I’m all in the new NWA. Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana are doing great work, and their willingness to partner with other companies and work with talent has beena crucial part of the growth of non-WWE wrestling the past year. It’s nothing short of amazing how quickly they made their Worlds title once again feel like a crucial, vital part of the scene.
But... I’m not sure about the design for their redesigned National Heavyweight championship belt.
The title will be reintroduced this Sun., Oct. 21 at their NWA 70 pay-per-view (PPV) from Nashville. Scorpio Sky, Mike Parrow, Ricky Starks, Willie Mack, Colt Cabana, Samuel Shaw, Jay Bradley, and Sammy Guevara will compete to become the first man to hold... this:
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It’s different, I’ll give them that. But the red reptile skin really isn’t working for me. Especially in comparison to some of the past designs for this belt.
The metal pieces look cool, although I’m not sold on having the old-timey travel postcard elements like a seahorse in California and I guess a conch shell in New England as part of the main logo.
Kick it around, Cagesiders. I am not a belt scholar, so if this is deliberately evocative of a territories era design I’m unfamiliar with, I will happily accept an education from someone who is. Probably still won’t like the strap (simple brown leather would have driven home the back-to-basics aesthetic Billy & Dave seem to be going for in all other areas better than something borderline garish), but I like learning.
While you’re preparing your critique, here’s something we can all agree on - the latest, great-as-usual video from the NWA team that hypes the match and unveils the belt: