In pro wrestling, the moves may be fake choreographed, but the glittering gold-and-leather championship belts are very real. And while most of what happens at the WWE comes out of an enormously wealthy corporate powerhouse, CNN Money shows us the humble origins of those testosterone-cherished waist trophies: Dave Millican’s house in Tony, Alabama.
Though they’re often used as impromptu grappling weapons and concussion delivery devices, these championship belts involve a whole lot of intricate craftsmanship. Millican, who began making belts as a childhood hobby and never really gave it up, has been supplying WWE with these torso prizes for the past six years — all of them built by hand in his garage, and polished to perfection on his kitchen counter.
Once you get an up-close look at the craftsmanship that goes into these belts, you’ll cringe the next time you see one used as a bludgeon. But Dave doesn’t mind — when the belts get beat beyond recognition, they get sent back to him for rehabilitation.
From the looks of it, Dave assembles the belts in his garage, and does the final polishing in the kitchen. Hopefully, the neighbours can’t smell what Dave’s cooking.
I’ll see myself out. [CNN Money]