7 unpopular decisions made in 2018
Every week, the WWE needs to make countless decisions ranging from whom they want as their next champion to who they want to feud next to name a few. However, there could be a number of factors that could force them to make sudden changes, such as real-life injuries or illnesses. Due to this, sometimes the quick decisions made by the WWE aren’t always enjoyed by the audience.
Unfortunately, these can’t be helped and if anything, the WWE need to be lauded to an extent for being able to change a storyline due to special circumstances. One example is at the most recent Survivor Series, with Becky Lynch against Ronda Rousey was easily one of the most exciting matches for the pay-per-view until Lynch suffered a legitimate injury less than a week prior to the event. The WWE then brought in Charlotte into this match and considering the aftermath of that match, it was clear that everyone was still interested albeit going with a slightly altered storyline.
However, this isn’t always the case as the WWE have also made several bad decisions this year which can’t be defended and there are no real justifiable reason why they were decided on in the first place.
#7 Brock Lesnar re-capturing the Universal Championship
It can’t be ignored that Brock Lesnar is an exceptionally talented athlete. He first captured the WWE Championship in his rookie year defeating The Rock at SummerSlam 2002 and went on to become a three-time WWE Champion in just over two years. He then pursued a mixed martial arts career and won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in only his fourth fight.
Since his comeback in 2012, he has had more memorable feuds against the likes of Triple H, John Cena, CM Punk and even ending The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak in the process. Another highlight is holding the Universal Championship for 504 days, becoming the longest primary WWE Champion in the modern era and the seventh longest in history.
Or is it? On closer inspection, since capturing the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33, Brock Lesnar has only defended his title six times (equivalent to only once every 3 months), before he eventually lost to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam this year.
If you take into consideration that every other title holder in the modern era of the WWE defends their title considerably more often (or at least shows up on the weekly shows on a much more regular basis), this title reign has hardly been impressive. The fact of the matter is, even though Lesnar took out the likes of Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns, Lesnar has effectively held this Championship hostage.
Lesnar’s reign has marred one of the primary male Championships, as it has given the impression that any future WWE Universal Champion doesn’t need to appear on the WWE on a regular basis or represent the title. There were many opportunities when the WWE should have decided when Lesnar would drop the title earlier than he did, giving other credible wrestlers a chance to bring the title back some prestige that it had lost during Lesnar’s first underwhelming reign.
Finally, it is worth noting that having the Universal Championship around the waist of having someone that can appear on a regular basis adds value to Raw and the WWE, and would also be another goal for wrestlers to fight towards rather than just fighting to settle a feud or for the sake of fighting.