Any fans tuned into the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby on Monday night (July 13), seen hometown Cincinnati Reds' hero Todd Frazier hoisting the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt over his head in celebration of being crowned the contest's new king.
Triple H, the WWE's Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative and former 13-time world champion, even tweeted:
No better way to celebrate a win than with a @WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Congrats @FlavaFraz21 @MLB #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/Xsg0EikPf5
— Triple H (@TripleH) July 14, 2015
But Frazier's celebration with the WWE title marks just one of many times that athletes from championship-winning teams have proudly rocked the world heavyweight championship strap. When reaching out to the WWE, the company told Tech Times that the belt giveaway is a longstanding tradition between the sports entertainment juggernaut and winning athletes and teams in other sports.
"WWE sends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship title to athletes and teams either through an individual athlete's representation or to team officials," the company wrote in a statement to Tech Times on Wednesday afternoon (July 15). "WWE has sent the Championship title to various teams and athletes for a number of years."
In some cases, they're customized with team logos for the ultimate nod of respect in one champion recognizing another. "The WWE World Heavyweight Championship title signifies the pinnacle of greatness, and it is our honor to present it to those outside of WWE who have achieved this championship level status in their own field," the company's statement continued saying.
"We think it is a fitting tribute to the best of the best." And the best of the best across a range of sports have been recipients of the belt through the years with most recently the World Cup-winning U.S. women's national soccer team, Stanley Cup winner Chicago Blackhawks, NBA champion Golden State Warriors and Hunter Pence of the World Series-winning San Francisco Giants all seen celebrating with the WWE title belt.
Even before the recent rash of athletes and teams showing off the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, LeBron James tweeted how he could get one and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson responded by sending him one of his WWE-custom belts.
The company itself then sent the entire Miami Heat titles after they repeated as NBA champions in 2013. Perhaps King James got the idea from the Dallas Mavericks, who defeated his-then Heat team, and celebrated with the WWE belt in 2011. Other star athletes such as Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, David Ortiz and NASCAR's Kyle Busch all celebrated with the WWE strap as well.
It's amazing that no major sports league has taken objection to such celebrations. Here are some of our favorite moments with title-winning teams and athletes posing with the WWE belt. Megan Rapinoe from the U.S. women's national title team posed with the belt around her waist.
Congratulations to @mPinoe and the entire #USWNT on their World Cup win!#EnjoyTheChampionship #WorldCupChampions pic.twitter.com/fzHvwG61kS — Triple H (@TripleH) July 10, 2015
Last month, the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks and Draymond Green of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors also celebrated their respective title wins with the WWE gold.
Green even took the belt on the Warriors' championship float in Oakland.
Even last year, San Francisco Giants' star Hunter Pence repped for the WWE and the Giants alike.
We're up for this tradition living on for years to come.
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