From interviews I heard (Like Bobby Heenan and Greg Vallentine) Stan Hansen was a big tough man. But his habit was to move to a territory, stay 6 to 8 weeks then move on. If he had a belt, he'd be committed to a territory for the long term and he'd face the same wrestlers over a long period of time. Champions are usually baby faces and must be committed to one territory for the long term. In those same interviews they both talked about going to Japan in very favorable terms. Japan presented an opportunity to make a lot of money, stay for a short period of time and move on.
I just tripped: This a match between two AWA Worlds Champions. Both held that INNOVATIVE looking belt that Jim Crockett copied, and then became a JOKE in the end.