Daniel Bryan Replaces the Leather WWE Title Belt With a Hemp One

The WWE Championship has gone leather-free. On SmackDown LIVE on Tuesday night, champion Daniel Bryan threw the old leather title belt into a bin and unveiled a new one with a hemp strap and wooden detailing.

Two nights earlier Bryan had kept his title against AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, with help from his new ally Rowan. Back in the ring on Tuesday, standing over a rubbish bin with Rowan beside him, he made his point.

This is trash. I said that when I became the WWE Champion, that I was going to change the world. But to change the world, we need new symbols.

Rowan then held up the replacement. "This is the new symbol of excellence. This is your new WWE Championship!"

Bryan is a villain at the moment, calling himself "The Planet's Champion" and lecturing fans about consumerism and eating meat, but it's built on what he really believes. He went vegan in 2009 for health reasons, and since a soy intolerance made strict veganism on the road too hard he has eaten mostly plant-based, with eggs for much of his protein. Now the most famous title in wrestling is leather-free too.

It's a fitting start to what The Economist has called the year of the vegan. This month 37 scientists said the world must halve red meat and Canada's new food guide dropped the dairy group. Bryan himself won the title from Styles in November.

New champion, new belt, no cows harmed.