page_title: WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship
section_title: Belt designs
hierarchical_section_title: WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship / Belt designs
caption_attribution_description: English: Professional wrestler Ray Gonzalez during his first run as the World Wrestling Council's (WWC) as the Universal Heavyweight Champion.
context_page_description: The WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. The championship was established in July 1982, as the WWC World Heavyweight Championship, when the company was named Capitol Sports Promotions. The championship received its current name following a match between Carlos Colón and Ric Flair where the "Champion of the Universe" was supposed to be determined. The first champion was Abdullah the Butcher, who was billed as champion upon the title's creation. Since being established, the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship has been held by forty-nine different wrestlers and has also been held up on nineteen occasions and vacated or stripped thirteen times.
context_section_description: The classic design of the belt referenced its origin as a NWA title by adopting the overall design of the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States Heavyweight Championship, albeit with several modifications. The central design that prominently features an eagle was left intact, however, the belt replaced all references to the latter's regional nature by removing all depictions relating to the United States in general. Among the most prominent changes was the replacement of the flag of the United States present on top of the eagle in the NWA Mid-Atlantic title with a representation of two wrestlers locked in a grappling hold, and the replacement of a political map of the United States that was found in an oval located under the eagle's feet with a globe. Another attempt to distance it from its regional inspiration was the removal of an "NWA" inscription on the top of the place, with the Universal Championship featuring a mantling design instead.  
  The NWA Mid-Atlantic title's prominent "United States" inscription was replaced with the word "Universal", written in a slightly different font from its inspiration. Besides these changes, the plaque's design remains consistent with its source, with the only remaining difference being the placement of a set of screws. The main side plates remained round and proportional to its inspiration but were entirely redesigned, with the United States shield being abandoned for a depiction of two wrestlers in mid-hold decorated with mantling. The smaller side plates featured depictions of a royal crown with similar mantling, instead of the scene of two wrestlers struggling before a United States shield and the NWA logo. The belt itself was black, similar to the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States Heavyweight Championship. The plaque and design was used constantly for nearly three decades, with the only notable changes being that the banners and other decorations were changed from its original black coloration to red and that the globe design that was originally golden was painted blue where the water bodies should be.
  WWC commissioned a new belt design to Top Rope Belts in 2008, with the company creating a new template and design to create "something special". The new plaques were created to preserve a "classic feel to [them]" as noted by the manufacturer, which can be discerned with the re-design and relocation of several elements of the classic plaques, such as the eagle (now two smaller eagles flanking a much larger globe), the scene of wrestlers in a hold (now the central element and "stacked" over the globe), its coloration (the new scheme is black, red and blue, unifying both of the classic combinations) and the stars that were originally present in the main banner (which were now distributed throughout the main plaque). The side main side plaques present a modern depiction of the classic's wrestling match. WWC's current logo, adopted in the early 2000s, is now featured prominent on top of the main plaque and in the smaller side plaques. The belt was officially introduced in July 2008, with the first holder being determined in that year's Aniversario event.
caption: Ray González with the classic title belt.
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