5 Interesting stats about the WWE Universal Championship
WWE introduced the Universal Championship back on July 25, 2016. Since then, the Universal title has led to some intriguing feuds.
WWE's idea behind the inception of the new title was to give RAW a top title following the brand split on July 19, 2016. The brand split saw Smackdown Live draft then WWE Champion, Dean Ambrose, onto their roster.
This led to a triple threat match between Smackdown Live's Dean Ambrose and RAW's Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship at Battleground on July 24. Ambrose pinned Reigns to pick up the win and retain the title, leaving RAW without a top title.
The next day on RAW, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley unveiled the Universal Championship as the red brand's new world title. The title has hotly contested ever since. From the inaugural champion, Finn Balor, to the current champion, Roman Reigns, the belt has attracted its fair share of drama. In this list, let's look at five peculiar yet intriguing stats about the newest WWE world title.
#1. WWE's world title with the most underwhelming legacy
With heavyweights like Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns among the list of Universal Champions, it is easy to forget that the belt is relatively new. It has had only 14 different reigns split between eight Superstars (more on that later).
The title may seem like a big deal now, but its history feels even smaller when compared to some of the other titles on the main roster:
WWE's Universal title is still one of the two biggest titles in the promotion right now. This makes it easy to forget that it is still in its nascent stage. All the things that are happening around the title are still attempts at establishing it.
The WWWF World Heavyweight Championship was the first name of the WWE Championship. The WWF Intercontinental Championship was the name of today's Intercontinental title. Similarly, the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) was the catchy name of the US title.
Each of the older titles has existed through various iterations before today. The Universal title itself is dark blue now as opposed to the deep red like it was when WWE unveiled it. Don't be surprised if the Universal title goes through transformations of its own and build its own legacy over the next few years.