During Daniel Bryan's in-ring segment as he discussed being a hypocrite, thanks to AJ Styles, he proceeded to give an origin story behind the championship - it was made form a cow named Daisy, who was killed to make the belt.
In the middle of his speech, he called for a trash can in which he takes the black, diamond encrusted title and throws it in the garbage leading to his new muscle, Erick Rowan, to hand him the more eco-friendly title made with hemp and multi-colored rocks in place of diamonds.
The change of the title, however, for the champion has come at a price.
The company is trying to make Bryan the controversial villain by having him throw the title into the trash. This is taking a page from the WCW days when Alundra Blaze threw the WWE women's championship into the trash on Nitro.
Her actions sparked outrage from fans then and it looks as if they were using this old trick to add to Bryan's heel character. there was a mild reaction to it but the act quickly turned into a joke with the crowd chanting "goodbye Daisy."
The looks of the title have changed greatly over the past decade starting with John Cena's spinner belt in 2005. It wasn't until 2014 when the company ditched Cena's design and revealed a new title would be held by the likes of Styles, Brock Lesnar, Dean Ambrose and now Bryan.
With the change of the titles, it serves as a means that the company is changing. From 2005-14 the company has become more family-friendly, leaving behind the Attitude Era. But with current segments that promote scandals, walking in on changing female stars, and an increase in profanity, the new belt is a symbol of the company giving us a little bit of the attitude era back, but not as far as Hardcore titles and bra and panties matches.
The question now is what if Bryan loses the title, does the winner receive the old belt back or do they have to lug the Flinstones belt around? But the way they're playing the current champion's character, Bryan may be champion for a long time.