Are Championship Belts Props?

[sungod2020]

So I've heard this argument made that championships in pro wrestling are props, implying that they are effectively worthless given the sport's(if you want to call it that) predetermined nature. Some will even say they use to mean something until Vince Russo and his brand of sports entertainment watered them down. 

I guess it could be argued that belts(especially World belts) use to be more prestigious. With the big gold belt that represented NWA/WCW, the champion had to put down a $25,000 security deposit, which is a pretty expensive prop to say the least. 

The NWA, in usual cases, would return the deposit and any interest that may have accumulated upon the conclusion of the wrestler's championship reign. They did not do this for Flair before he was terminated by WCW, and since the money was still owed to him by the NWA upon his signing with the WWF, Flair believed that the title belt had become his personal property to do with as he pleased. This caused a hassle between Ric Flair and World Championship Wrestling until the two parties reached an agreement for The Nature Boy to return it to them.

Another case of a championship causing real life friction between two people was in the lead-up to the Montreal Screwjob because Bret Hart didn't want to drop the WWF championship to Shawn Michaels in Canada(or to Shawn Michaels at all) and it was Vince McMahon's job to get it off of him in fear and taking the title to enemy territory, shades of what happened two years earlier when Alundra Blayze/Madusa did just that with their women's championship and threw it in the trash can on live TV.

As a result, The Chairman double-crossed The Hitman by going against the agreed-upon finish as Michaels had him in the sharpshooter by telling referee Earl Hebner to ring the bell. While some may say what McMahon did was wrong, others will argue Bret shouldn't have whined about losing a fake belt he didn't own, and potentially hold it hostage. Whatever the case may be, what's done is done.

As far as the prop argument goes, look no further to David Arquette winning the WCW championship in a nonsensical finish. This was to promote a B move Ready to Rumble. This took place in the dying days of WCW and you can say this was one of the many things that lead to the company's demise.

That being said, whether the belt is given to you as a reward for overcoming your demons and putting on excellent matches(Eddie Guerrero) or as a tool to generate interest in a different country(Jinder Mahal), one thing that can't be argued is this leather strap with gold plates is handed to whoever the company feels like at the time. If you want to be recognized for your determination and sheer tenacity, this isn't the profession for you to get into.

Thoughts?

[GuyOfOwnage]

They're as much a part of the show as gimmicks and storylines, so in that sense, yes, they are props. But I think a solid argument can be made that, for a wrestler to receive one of these props, it indicates some level of faith the company has in them as a performer.

[Feyrhausen]

Yes the belts are props. But they are kayfabe valuable. And they used to show how important someone was as they were given to someone who could draw money.

Treating the belt like a prop is useless. The Infinity Gauntlet was a prop. Would Endgame have made a billion dollars if Iron Man tossed it aside and said this is just some BS.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

They are but, they have value. They have to otherwise, what's the point? All these characters are fighting over a waste of a cow if they don't treat it like it means something.


That's what Russo never understood. Yes, it's a prop. But that doesn't mean you can just toss it aside and treat it like a joke just because it's not "real." You have to keep up the illusion that it's worth risking everything for.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Literally they are, but they're so much more important than that. It was something that people once understood, now it's just used to mock Bret Hart because he really thought he was champion. Vince bullied Jericho until he finally snapped and told Vince to go f*** himself, then Vince got super happy and said "That's what I wanted!! You're the champion. When Bret was champion, he really believed he was"

Your champion is your best guy, how you decide to define that can vary from person to person. It can be your biggest draw, the actual "best worker", whatever you decide that means, the most important person in your angle.

For all it's nonsense and bullshit and how people hated it, the 24/7 Championship was a real championship because R-Truth believed it was. It was important to him. It's a joke, but it's a real thing.

When the wrestlers stop believing why should I? How happy would you be if the mall Santa told your child, "There's no Santa. I'm just playing a character. Everyone is lying to you. You're stupid for even caring."?

[Mozenrath]

Lightsabers, wands, swords, even vehicles like Ecto-1 or the Batmobile... props can be enormously lucrative and respected while still being props. But yeah, like the others are saying, it's like everything else in wrestling. They sell you on the importance with whatever angles and wrestlers they use them for.

[Final Countdown Jones]

"It's just a prop" is a statement backed by inherent contempt for the art of storytelling because also props are things like the briefcase from Pulp Fiction, Michael Myers's mask, the sword in the stone from Arthurian myth, the titular Maltese Falcon, the sled from Citizen Kane, and even the cross Jesus carries when a passion play is being put on. But those 'props' are treated with a certain gravity and respect in their original works that make them highly respected cultural icons and if you said "It's just a prop" about any of the above you'd get looked at like a weirdo who doesn't understand shit. The belt is a prop when it's treated well, the belt is a prop when it's treated poorly. That's an immutable property of the belt as an object that has a meaning in the context of the story that it doesn't truly possess in real life. Debating if it is or isn't a prop is a lost cause because definitionally what's being argued for or against is different from the resolution being sought.

This is all to say Vince Russo is horrifically bad at his job and unable to grasp the basics of storytelling.

But professional pride is never a bad thing. Titles are still a sign of value and still a sign in nearly every case that they have faith in you and that you are talented enough to be worth putting into that spot. Obviously you didn't 'win' that title in a straight-up fight, but it presents your character at their best and is inherently the move into a leading role and a focused spot even before getting into the good that more prominent role/stardom/visibility does financially.

You can look at the Bret holdout against dropping the title to Shawn as purely about a fight prize he won, but that's reductive. Dropping the title to Shawn helps Shawn's career. It positions him as higher than Bret one final time in the story. That's something Bret didn't want to do because he hated Shawn and didn't want to give him a damn thing. The belt was the prop that was being used to do that, but the belt was a proxy.

[eJm]

Jan 24, 2022 22:39:33 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

For all it's nonsense and bullshit and how people hated it, the 24/7 Championship was a real championship because R-Truth believed it was. It was important to him. It's a joke, but it's a real thing.

And what also hurts it as a title is when the “bigger” stars beat up the 24/7 champion and want nothing to do with winning the belt. Like, when R-Truth ran into the women’s Royal Rumble last year, why wasn’t everyone just trying to win that title and not just the guest cameo person? It’s a really minor nitpick but to me watching the show, a belt’s a belt. One of Godfather’s hos realized that with the hardcore title, so did the backstage interviewer, why wouldn’t most of the roster?

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

If they’re booked well, championships are valuable and prestigious props. Bret Hart’s runs with the big eagle belt, Cena with the US belt, Okada and Kobashi during their long title runs, they’re great props because it’s a valuable prize that great competitors want.

If a booker treats them like they’re just junk like Vince Russo did and they’re ping ponged around with garbage matches and lame stips, and they’re talking about the belts as if they’re junk, then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy with the audience that these titles suck and shouldn’t be cared about.

Basically just treat your titles well and your titles will reward you with good business.

[Bo Rida]

Yes but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be meaningful. Look at the reaction videos of Captain America using mjolnir, it's a prop but many movies built it's importance to create that big moment.
It's particularly important in wrestling as in theory that's the throughline, no matter what else changes its essentially the same championship through the decades.

That said it applies to the top titles but it's more interesting when it comes to lesser accomplishments and prizes, they're MacGuffins in a purer sense. Not sure the majority of the audience particularly care about the 24/7 title or dynamite diamond but R-Truth and MJF do so in theory we're still invested in their goal.

[Feyrhausen]

An Academy Award is just a prop. A worthless one too because you cannot even sell it. But winning one means your peers feel you earned it by being the best of whatever you did that year.

Winning a belt used to mean that you drew money. Whether as a popular face or a heel that the popular face could fight against. But either way people paid their money to see you.

Yes it is in real life a prop. But as mentioned in any form of entertainment there are props. Mostly worthless in real life but in that entertainment they are important. Chris Evans could joke on the Tonight Show about how his shield is cheap plastic but why would you ever have Cap say that in a movie. It would make no sense at all.

Which is what Russo and his type of shoot bullshit does not understand. They want to be too cool and hip for this stuff. Then why do it at all? I still point at CM Punks pipebomb as a perfect worked shoot. Lots of insider comments and winks but he never treated wrestling as being fake and the promo ultimately put over the title and how much he wanted it.

[smokinvokoun86]

Brian Zane said it best. “Yes belts are props, but they are the most important props. If wrestling props can be compared to props on the stage, then the World Title is the gun, not the glass of water on the table, or the picture on the wall.”

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Yes they are props, and like props in theatre or movies they need to be used right.

If an entire scene of a play was built around a scene with a gun, and the guy in the scene with the gun held the gun upside down the entire time and nobody acknowledged it because IT'S JUST A PROP BRO then you would think the play sucked. Correctly, no less.

[MrElijah]

Basically, f*** Vince Russo and his booking.

[Hit Girl]

No, they are macguffins, the sought after object that should drive storylines involving them.

[Squirrel Master]

Credit is given to The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elfers

According to Law 37 “Create Compelling Spectacles”
associating yourself with images and symbols will underscore and enhance your power. Use symbols to rally, excite, and unify your followers. Find a symbol to represent your cause, the more emotional the association the better. You can add to the emotional power by incorporating old, revered symbols in new ways.

Incorporate and organize your images and symbols into a show or performance that inspires awe and distracts people from their mundane lives. Always pay attention to how you arrange things visually — put the most important images at the center; use color as well.

[eudypfohl]

For the old timers I think the belts were pretty much worthless unless getting the belt meant you're top dog in the company money wise. Wasn't it Piper that said he turned down the WWF title when he found out there would be no pay raise.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Belts are a symbol that someone has enough value to a promotion that they're worth making the face of their shows and come with a higher profile within the wrestling bubble. Even if they don't get a bump in pay immediately, a former world champ in a major promotion can ask for a more money next time out.

Former kliq members call Bret a mark for taking the title rather than demanding a massive pay increase and expecting money the company wasn't making at the time, but if he wasn't a former world champ, there is little chance he would have gotten the massive WCW deal he eventually got.

[sungod2020]

Jan 25, 2022 6:59:51 GMT -5 eJm said:

Jan 24, 2022 22:39:33 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

For all it's nonsense and bullshit and how people hated it, the 24/7 Championship was a real championship because R-Truth believed it was. It was important to him. It's a joke, but it's a real thing.

And what also hurts it as a title is when the “bigger” stars beat up the 24/7 champion and want nothing to do with winning the belt. Like, when R-Truth ran into the women’s Royal Rumble last year, why wasn’t everyone just trying to win that title and not just the guest cameo person? It’s a really minor nitpick but to me watching the show, a belt’s a belt. One of Godfather’s hos realized that with the hardcore title, so did the backstage interviewer, why wouldn’t most of the roster?

Another moment I can think of is when the Singh brothers were running away from everyone who was chasing them and then they ran into Rowan who decimated them and left it there. He could've easily took their championship as well, but apparently he had no interest in doing so. You're basically sending a message that the belt is for the scrubs.

Even when it was getting stale, the hardcore championship (and the champion holding it) was never treated like THAT much of a joke. You actually had upper midcarders/semi-main eventers going for it(such as Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, RVD, Undertaker etc etc). It had it's comedy moments, yes, the champion was never made to look like a worthless joke, and I feel Steve Blackman gave the belt a much needed edge as well as a revamp for his character, thus benefiting both in the process.

Is there anybody who actually benefited from the 24/7 title? I haven't been watching much of it, so somebody please feel free to fill me in as i'm interested in knowing. 

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

They are but they're important props, like the gun on the mantlepiece