Professional wrestling championship
In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalries; these narratives create feuds between the various competitors, which usually cast them as either faces, heels, or more rarely tweeners. The bookers in a company, who decide the winners and where the storyline goes, will place the title on the most accomplished performer or the one they believe will generate fan interest in terms of event attendance and television viewership.
History
Professional wrestling portrays the structure of title match combat sports. Participants compete for a championship, and must defend it after winning it. These titles are represented physically by a championship belt that is worn or carried by the champion. In the case of team wrestling, there is a belt for each member of the team.Almost all professional wrestling promotions have one major title, and some have more. Championships are designated by divisions of weight, height, gender, wrestling style, and other qualifications.
Typically, each promotion only recognizes the "legitimacy" of their own titles, although cross-promotion does happen. When one promotion absorbs or purchases another, the titles from the defunct promotion may continue to be defended in the new promotion or be decommissioned, usually through championship unification.
File:Fabulous Moolah World Champ - Heavyweight Wrestling - 31 August 1970.jpg|thumb|upright|Four-times NWA World Women's Championship The Fabulous Moolah whose combined regime of that title stands at 9,925 days, that is approximately 28 years
Behind the scenes, the bookers in a company will place the title on the most accomplished performer, or those the bookers believe will generate fan interest in terms of event attendance and television viewership. Lower ranked titles may also be used on the performers who show potential, thus allowing them greater exposure to the audience. However, other circumstances may also determine the use of a championship. A combination of a championship's lineage, the caliber of performers as champion, and the frequency and manner of title changes, dictates the audience's perception of the title's quality, significance, and reputation.
A wrestler's championship accomplishments can be central to their career, becoming a measure of their performance ability and drawing power. The most accomplished or decorated wrestlers tend to be revered as legends. American wrestler Ric Flair has had multiple world heavyweight championship reigns spanning over three decades. Japanese wrestler Último Dragón once held and defended a record 10 titles simultaneously.
Championship belt styles
Professional wrestling's championship belts are modeled similarly to the championship belts in boxing, and other combat sports such as mixed martial arts. They are made of elaborately designed plates of gold or other precious metals, usually bearing the name of the title and the wrestling promotion, and is on a leather strap. The color and designs vary with each title and promotion.A wrestler may win a sanctioned championship and redesign the belt itself. Some later became the official belt design. Others were not used after their respective title reign.
While rare, there are cases of championships being represented with items other than belts, such as championship trophies, medals, crowns, etc. An example of this is WWE's NXT Heritage Cup, which is represented with a trophy.
Injured champions
The fate of a title depends on the champion's condition and the importance of the title to the promotion. The champion may be forced to vacate his or her title if the injury becomes too severe and the championship is too important. In May 2015, Daniel Bryan vacated the WWE Intercontinental Championship due to a major concussion and a year before, he had to vacate the world title due to neck surgery. In November 2015, Seth Rollins vacated the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to a knee injury that required surgery.File:WRESTLING NEWS -1 1976 All Star Edition Living Legend BRUNO SAMMARTINO Cover.jpg|thumb|Bruno Sammartino, the longest reigning WWWF World Heavyweight Champion, was able to keep his championship while inactive for part of 1976
However, a champion may keep their title despite a severe injury and despite the championship being quite important. In 1998, Shane Douglas kept the ECW World Heavyweight Championship while sidelined. In 2005, Trish Stratus kept the WWE Women's Championship while sidelined with a herniated disk for four months. In 2012, CM Punk kept the WWE Championship while undergoing and recovering from knee surgery. In 2015, Ryback kept the WWE Intercontinental Championship while recovering from a knee infection.
In All Elite Wrestling, when a champion gets injured, a match is held to determine an interim champion until the lineal champion is cleared to compete, after which a match is held between the two to crown an undisputed champion. For example, Jon Moxley became interim AEW World Champion in June 2022 after then-lineal champion, CM Punk, was sidelined with a foot injury. When Punk returned in August, Moxley defeated him in a match to become the undisputed champion. These interim reigns are not recognized as official reigns. However, if the lineal champion's injury renders them indefinitely sidelined, they can forfeit the championship and the interim champion becomes the lineal champion. An example of this happened in November 2022, when it was announced that then-lineal AEW Women's World Champion, Thunder Rosa relinquished the title due to a back injury she suffered in August. As a result, then-interim champion, Jamie Hayter, became the official champion.
Before the 1980s when title matches were rare, some champions could keep their titles even when injured; Bruno Sammartino kept his WWWF World Heavyweight Championship from April to June 1976 despite being injured by a botched body slam from Stan Hansen. In Mexico, this situation still occurs, but in Japan, it is becoming increasingly rare as champions are needed to be present in regular tours even when titles are not defended.
Classifications
Professional wrestling championships are often split up into various different classifications, each of which designate varying levels of importance to the belts.World championships
The world heavyweight championship is the name given to the championship that is typically presented as being the most prestigious of those contested within a promotion. The wrestler holding a championship with this name is most commonly referred to as the "world heavyweight champion" or "world champion".Since professional wrestling is scripted, there is no promotion or group of people that recognize one official world title of the industry.
Instead, each promotion can promote their top title as a world title, with some of them promoting title matches around the world to claim the designation. Some promotions may even recognize multiple world championships, such as is the case with WWE, as due to the large size of its roster, the promotion splits its roster into what they call brands where talent exclusively perform and their two main brands each have their own world championship.
The first widely recognized world heavyweight championship was the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, created in 1905, and the inaugural champion was George Hackenschmidt. The lineage of many prominent contemporary world championships can be traced back to the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, with the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship considered its direct successor, with many world championships having been spun off from the NWA's title.
Location-specific championships
A very common championship variation. The championship usually specifies the location on where the promotion is based, an example being WWE's WWE United States Championship. Sometimes it may specify a specific state or territory, such as the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship. It is also common to be a smaller division of the world, an example being the WWE Intercontinental Championship, the TNA International Championship, or the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship. It is very common for these variations to be the second most prestigious championship in a promotion, but exceptions have existed, like the now defunct WWE European Championship, which served as the company's tertiary singles championship, and the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, which many NWA territories created versions of and promoted as their most prestigious championship whenever the NWA World Heavyweight Champion was not around.Weight class championships
Another common classification of championships are by weight classes. Given the scripted nature of professional wrestling matches, weight classes are not always strictly adhered to. Typically, promotions prefer to have a heavyweight title as their top prize, with other designations, such as cruiserweight, middleweight, or light-heavyweight titles. Promotions often have one sub-heavyweight classification, while others sometimes may have more. Mountevans' committee created seven formal weight divisions:- Lightweight
- Welterweight
- Middleweight
- Heavy middleweight
- Light heavyweight
- Mid-heavyweight
- Heavyweight
- Flyweight
- Bantamweight
- Featherweight
- Lightweight
- Super Lightweight
- Welterweight
- Super Welterweight
- Middleweight
- Super Middleweight/Junior Light Heavyweight
- Light Heavyweight
- Junior Heavyweight/Cruiserweight
- Heavyweight