The PROGRESS World Championship in latter years has become known as a golden ticket to wrestling stardom. Similarly, the ICW World Championship acts as an inroad to prominence in the current wrestling world, with an overseas defence compelling the promotion to rename it from the ICW National Heavyweight Championship in 2015. This formalisation was unnecessary. When, for example, WWE announced the creation of the Universal Championship in 2016, it met no such criteria. It was received as a World Championship before it was even defended in the U.S.. It is received as a World Championship when it's barely defended now. That's WWE for you, hence the inclusion here of a certain blue makeweight.
It's also wrestling, plain and simple; whether or not a title is worthy of the World designation is a pure work.
CMLL, AAA and even the Americanised Lucha Underground are not included here, partly because your writer admits almost total in-depth ignorance of the lucha libre scene, but also because, in the case of the former league - by some distance the most enduring, popular and prestigious of the three - the 'World' designation is distributed across several weight divisions.
Ultimately, it's a subjective feeling; which championships project themselves aschampionships as a result of history, scale, reach and longevity of promotion, protection, perception on the international stage...?
14. NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Held only by the best of the best - those able to draw the biggest crowds across most of the United States by putting on the best matches - it was once the very pinnacle of wrestling achievement, a true notion rendered antiquated, filtered as history is through WWE's lens. Since Douglas crossed the line, the title suffered an even more drastic downturn in fortunes, its once impossible lustre only serving to magnify the minuscule credibility of those who tried, haplessly, to sell it as a prize in the pre- and post-TNA eras. Mike Rapada, Kahagas, Rob Conway: all and more were not even deemed worthy of the acclaimed reaches of an independent scene yet to explode. The title lineage became, in effect, a fiendishly difficult question in a pro wrestling quiz; a quaint footnote to a forever-changing industry
Thought completely dead, it is in fact dormant.
In a quite unbelievable turn of events, it is coveted by Cody, who will challenge for it in front of 10,000 fans on 1 September. Cody was a great worker before his grand reinvention; he convinced many fans that the Intercontinental Title meant something again, purely because he said so and restored its original design.
He may yet do do the same with ten pounds of gold.
13. SmackDown Women's Championship
Initially held by Becky Lynch, who hasn't really orbited it since, reinforcing the above, it felt initially like the main roster equivalent of the title that eluded her in NXT. Quickly, this nascent prestige crumbled. Alexa Bliss captured the title before she grew into the performer she is today before, in a cynical gesture defying any commitment to a careful lineage, Naomi was handed the blue belt for a second time purely to engineer a feel-good hometown WrestleMania "moment" in Orlando - the patently engineered element undermining the celebrations.
Naomi subsequently feuded with Natalya throughout the summer of 2017 when neither woman was the most over nor talented in the division, all but confirming that the title was, in more than one definition, a prop: a mere signifier used to support those who competed for it. The brief rivalry between Charlotte Flair and Asuka was an aberration; the belt is now worn by Carmella, a comedy undercard act whose male equivalent - Elias - would never wear the Universal Title at this stage in his career.
If Tamina alone is the rule-proving exception, a dire rule must be in place.
12. Impact Wrestling World Championship
If you weighed each of these physical belts they, together, would not add up to one ten pounds of gold.
The most prominent of those straps is the Impact Wrestling World Championship, a title that has lost its glow in direct parallel with the organisation that promotes it. Much like its top prize, the entire promotion has the air of a vanity project in 2018. Several men, great wrestling minds and rock star benefactors alike, seemed or seem interested in reviving the brand, all to little or no avail. Impact is stigmatised as a dreaded star-free skyline. That was always its sole selling point, in the halcyon days in which it was considered North America's no. 2 promotion. Despite the Reverse Battle Royals and the Feast Or Fired disasters, there was always a genuine star operating in world class form, or a dream match made real, alerting scorned fans to its lighthouse.
Not so anymore; Impact doesn't even project the significance of a cult independent, irrespective of its not inconsiderable in-ring quality. In-ring quality is the norm in this electrifying era of the art. Since Impact is much of a muchness, and no longer boasts any selling point, it's difficult to buy into even the "unified" World Championship as a World Championship.
11. GHC Heavyweight Championship (Pro Wrestling NOAH)
His GHC Heavyweight Championship reign began triumphantly - with a career-first victory over Mitsuharu Misawa, years in the waiting, in one of the greatest matches of all time - and somehow, Kobashi maintained the standard. Battling all comers across several promotions, Kobashi drew effusive critical praise and gigantic box office alike between 2003 and 2005, wrestling matches even more dramatic than they were absurdly stiff.
Ironically, while NOAH was formed and named to separate itself from All Japan Pro Wrestling in 2000, they are not dissimilar at all 18 years later. Both promotions struggle gamely on as shadows of their former selves - but, like, AJPW, there is a crack of light pouring into the darkness, as represented by a strong in-ring product illuminating a roster that is only missable relative to a preposterous international standard. The prestige of the title is barely there, however, fun as it is to dip back into the product on an occasional basis following the banishment of Suzuki-gun in 2016. A truly powerful pro wrestling title should attract attention.
The GHC Heavyweight Championship can no longer compete, even if the competition itself is of high quality.
10. Open The Dream Gate Championship (Dragon Gate)
The landmark six-man match was beyond exhilarating.
Those seduced it by found yet more riches in the promotion itself - though the doubles and trios action was the promotion's key strength, lessening the must-see appeal of its nominal top prize, the very beauty of which, with its unique locked gatefold metal design, was a sumptuous reflection of the gorgeous in-ring action. Dragon Gate simply operates under a different narrative philosophy, preferring gang warfare over the pursuit of individual glory.
Dragon Gate has retained a core domestic audience - it remains the second-biggest group in Japan - but it feels like a promotion trapped in time, having discovered and not deviated from a niche style that, no matter how well performed, suffers from the law of diminishing returns in 2018. That style remains in place in parallel with its top stars, who largely retain a stranglehold over the top title.
Once the freshest promotion on the face of the planet, the Dragon's smoke has grown stale.
9. Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (All Japan Pro Wrestling)
Misawa wore a stoic expression to reflect that inflexible hold. Completely unflappable, he boasted an immensely powerful, tiered repertoire calibrated to counter everything his opponents threw at him. Only in the rarest of circumstances did Misawa relinquish his crown(s); it required a career performance to best him, as demonstrated through three year-plus reigns out of five. When Misawa relinquished All Japan Pro Wrestling altogether, to form Pro Wrestling NOAH, everything diminished: television presence, crowd numbers, star talent, and, naturally the lustre of the prize. Great talents did go on to hold it in those wilderness years, but it wasn't the same. All Japan was barren.
The only echo back to its once-awesome aura is literal; Joe Doering's not-bad-at-all Stan Hansen tribute act endeared him to a diminished but loyal public, as the rest of his main event peers also earned plaudits over the last year or so for a much-improved in-ring output.
8. WWE Universal Championship
Theoretically, this should furnish the belt with a special aura and create a sense of expectation and occasion surrounding the rare times in which it is defended. In reality, Lesnar's matches are now something to dread; he ambles through bare minimum performances against opponents inconvenient (Braun Strowman, No Mercy '17) or complete filler (Kane, Royal Rumble '18) purely to waste time ahead of Roman Reigns' coronation... a coronation that is only forthcoming upon fan acceptance. Since this isn't happening, the title is something we don't see defended, and don't want to see defended. Lost, but then, not won.
Purgatory is the word.
It might as well not exist, but it needs to exist to provide Monday Night RAW with a narrative focal point and its attendant stakes. It's less a wrestling achievement, more cholera, only with an unimaginative design and colour scheme. Even prior to this current Reign of Terror II, the Universal Championship suffered from a curious lack of prestige.
Finn Bálor's relinquishment of it begat what essentially was a comedy reign amassed by Kevin Owens, with virtually all of his successful defences ending via TV-style carny chicanery, disassociating the belt from the big-time PPV feel it is meant to generate.
7. RAW Women's Championship
A level well above its blue brand counterpart, the RAW Women's Championship feels more prestigious owing to its headlining, on merit, a pay-per-view - Hell In A Cell - in 2016.
The featured, over programme between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks did much to portray the prize as a big one, in parallel with its big-time "Queen Bee of PPV" performer. And, while Alexa Bliss entered in-ring performances a notch below those of the Three Horsewomen she usurped as the talisman of the division, the fictional integrity of the belt was preserved through two 100+ day stints. It was a prize much of the audience would not have deemed unmissable, but unattainable enough to warrant a not inconsiderable degree of credibility. Used subsequently as a trinket in an overt anti-bullying advert for much of 2018, Nia Jax delivers very little in the way of credibility as a performer and a character, tarnishing the belt she wore before Alexa Bliss cashed in at Money In The Bank.
The mere presence of Ronda Rousey in the challenger's role however elevates it in prestige, which proves true the adage that the star makes the title, and the title can't make a star - an adage to which SmackDown creative would be wise to adhere.
The featured, over programme between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks did much to portray the prize as a big one, in parallel with its big-time "Queen Bee of PPV" performer. And, while Alexa Bliss entered in-ring performances a notch below those of the Three Horsewomen she usurped as the talisman of the division, the fictional integrity of the belt was preserved through two 100+ day stints. It was a prize much of the audience would not have deemed unmissable, but unattainable enough to warrant a not inconsiderable degree of credibility. Used subsequently as a trinket in an overt anti-bullying advert for much of 2018, Nia Jax delivers very little in the way of credibility as a performer and a character, tarnishing the belt she wore before Alexa Bliss cashed in at Money In The Bank.
The mere presence of Ronda Rousey in the challenger's role however elevates it in prestige, which proves true the adage that the star makes the title, and the title can't make a star - an adage to which SmackDown creative would be wise to adhere.
6. Ring Of Honor World Championship
Analogous to the PWG World Title, the Ring Of Honor World Championship is both commendation of in-ring achievement and a CV for its holders' mainstream sports entertainment future.
Its history is glorified through its grand influence over the mainstream world and awesome in-ring legacy alike; Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson in particular enjoyed epic reigns that ultimately proved flattering the comparisons made between ROH and the '90s Japanese promotions to which it was indebted. Moreover, ROH, on an incredible creative tear throughout its mid-2000s critical height, did well to deviate from a somewhat dry formula by booking CM Punk to disrespect it ahead of his move to WWE. Depicting it as something sacred enough to draw the ire of its rabid fanbase was a ballsy move. It paid off; the belt only grew in prominence before the rather literal puro impressions of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards overdid things.
In its present day incarnation, restored by the likes of Adam Cole and Jay Lethal, the sheer devotion and panache with which Cody clung to it renders it something akin to the realisation of a career-long dream, as opposed to a stepping stone to bigger things - even if the relatively underwhelming ROH in-ring standard is distant to the cult prestige of old.
How much that actually matters might be irrelevant; ROH is a rising business drawing record crowds.
5. PWG World Heavyweight Championship
Its history is glorified through its grand influence over the mainstream world and awesome in-ring legacy alike; Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson in particular enjoyed epic reigns that ultimately proved flattering the comparisons made between ROH and the '90s Japanese promotions to which it was indebted. Moreover, ROH, on an incredible creative tear throughout its mid-2000s critical height, did well to deviate from a somewhat dry formula by booking CM Punk to disrespect it ahead of his move to WWE. Depicting it as something sacred enough to draw the ire of its rabid fanbase was a ballsy move. It paid off; the belt only grew in prominence before the rather literal puro impressions of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards overdid things.
In its present day incarnation, restored by the likes of Adam Cole and Jay Lethal, the sheer devotion and panache with which Cody clung to it renders it something akin to the realisation of a career-long dream, as opposed to a stepping stone to bigger things - even if the relatively underwhelming ROH in-ring standard is distant to the cult prestige of old.
How much that actually matters might be irrelevant; ROH is a rising business drawing record crowds.
5. PWG World Heavyweight Championship
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is not for everybody.
A very niche promotion, even some of those attuned to its often awe-inspiring, elite-level in-ring work cannot abide by its often obnoxious meta commentary. The snarky nature of it challenges suspension of disbelief even when the performers commit to that tenet between the ropes. This isn't always the case.
PWG is built on a foundation of pure, no-frills, unregulated creativity. Sometimes, this creativity manifests as state-of-the-art in-ring storytelling. Other times, it manifests as total banter wrestling which, earnest and enthusiastic as it may be, is more geared towards the live audience in the moment than it is the fan watching on expensive home video months after the magic of that in-joke has dissipated. Many times, it feels as though you're not part of it.
Objectively, PWG is the proving ground for the performers of tomorrow. Those who get over in PWG, in front of its rabid but discerning audience, get over everywhere. WWE does not enjoy a working relationship with PWG, but it is, in effect, the feeder league, producing far more successful NXT and main roster acts than its own, official, incredibly expensive Performance Center. Kevin Owens; Cesaro; Sami Zayn; Adam Cole; Ricochet; AJ Styles; Daniel Bryan; Kyle O'Reilly; Roderick Strong; Keith Lee: all of these men elevated the PWG World Heavyweight Title as both a prestigious accomplishment in itself and the symbol of potential superstardom.
Brian Eno once said of the Velvet Underground that, while never a hugely successful band in their own right, "everybody who bought those 30,000 copies formed a band".
Most everybody to wear the PWG Title used its reputation to form theirs.
A very niche promotion, even some of those attuned to its often awe-inspiring, elite-level in-ring work cannot abide by its often obnoxious meta commentary. The snarky nature of it challenges suspension of disbelief even when the performers commit to that tenet between the ropes. This isn't always the case.
PWG is built on a foundation of pure, no-frills, unregulated creativity. Sometimes, this creativity manifests as state-of-the-art in-ring storytelling. Other times, it manifests as total banter wrestling which, earnest and enthusiastic as it may be, is more geared towards the live audience in the moment than it is the fan watching on expensive home video months after the magic of that in-joke has dissipated. Many times, it feels as though you're not part of it.
Objectively, PWG is the proving ground for the performers of tomorrow. Those who get over in PWG, in front of its rabid but discerning audience, get over everywhere. WWE does not enjoy a working relationship with PWG, but it is, in effect, the feeder league, producing far more successful NXT and main roster acts than its own, official, incredibly expensive Performance Center. Kevin Owens; Cesaro; Sami Zayn; Adam Cole; Ricochet; AJ Styles; Daniel Bryan; Kyle O'Reilly; Roderick Strong; Keith Lee: all of these men elevated the PWG World Heavyweight Title as both a prestigious accomplishment in itself and the symbol of potential superstardom.
Brian Eno once said of the Velvet Underground that, while never a hugely successful band in their own right, "everybody who bought those 30,000 copies formed a band".
Most everybody to wear the PWG Title used its reputation to form theirs.
4. NXT Championship
While something of a poisoned chalice - NXT Champions invariably meet a less-than-prestigious fate on WWE's main roster proper - the title, on its own terms, is something genuinely worth the investment.
Immediately following the inaugural coronation of Seth Rollins, the title was FCW-lite, used, very optimistically, to push in-house babyface prospects Big E Langston and Bo Dallas. As the face of NXT changed into both glorified Super Indy and glorious teaser trailer for a WWE proper as envisioned by Triple H, so too did the faces holding the title aloft. Finn Bálor resumed the role of Adrian Neville, fighting babyface champion, maintaining also his impeccable, progressive in-ring standard. There is no going back now, following the reigns of Shinsuke Nakamura, Andrade 'Cien' Almas and Aleister Black: the NXT Champion is a role occupied by fire in-ring talents.
The NXT Title, like the very brand, is wonderfully antithetical to its main roster counterpart. It is held more often than not by the talismanic and heroic, utterly unsullied by dire sports entertainment non-finishes. It resonates as something worth fighting for - something that definitively proves its holder the best the brand has to offer.
It is not a mere narrative device; it is a title - even if there is a certain, calculated, even formulaic quality that determines who holds it.
3. NXT Women's Championship
The cachet of the NXT Women's Championship was forged through several huge feats, both personal and professional.
The very premise of it centred around a drive to break ground, as Paige and the Four Horsewomen sought to exterminate the Divas mentality and redefine Women's wrestling in North America. Once established as a legitimate professional achievement, a personal cost and accomplishment element became more pronounced. Bayley grew up dreaming of legitimising women's wrestling years before even the Divas era; after an uplifting and hard-earned character arc, she achieved that dream in, to borrow a phrase from WWE itself, the first-ever unequivocal, no-caveats-needed classic women's WWE match at the original Brooklyn TakeOver.
No matter the extent to which Bayley worked to realise that dream, she was not ready for Asuka. Asuka dominated and redefined the title once more, swatting away all comers in a legendary reign boasting several classic matches, commanding an aura second only to her compatriot Kazuchika Okada. It is this sense of credibility with which Shayna Baszler continues an incredible lineage, having unceremoniously tapped out the only champion that came close to dreaded "paper" status: Ember Moon.
With that rare transition a dim memory - the title is very well-protected, enriching its prestige - the NXT Women's Title exists as the all-too-rare pinnacle of professional wrestling achievement, as difficult to reach as it is immensely rewarding to witness.
2. WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is bulletproof.
It doesn't matter that it rarely headlines pay-per-views in 2018. It doesn't matter that the current holder, AJ Styles, has entered relatively underwhelming performances of late, not helped by dire handicap and undermined stipulations. It doesn't matter that it was wrapped around the waist of Jinder "F*cking" Mahal in a risible rupee quest last year, nor does it matter that it was used just prior to that as a last-ditch attempt to prop Bray Wyatt up.
The WWE Heavyweight Title has been used for dubious means in the past, and invariably recovered.
1. IWGP Heavyweight Championship (NJPW)
It doesn't matter that it rarely headlines pay-per-views in 2018. It doesn't matter that the current holder, AJ Styles, has entered relatively underwhelming performances of late, not helped by dire handicap and undermined stipulations. It doesn't matter that it was wrapped around the waist of Jinder "F*cking" Mahal in a risible rupee quest last year, nor does it matter that it was used just prior to that as a last-ditch attempt to prop Bray Wyatt up.
The WWE Heavyweight Title has been used for dubious means in the past, and invariably recovered.
Its prestige is informed by decades of in-ring genius and unparalleled PPV box office. It's little wonder that WWE attempts so often to make the man via the title, so synonymous is it with household names, diverse classic matches that make something of a mockery of the "WWE style" accusations, and awesome in-ring rivalries. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels became Gollum-like bastardisations of themselves in pursuit of it in 1997.
Its importance is that critical.
Your writer is almost apoplectic at the quality of WWE's output, post-WrestleMania 34 - to such an extent that this cynicism sometimes obscures the good. Even I will never doubt the legitimacy of the WWE Title. It is the apex of sports entertainment achievement - a near-constant source of escapism longtime fans use as the last bastion of belief.
But not pro wrestling achievement...
Its importance is that critical.
Your writer is almost apoplectic at the quality of WWE's output, post-WrestleMania 34 - to such an extent that this cynicism sometimes obscures the good. Even I will never doubt the legitimacy of the WWE Title. It is the apex of sports entertainment achievement - a near-constant source of escapism longtime fans use as the last bastion of belief.
But not pro wrestling achievement...
1. IWGP Heavyweight Championship (NJPW)
Ahead of every IWGP Heavyweight Championship defence, NJPW screens a montage of its former champions backed by an irresistibly triumphant orchestral arrangement.
In just minutes, years of incredible history are planted in the minds of the audience, who are conditioned to expect something momentous, and the performers, challenged to create something momentous. New Japan puts over the prestige of the Championship before its holder even wears it to the ring. Inside that ring, greatness occurs. Invariably.
The promotion's current Golden Age was largely forged through Hiroshi Tanahashi, whose savvy, fiery babyface sensation of an act restored what it meant to be a World Champion in the eyes of Japanese fans disenfranchised by Inokism. The Ace also redefined the pro wrestling art form with his awesome, trademark, much-imitated reversal-crammed finishing sequences. The man who supplanted him, Kazuchika Okada, excelled through his aloof, God-like mastery of the art.
The man who supplanted him, Kenny Omega, is an entirely new breed of pro wrestling athlete, able to hold the attention of audiences with incredible marathon performances that in turn portray his newly-won prize as something for which only an impossible standard is conceivable to secure it. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is protected through its impenetrability.
The IWGP Heavyweight Championship isn't merely the prize for which the world's elite compete; it is now the prize for which the greatest of all time compete in a glorious present.
In just minutes, years of incredible history are planted in the minds of the audience, who are conditioned to expect something momentous, and the performers, challenged to create something momentous. New Japan puts over the prestige of the Championship before its holder even wears it to the ring. Inside that ring, greatness occurs. Invariably.
The promotion's current Golden Age was largely forged through Hiroshi Tanahashi, whose savvy, fiery babyface sensation of an act restored what it meant to be a World Champion in the eyes of Japanese fans disenfranchised by Inokism. The Ace also redefined the pro wrestling art form with his awesome, trademark, much-imitated reversal-crammed finishing sequences. The man who supplanted him, Kazuchika Okada, excelled through his aloof, God-like mastery of the art.
The man who supplanted him, Kenny Omega, is an entirely new breed of pro wrestling athlete, able to hold the attention of audiences with incredible marathon performances that in turn portray his newly-won prize as something for which only an impossible standard is conceivable to secure it. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is protected through its impenetrability.
The IWGP Heavyweight Championship isn't merely the prize for which the world's elite compete; it is now the prize for which the greatest of all time compete in a glorious present.
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