The first WWE World Heavyweight Championship was given the ultra deluxe replica treatment by Figures Toy Company. See the WWE Big Gold in great detail here.
The Big Gold has spanned three different promotions over four decades: NWA, WCW, and the WWE. It was reintroduced to the WWE in late 2002 and lasted until the end of 2013 when it was unified with the WWE Championship. A new belt was created in mid-2014 and the Big Gold was history.
When the WWE reintroduced the Big Gold championship title in late 2002, it was given several redesigns to become the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The WWE logo was added to the top, the rubies were enlarged, one of the wrestler fixtures on the main plate was flipped, all the floral designs were toned down, and the crown and globe fixtures were slightly altered.
The Figures Toy Company manufactured this ultra deluxe replica of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the mid-2000s. The plates are 4mm thick, solid, and slightly curved. Each ultra deluxe replica is given a numbered certificate of authenticity.
The 52 inch strap of this ultra deluxe replica is a smooth and floppy simulated leather. Although it’s floppy it is still stiff enough to stand up on its own. There is a seashell tooling around the three plates until the snap boxes. The snap boxes are sewn on simulated leather pieces, housing 8×2 male snaps and 5×2 female snaps. The back of the strap is another simulated leather patch with all the licensing and manufacturing information.
The main plate measures approximately 11.25 in high by 12.8 in wide (28.5 x 32.5 cm). There are eight large simulated rubies around the edges and two small simulated rubies in the center crown. Four simulated diamonds are also within the crown piece in front of a nugget textured background.
The top of the main plate features the WWE scratch logo. Below the logo are the words WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT WRESTLING CHAMPION in the same format as the WCW big gold, but the font appears to be different. The globe is below the words with the two wrestling fixtures on the left and right side. The wrestlers on the right side are flipped from the other three throughout the belt, giving the main plate a mirrored appearance; however, the side plates are still exactly the same.
The globe piece is below the crown on the middle of the main plate. The continents are slightly bumpy to simulate the topography but have a mirror finish. The latitude lines are just etched segments of the globe fixture.
The nameplate is located at the bottom of the main plate. The original belts came with your choice of a blank nameplate or an engraved one with: Batista, Michaels, Triple H, RVD, Booker T, Steiner, Kane, Rock, Flair, Hogan, Goldberg, Benoit, or Randy Orton. These days blank or custom engraved nameplates can be purchased from the Wrestling Super Store or Figures Toy Company websites.
The two side plates measure approximately 5.8 in wide by 4 in high (15 x 10 cm) and are completely identical. They feature two wrestlers in the center with floral designs around this piece. Four simulated rubies are on the four corners of each side plate.
The Figures Toy Company design of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was later used with the WWE Shop release, but the detail of the wrestlers are far better in the Figs Toy Co version, and the gold coloring is lighter than the orangish-gold WWE Shop plates. The solid plates and simulated leather strap give the championship belt great weight and a great floppy look. The floral design and rope borders could have much more detail, but the ultra deluxe replicas have shallow etching just like their standard 2mm thick plate replicas. We had to wait several more years until the Figures Toy Company released the Next Generation Big Gold.