This temporary WCW World Heavyweight Championship lasted from 1991 to 1994, and was given an ultra deluxe replica by the Figures Toy Company. See the details and read the story here.
The story goes that back in the early 1990s, WCW management wanted to renegotiate Ric Flair’s contract for less money. Flair denied the pay cut, and was ultimately released from the company. At the time, Flair was the NWA / WCW Champion, and the NWA allowed him to remain champion in independent promotions and overseas. Additionally, WCW management refused to return the $25,000 deposit to Flair for the championship belt. Naturally, Ric Flair held onto the belt until he received his money, and he took the Big Gold with him to the WWF.
WCW still needed a championship belt for their new world champion, so this belt from an independent wrestling organization was used and slightly modified with the “WORLD” part added to the main plate. When Flair returned to the WCW with the Big Gold, a unification match was made for the two titles, and the Big Gold was temporarily referred to as the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship. Only a handful of champions held this design: Lex Luger, Sting, Big Van Vader, and the first black world wrestling champion Ron Simmons.
After the WWE purchased the WCW in 2001, they licensed this belt to be manufactured by the Figures Toy Company in the early 2000s. This particular belt is an ultra deluxe replica, meaning it has 4mm thick plates on a leather strap. Ultra Deluxe replicas also originally came with a numbered certificate of authenticity, but the collector I purchased this from did not have it.
The WCW World Heavyweight Championship 91-94 has a total of six metal plates with a light-gold coloring and a mirror finish. They are screwed onto a leather strap measuring approximately 49.5 in long. The main plate is approximately 9 inches wide by 10 inches tall (22.5 x 25.5 cm), the first two side plates are approximately 2.75 x 4.5 in (7 x 11.5 cm) when measured from the center, the second two side plates are approximately 2.75 x 4 in (7 x 10 cm) when measured from the center, and the WCW World Champion side plate is approximately 4 x 1.8 in (10 x 4.5cm) when measured from the top of the plate.
The entire main plate is almost a circular plus-sign (+) shape. It features the WCW logo etched in gold within a black-painted oval at the very top-center of the main plate. Below the logo is the word “WORLD” etched into the gold plate. Below WORLD is a black-painted banner with the word “HEAVYWEIGHT” in gold. In the center of the main plate is a light-blue painted globe with gold continents, alongside latitude and longitude lines. Below the globe is a black-painted banner with the words “WRESTLING CHAMPION” in gold. To the left and right of the globe are three stars in a downward diagonal pattern (six in total). Lines are etched along the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the main plate, giving it a sort of shining sun design.
The four side plates also have a shining line design, but these extend out of the top and bottom of the plates, giving them a spiky look. There are 13 spikes on top and 13 spikes on bottom.
The first two side plates have a WCW logo etched in gold within a black-painted oval at the top. In the center is a globe in the same design as the main plate. The two side plates are completely identical.
The second two side plates have a WCW logo at the top, etched in gold within a black-painted oval. In the center are two wrestlers, one performing a headlock on the other. Some leaf design is etched in a circular pattern around these wrestlers, and four stars are placed at the top-left, top-right, bottom-left, and bottom-right of this center piece. These second side plates are nearly identical, but mirrored from each other.
A sixth plate is on the right-side of the belt. It has the WCW logo in gold behind a black background, and the words “WORLD CHAMPION” are painted in black behind a gold border beneath the WCW logo.
A seashell tooling is pressed into the strap around the five main plates. Plain snap boxes are sewn on the edges of the strap with 8×2 male snaps and 5×2 female snaps. A metal belt tip is screwed onto the right side of the strap next to the female snaps. Additional belt tips can be purchased from the Wrestling Super Store and Figures Toy Company. The back of the strap has a leather patch sewn on with all the official licensing information from the WWE and Figures Toy Company.
Like all other ultra deluxe replicas from the Figures Toy Company, the plates might be 4mm thick but the etching is still as shallow as their 2mm replicas. The WWE Shop released an upgraded version of this belt with deeper etching and a strap that covers the screws, but the plates are hollow and much lighter in weight compared to the ultra deluxe replicas. Also the WWE Shop’s straps are faux leather and incredibly stiff while this ultra deluxe replica has a soft and floppy strap. The design of this belt is nowhere near my favorites. I only own it because of its history in WCW, although the side plates remind me of the winged eagle belt. The Figures Toy Company replicas of this belt can be tough to find. It’s probably easier and cheaper to get the newer WWE Shop replica.