I always felt that Hogan “needed” the belt; it was that much a part of his character.
To me, Hulkster definintely seemed better with it.
Austin’s pursuit of the title from HBK was extremely entertaining.
I still remember the segments where he threw his I.C. belt into the river, as well as when he stole Shawn’s belt - replacing it with one of the souvenir foam replicas.
But, Austin was still entertaining as hell after that during his feud with Vince, so I wouldn‘t say he needed the belt, nor did he even need to chase it.
From that perspective, I think I enjoyed him a little more without the title.
I agree with Tim that the belt looked perfect on Hennig (no pun intended), and Curt should have had the big belt in the Fed at some point.
We can draw comparisons to his I.C. reign, and I don't think that not having a belt ever diminished the Mr. P image.
I never thought Curt was any better with, or without the title.
He was always great.
Savage & Flair also did their belts tremendous justice.
The expensive, sequined robes and the way they made a big ritual out of removing them and the belt really added to the extravagance of the title AND the champ.
Also, nothing beat Flair holding the neatly folded NWA strap while wearing his Armani suit, Rolex, gold ring, and $200 sunglasses.
I also remember Flair referring to the new, big gold WCW title costing $40,000.
While many guys simply let the title enhance them, Flair actually enhanced the title...like no other.
But, Flair carved out an incredible reputation for himself.
He didn’t need the belt to “be the man.”
