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This past week on Smackdown Live, AJ Styles entered the building, in typical champion form, with the grandest prize in sports entertainment strapped proudly around his waist. But, despite no specific recognition by WWE itself, some eagle-eyed viewers were able to spot a subtle but clearly noticeable change to the WWE championship.
To the surprise of many the WWE championship, which sports the WWE network logo as its centerpiece, has been modified. Specifically, the bright and eye-catching red swoosh beneath the diamond-encrusted 'W' has been replaced with a much more downplayed black swoosh.
Also, for those of you who take a keen interest in WWE's various championships, the leather also appears to have been replaced with a darker, almost matte black shade, perhaps to match with the other more prominent change.
Whether or not this is a permanent fixture remains to be seen, but what is for certain is that nobody seems to be any the wiser as to what prompted WWE to make the design change.
One potential theory is that this is indeed a temporary solution to a, particularly unimportant problem. Some fans online have suggested that the new black features are to replace the use of the color red on the belt whilst AJ remains champion in order to avoid his blue colored side plates clashing with the WWE network logo.
This, I feel, is an exceptionally unnecessary move should this theory turn out to be correct as there has been absolutely no complaints regarding the appearance of the championship in relation to AJ Styles or his choice of side plates.
However, this is also another theory circulating online that this small change is the first of many to be implemented by WWE over the coming months, with the final intention being to turn the championship almost entirely blue in color for the Smackdown brand, in a similar style as the Universal Championship on Raw.
Considering the severe backlash the Universal Championship received on its debut, this would be a monumental mistake for WWE and, if they're trying to add a sense of credibility and legitimacy to their respective titles, this would not be the way to go about it. Rather, they'd end up looking more like toys than championships. Or perhaps this was the intention all along.
I for one actually prefer the use of the black swoosh as opposed to the red one. Indeed, the red often did stand apart from the rest of the championship and gave it an almost plastic appearance. This is definitely where I would draw the line with supposed changes, however. Nobody, including myself, wants to see an all-blue belt. It would completely ruin the WWE title's appearance and reputation all at once.
Alas, I could be wrong and there could be those out there that would enjoy an entire re-vamp of WWE greatest prize. As of right now, the title looks good and Styles looks great wearing it. Are there any more changes on the horizon? Time will surely tell.
