Posted on June 11th, 2012 by BeltFanDan

Before I get to the new belt, I would like to take a minute to go back and evaluate where we came from;

From the day John Cena brought it out, fans have HATED the belt known as the “spinner”. Decades of history and prestige, seemed to be pissed on for a blinged out, spinning hubcap with the WWE logo on it. Personally, I had no problem with the United States belt spinning. It was a nice belt, if fit the character, and it served it’s purpose and was changed back in short time. And yes, I remember with Steve Austin had his custom Smoking Skull belt, and members of the forum will know about the Rock’s custom Brahma Bull belt, that never made it to television. I understand that. It is a gimmick. It is used to enhance a storyline. Even when Edge and Miz customized the Spinner, it was for a very short time. That is effective and works.

In modern WWF/WWE history, the spinner belt is the 2nd longest used design to signify the WWE Champion. The universally loved and forever classic “Winged Eagle” design, was only used 10 years. The peak of the recent wrestling boom, “Big Eagle” and “Undisputed” championships, only lasted a few years each. The Spinner on the other hand, just surpassed it’s 7th year of use. Talk about a joke gone way too far. The Spinner belt will be forever linked to this generation of WWE; The “Cena Era” or the “PG Era”, depending on who you are. Why was the design kept around for so many years? Did it really sell so much merchandise, that it was not good business to change? Was it a way of trying to keep stabilization within a business that changes by the hour? Whatever it is, we might never know. It was a novelty that wore off quick, and the question always asked was “When will we get a new belt?”.

Last week, we saw our first glimpse of the belt that would finally be replacing the Spinner.

Certain people within the belt “underworld”, have been talking about this replacement for the last few months. A credible source claimed to see it in person, and described it as the PRIDE Grand Prix belt with a WWE logo. I personally thought the person was referring to the “Jerk of the Month” belt, featured in WWE Magazine, but as it turns out, I was the one who was incorrect. Unbeknownst to everyone, including the people making the belt, a camera phone photo was taken of the belt, and passed around to a small number of people. Everyone was tight lipped about it, as they should. Then last week, I, along with about 40 other people, get the photo emailed to me, and minutes later someone posted it on the forum. I watermarked the photo, and posted it on the BeltTalk.com Facebook page. After finding out more info, I took the picture down around 20 minutes later. I did not realize the circumstances behind this photo being taken, leaked, etc, and once I found out I removed the image. The image remained on the forum a little longer before being deleted by the poster. The cat was already let out of the bag, and within minutes it was viral, showing up on Reddit, Twitter, other Facebook pages, and dozens of wrestling news websites.

The response to the picture was overwhelmingly negative. There were 2 overall consensus;

The belt was ugly, possibly worse than the spinner The leaked image was merely a side plate, and not the main plate.

Well, the first one is simply a matter of taste. The belt was photographed incomplete, but judging, I would say the plate itself was 95% done. I would guess that the rest of the stones would be put in. Maybe red stones for the WWE logo swoosh, some black paint in the “Champion” banner, and call it a day. Personally, I am liking it, and like it more with each viewing.

The second view, is just wrong. It is NOT a side plate. In the un-cropped picture, you can see unfinished plates for another belt in the lower right hand corner. This properly coveys the scale, and shows it to be a main plate.

The biggest argument for this point of view, is because of what the plate is lacking; no eagle, no globe, and no nameplate. All 3 observations are valid, but who knows if those aspects would be put into the side plates, or maybe this is WWE trying to change things up and simplifying the belts?

For those unaware, the beltmakers have not designed the belts for a long time. Belts are designed internally by WWE. Last I heard, it was the same people who designed the masks and wardrobe. Maybe it has since been moved on to the graphics department? They supply the beltmakers with the belt design. Sometimes there are things in the art that cannot be produced, so edits are made back and forth, before it is approved and submitted for production. As a fan of belts, this is a 2 sided coin. I like that there are fresh concepts and designs being made by people outside the business. Then again, there are graphic designers like Rico Mann, who have been doing this for decades, and if given the artistic freedom, would come up with a mix of classic and contemporary designs that would be tasteful and be considered historic for years to come. Just imagine if the IWGP v3 belt was made for WWE instead? Still, I believe everyone should reserve their final thoughts and criticism of the title, for when the fully finished product debuts.

What does this new belt signify? Clearly, it indicates a changing of the guard within WWE. I think they realized that the Spinner was past it’s expiration date, as well as the whole period it represents. I believe this is the belt that 10 years from now, we will be associating with CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, and the other young stars that will become the future of the business. The belt also signifies the continued push WWE is making to become the GLOBAL brand. As mentioned earlier, there is no eagle and no globe. The most prominent part of the belt is the WWE logo. The logo is the most important part. WWE is a brand, and when you see this belt, you will think WWE. Even non-wrestling fans, will associate this belt with WWE, unlike the Big Gold belt, that when worn by athletes, celebrities, and featured in media, have no connection to WWE in the casual fan’s eye. This new belt will be the icon, representing WWE.

So what else about the belt? No nameplate? I was never sold on the idea that every belt needed a nameplate. I think it’s a trend that got out of hand, and becomes a pain in the butt, when the company wants to put a belt on a new wrestler. Ordering and waiting for a nameplate to fit a specific belt doesn’t make much sense, when a decision to give someone a title, can come 5 minutes before a match. This is how we end up with certain champions having nameplates that look like they were engraved at a mall kiosk, instead of the professional etching done on nameplates of more established stars. Globes? Eagles? Who knows. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a Twitter logo somewhere on it. Maybe a LCD screen with a scrolling marquee of what is currently trending?? Maybe I shouldn’t give them any bright ideas…..

An understated portion, but what I believe to be significant, is the WWE logo, and lack of change. For months, many have speculated that the logo would be updated after seeing media related to the WWE Network. New belt, old logo. Could this only be temporary?

For 7 years, wrestling fans have called for the demise of the spinner. It looks to be coming very soon, possibly at the 1,000th episode of Raw? It will take time to get used to it, but I think the new belt is a step in the right direction for WWE, and will be a title fans will come to tolerate, if not outright like! It’s probably being casted if it hasn’t already, and Wrestling SuperStore will be rolling out $399 replicas of it as soon as they can. Despite all the hate on various websites, I guarantee many will be lining up to purchase them, and tout on YouTube about how awesome it is and how glad they are to finally see the Spinner retired.

Then again, we might just see CM Punk pull a Shane Douglas and be left with a result that will have wrestling fans crying with joy….

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