5 WWE Superstars who wouldn't have become world champions if titles were unified
It looks like WWE will unify both of its men's world championships again, with Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns facing each other at WrestleMania 38. The positives and negatives of such a move are debatable, but it may affect the roster negatively.
If WWE & Universal titles get merged, it'll lead to fewer opportunities for rising stars. The latter's introduction afforded several popular names the chance to become main eventers, whether or not they remained as such.
Some of them wouldn't have even gotten a world title shot, let alone a full reign had there only been one world championship. Let's look at five WWE Superstars who wouldn't have become world champions if the titles remained unified from 2016 onwards.
Who do you think gained the most from two world titles? Let us know down in the comments section.
#5. Kevin Owens
On This Day in 2016, Kevin Owens won the vacant Universal Championship after Triple H screwed Seth Rollins. https://t.co/6Zx3XjbiqL
WWE took advantage of an additional world championship being established in 2016, creating multiple main event stars in the process. AJ Styles rose to the top of SmackDown, while Kevin Owens became the number one star on RAW. Owens became the second-ever Universal Champion in August 2016.
However, had WWE Championship remained the only world title in the company, chances are Styles would've been preferred in the main event spot over Owens.
#4. Braun Strowman
MONSTER among CHAMPIONS.
@BraunStrowman defeats @Goldberg to become the NEW #UniversalChampion! #WrestleMania https://t.co/Lwq3yBJdb5
One of the biggest contenders of the Universal Championship in its early days, Braun Strowman likely wouldn't have had a sniff of the gold if there was only one world title. It took extraordinary circumstances for the former WWE Superstar to become a world champion.
Had it not been for Roman Reigns opting out of WrestleMania 36, Strowman wouldn't have won the Universal title at all. He was far from the top babyface at the time, with Drew McIntyre dethroning Brock Lesnar at the same event. As a result, the Scotsman would've still found success as the sole world champion.
#3. Jinder Mahal
The fact that Jinder Mahal ever became WWE Champion remains remarkable to this day. His shocking victory over Randy Orton at Backlash 2017 is still surreal to recall. It was the epitome of SmackDown Live as the Land of Opportunity at the time.
The Modern-Day Maharaja likely wouldn't have come anywhere near the upper echelons on the card if the brand split wasn't around. Also, Brock Lesnar had recently begun his 504-day reign as Universal Champion, further exemplifying Mahal's status as the "secondary" world champion.
Neither #2 Kofi Kingston nor #1 Big E would have won the WWE Title
The New Day are WWE legends, with a spot in the Hall of Fame virtually guaranteed. Two of the three members have become world champions. Kofi Kingston & Big E earned their moments in front of adoring fans, with the former being a much bigger deal.
KofiMania was magical and is one of the greatest WrestleMania storylines in history, but it resulted from a real-life injury. Kingston got his moment because Mustafa Ali got injured before Elimination Chamber 2019 and the Royal Rumble winner that year went for Brock Lesnar instead of Daniel Bryan.
These happy accidents are almost impossible when only one world title is up for grabs. Meanwhile, Big E became WWE Champion at a time when Roman Reigns is the biggest star in the company.
It's safe to say the New Day member wouldn't have tasted world title gold at The Tribal Chief's expense. Many prospective world champions might not win the big one. with another unification on the horizon