Image copyright All Elite Wrestling

It is a story that would be right at home on a professional wrestling show.

Chris Jericho defeated Hangman Page to become the inaugural All Elite Wrestling (AEW) world champion on Saturday at wrestling pay-per-view show All Out.

Yet just three days later, the 48-year-old no longer had his newly-won title belt in his possession and reported it to Tallahassee police.

Local police confirmed they are investigating the alleged theft.

AEW had posted a response on their Instagram page, telling worried commenters that "authorities are working on it as we speak" and thanking them for their concern.

But a few hours later Jericho released a video, calling the perpetrator a "low life scumbag" and promising to "launch a worldwide investigation" to find his missing belt.

Image copyright All Elite Wrestling/Twitter Image caption Jericho can usually be seen in-character with his trademark sunglasses, hat and scarf

Jericho is best-known for his time working for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he won the world championship on six occasions and became the company's first "undisputed champion".

His move to AEW in January 2019 was seen as contentious at the time due to his long history with WWE, who had been his employer for almost 20 years.

But Jericho is now firmly associated with new wrestling group AEW, whose president is Fulham FC's vice-chairman Tony Khan.

The alleged theft has sparked humour from fellow wrestlers, with Britt Baker - who lost her match at All Out - joking that she was robbed too.

Image copyright Britt Baker/Twitter Image caption Britt Baker lost a number one contendership match at All Out, denying her the opportunity to challenge for the AEW Women's Championship

There is a storied history of professional wrestlers "stealing" each others' title belts.

From CM Punk to The Rock, there have been countless fake thefts in the wrestling industry, often culminating in a match between the two wrestlers.

But this is not the first time that a world championship belt has been stolen in real life.

TMZ reported in 2012 that the Total Nonstop Action world title, apparently valued at $6,000 (£4,933), was stolen in Iowa when a stagehand was looking away.

The value of the AEW world title is not known.