Champ's Belt

File:Belt.PNG

The Champ's Belt.

File:Champ'sBelt.png

Rawk Hawk and the Champ's Belt.

The Champ's Belt is a special item featured in the game, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Mario received this belt after he had defeated Rawk Hawk in the Glitz Pit, becoming the arena's new champion. The Champ's Belt has a fake Gold Star implanted in the middle of it. Mario, however, cannot wear the belt.

When Mario first arrives at the Glitz Pit and watches Rawk Hawk defeat The Koopinator, he and his partner see Rawk Hawk showing off the belt. When they arrive back at the lobby, they are astonished to see the Gold Star attached to a cheap belt. Mario vows to make it up to the champion and fight for the star (or to steal it, but it all comes out to the same conclusion). Mario then finds out that it is not the Gold Star on the belt at all after meeting Rawk Hawk in person, and that he still has a big mystery to solve before he finds the real one. Unfortunately, when Mario and the Yoshi Kid discovered this, Rawk Hawk misinterpreted the fake mention as referring to his belt and became extremely angry with them, which in turn hints that he is not a good fighter.

In Bowser's event after Chapter 6, Bowser finds the belt in Rawk Hawk's secret training room, apparently somewhere in the Rogueport Sewers. Bowser believes that it is the real Crystal Star, but smashes the glass replica eventually.

Trivia

Much like real-world championship belts, not only can Mario lose the Champ's Belt by either being defeated or forfeiting to Rawk Hawk, but he can subsequently reclaim it by defeating The Koopinator to re-establish his number one rank and then defeating Rawk Hawk. This trait is further accentuated by the fans attending the fights, who will respond to Mario with dialogue acknowledging his status as either the current champion or as a former champion.