| WWE Universal Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 TheSmackDown version of the championship belt (2019–2023). | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | July 25, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | April 7, 2024[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
TheWWE Universal Championship was a men'sprofessional wrestlingworld heavyweight championship created and promoted by the AmericanpromotionWWE. Established in 2016, it was the third overall men's world championship created by the company, after theWWE Championship (1963) and the 2002–2013 version of theWorld Heavyweight Championship. From April 2022 until the title's official retirement in April 2024, it was jointly held and defended with the WWE Championship as theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship, but both titles maintained their individual lineages. The inaugural champion wasFinn Bálor and the final recognized champion wasRoman Reigns.
The championship was named in honor of WWE's fanbase, referred to as theWWE Universe, and it was established on July 25, 2016, to be the top title of theRaw brand, a division of WWE's roster. Its creation came as a result of the reintroduction of thebrand split and subsequentdraft on July 19, 2016, in which the WWE Championship, the promotion's original world title, became exclusive to theSmackDown brand. Matches for the championship headlined severalpay-per-view and livestreaming events, including seven consecutiveSummerSlams from 2017 to 2023, as well as fiveWrestleManias (34,37 Night 2,38 Night 2,39 Night 2, andXL Night 2), both being two of WWE's "big five" events, the latter of which is WWE's flagship event. Following the aftermath of the2019 Crown Jewel, the title moved to SmackDown where it remained until its retirement.
In mid-2016, theprofessional wrestling promotionWWE reintroduced thebrand extension in which the promotion split its main roster between theRaw andSmackDown brands, where wrestlers would exclusively perform on each brands' respective weekly television program (the original brand split ended in August 2011).[1][2] On July 19, 2016, to coincide withSmackDown shifting to alive broadcast format, the2016 WWE Draft took place. During the draft,Dean Ambrose, who held the promotion's originalworld championship, theWWE Championship, was drafted to SmackDown.[3] AtBattleground on July 24, Ambrose retained the title in atriple threat match against Raw drafteesSeth Rollins andRoman Reigns,[4] thus leaving Raw without a world title.[5] On the following episode ofRaw, the brand's CommissionerStephanie McMahon and General ManagerMick Foley established the WWE Universal Championship to serve as the brand's top championship. The title was named in honor of the WWE Universe, the name the promotion uses to refer to its fan base.[6]
The inaugural champion was crowned atSummerSlam on August 21 in apinfall and submission-only singles match. Rollins was automatically set for that match as he was Raw's number one draft pick and was not pinned in the WWE Championship match at Battleground. His opponent was determined by twofatal four-way matches onRaw, with the winners wrestling each other in a singles match.[6]Finn Bálor won the first fatal four-way by defeatingCesaro,Kevin Owens, andRusev, while Reigns won the second by defeatingChris Jericho,Sami Zayn, andSheamus.[6] Bálor then defeated Reigns and was added to the title match.[7] At SummerSlam, Bálor, wrestling under his "Demon" persona, defeated Rollins to become the inaugural champion. Bálor was the first WWE wrestler to win a world title in hispay-per-view debut as well as winning his first world title in less than a month of his debut onWWE's main roster.[8][9] During the championship match, however, Bálor suffered a legitimate shoulder injury and was forced to vacate the title the following day.[10][11]
AtCrown Jewel on October 31, 2019, SmackDown wrestler"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt won the Universal title by defeating Seth Rollins in aFalls Count Anywhere match that could not be stopped for any reason, thus transferring the Universal Championship to SmackDown.[12] The WWE Championship was subsequently transferred to Raw after reigning championBrock Lesnar quit SmackDown the following day, taking the title to Raw.[13]
AtWrestleMania 38 Night 2 on April 3, 2022, reigning Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Raw's WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in aWinner Takes All match to claim both championships and become recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. WWE had billed the match as a championship unification match; however, both titles remained independently active with Reigns being a double champion, defending both titles together across both brands as theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship.[14] On the April 24, 2023, episode ofRaw, WWE Chief Content OfficerPaul "Triple H" Levesque announced that regardless of what brand Reigns was drafted to in the2023 WWE Draft, he and his undisputed championship would become exclusive to that brand. Triple H subsequently unveiled anew World Heavyweight Championship for the opposing brand, which was won by Seth "Freakin" Rollins atNight of Champions.[15][16] As Reigns was drafted to SmackDown, the World Heavyweight Championship became exclusive to Raw.[17]
On the June 2, 2023, episode ofSmackDown, Triple H presented Reigns with a new singular championship belt to represent the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.[18] Amidst confusion of the lineages,Fightful reported that WWE confirmed to them that the two championships were still in fact separate lineages despite there being only one belt and that the plan was that the Universal Championship would be retired after Reigns lost the title.[19] However, afterCody Rhodes defeated Reigns atWrestleMania XL in April 2024, he was also recognized as both the WWE Champion and Universal Champion, although the title began to be referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship. This would continue until Rhodes lost the title toJohn Cena atWrestleMania 41 in April 2025. Upon Rhodes's loss, the Universal Championship's title history was amended to officially retire the championship. Rhodes was also removed as a former title holder with Reigns instead recognized as the final champion with his reign ending at WrestleMania XL.[20] The WWE Championship continued to be referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship until Rhodes regained the title from John Cena in the main event of Night 2 ofSummerSlam on August 3, 2025, after which, it dropped the "undisputed" moniker.[21]
The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the WWE Universal Championship between the Raw and SmackDown brands.
| Date of transition | Brand | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| July 25, 2016 | Raw | The championship was established forRaw afterWWE ChampionDean Ambrose was drafted toSmackDown in the2016 WWE Draft.Finn Bálor subsequently became the inaugural Universal Champion atSummerSlam on August 21. |
| October 31, 2019 | SmackDown | The Universal Championship moved toSmackDown after"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, a member of the SmackDown brand, defeatedSeth Rollins in aFalls Count Anywhere match that could not be stopped for any reason to win the Universal Championship atCrown Jewel. |
| April 3, 2022 | N/A | On Night 2 ofWrestleMania 38, Universal ChampionRoman Reigns defeatedWWE ChampionBrock Lesnar in aWinner Takes All match to become recognized as theUndisputed WWE Universal Champion with both title lineages still remaining active. While the Universal Championship was still technically SmackDown's world title, as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Reigns was allowed to appear on both brands and defend the Undisputed title against challengers from both shows. |
| April 28, 2023 | SmackDown | On Night 1 of the2023 WWE Draft,Roman Reigns was drafted toSmackDown, making both titles under theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship exclusive to SmackDown. The newWorld Heavyweight Championship was subsequently designated toRaw. The Universal Championship was then officially retired upon Reigns's loss atWrestleMania XL Night 2 on April 7, 2024, while theWWE Championship's lineage would continue under the name Undisputed WWE Championship. |
The Universal Championship belt was based on the "Network Logo" design of the WWE Championship beltintroduced in 2014, with a few notable differences. Like the WWE Championship belt, the center plate was a large cut out of the WWE logo with diamonds sitting inside an irregular heptagonal plate, with the words "Universal Champion" in small capital letters sitting underneath the logo. There were gold divider bars that separated the center plate from two side plates. Each side plate featured the same default removable center section as the WWE Championship (the WWE logo over a red globe), which could be customized with the champion's logo.[22] The most prominent difference was the belt's leather strap, the color of which indicated the brand it was exclusive to. When the belt was first unveiled at SummerSlam 2016, the strap was red to symbolize its exclusivity to the Raw brand and the underline of the WWE logo on the center plate was black to make it visible (essentially the reverse of the WWE Championship belt).[22] After the title became exclusive to SmackDown in late 2019, Bray Wyatt introduced a blue strap variation and the underline of the WWE logo was changed from black to red.[23][24]
In addition to the SmackDown version of the belt, Bray Wyatt also introduced a custom version of the championship for his "Fiend" character on the November 29 episode ofSmackDown.[25] The custom belt featured The Fiend's face in the place of the center plate. The character's phrases "Hurt" and "Heal" were written in red on black leather strips in the place of side plates while the strap of the belt itself was red and black worn leather with red stitching holding it together. The character's phrase "Let Me In" was also included. Wyatt used both the standard and custom versions of the championship during his first reign (2019–2020); his cheery Firefly Fun House character held the standard blue belt, while his sinister Fiend character held the custom belt.[26][27]
.jpg)
After Roman Reigns became the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, both the Universal Championship and WWE Championship belts were used in tandem to represent the undisputed title, although both titles retained their individual lineages. On the June 2, 2023, episode ofSmackDown, in celebration of Reigns reaching 1,000 days as Universal Champion, he was presented with a new single title belt to represent the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. It featured the same "Network Logo" design on a black strap, but the WWE logo was encrusted with black gems, it has a textured gold background behind the logo which is part of the metal plate instead of the underlying leather, and the text at the bottom of the plate said "Undisputed Champion"; the side plates remained the same.[18] Despite this, his managerPaul Heyman had continued to carry around the previous Universal and WWE Championship belts until the end of July.[28] On WWE's website, pictures of the previous title belts were still used for the individual title histories of each championship until April 2024 when the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship belt replaced the image for the WWE Championship; the Universal Championship title history remained a picture of the previous blue belt. After the retirement of the Universal Championship, the Undisputed belt would continue to be used for the WWE Championship, which also continued to be referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship.[20]
The original red Universal Championship design was heavily criticized.[29] Jason Powell ofPro Wrestling Dot Net referred to it as "a title belt that no one likes".[30] Adam Silverstein ofCBS Sports described it as "ugly"[31] while the live SummerSlam audience inBrooklyn, New York gave derisive chants, including "This belt sucks",[32] an assessment with whichNew England Sports Network reporters agreed.[33] That site's Ricky Doyle wrote that the crowd response turned what should have been a "landmark moment for the company" into an "awkward experience".[34] Mike Johnson ofPro Wrestling Insider felt the title looked like a "xerox" of the WWE Championship and did not blame the audience for reacting negatively.[35] The design was also unpopular with online wrestling fans.[32]
WWE employees responded in the aftermath of the title's debut. Seth Rollins chastised the SummerSlam crowd's reaction, writing onTwitter: "More important than a title's appearance is what it represents for the men fighting over it. You really let me down tonight, Brooklyn".[34] While acknowledging that he himself might have chosen a different belt design, Mick Foley echoed Rollins's response in a lengthy Facebook post. He recalled being presented with theWWF Hardcore Championship, a title belt made of broken metal pieces held together byduct tape, which challengers "made ... mean something by busting [their] asses".[36] In akayfabepromo on the following episode ofRaw, the then-villainous Rollins called the championship belt "beautiful".[30]
Later in 2016, Jim Vorel ofPaste ranked the title as the worst of the nine then contested in WWE, noting its "obnoxious" design.[29] On the other hand, Nick Schwartz ofFox Sports wrote: "It's really not as bad as fans made it seem at SummerSlam. It's fine".[37]
Over the title's near eight-year history, there were officially 14 reigns between 8 champions and two vacancies. Finn Bálor was the inaugural champion. Brock Lesnar had the most reigns at three. Roman Reigns's second reign was the longest singular reign at 1,316 days, while Bálor had the shortest reign at 1 day (less than a day as recognized by WWE) as he was forced to vacate the title due to suffering alegitimate injury in winning it. Reigns also held the title for the longest combined days at 1,380 days (1,379 days as recognized by WWE). Kevin Owens was the youngest champion when he won it at 32 years, 114 days old, whileGoldberg was the oldest when he won the title for a second time at 53. The final recognized champion was Reigns.
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| WWE Universal Championship | July 25, 2016 – April 7, 2024 |
| Undisputed WWE Universal Championship[e] | April 3, 2022[14] – April 7, 2024 |
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| † | Championship change is unrecognized by the promotion |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | ||||||
| WWE:Raw | |||||||||||
| 1 | Finn Bálor | August 21, 2016 | SummerSlam | Brooklyn, NY | 1 | 1 | <1 | The title was established forRaw after theWWE Championship became exclusive toSmackDown following the2016 WWE Draft. Bálor defeatedSeth Rollins in apinfall and submission-only match to become the inaugural champion. | [38] | ||
| — | Vacated | August 22, 2016 | Raw | Brooklyn, NY | — | — | — | Vacated due toFinn Bálor suffering alegit shoulder injury during his match atSummerSlam. | [10][11] | ||
| 2 | Kevin Owens | August 29, 2016 | Raw | Houston, TX | 1 | 188 | 188 | This was afatal four-way elimination match for the vacant title also involvingBig Cass,Roman Reigns, andSeth Rollins, who Owens last eliminated to win. | [39] | ||
| 3 | Goldberg | March 5, 2017 | Fastlane | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | 28 | 27 | [40] | |||
| 4 | Brock Lesnar | April 2, 2017 | WrestleMania 33 | Orlando, FL | 1 | 504 | 503 | [41] | |||
| 5 | Roman Reigns | August 19, 2018 | SummerSlam | Brooklyn, NY | 1 | 64 | 63 | [42] | |||
| — | Vacated | October 22, 2018 | Raw | Providence, RI | — | — | — | Vacated afterRoman Reigns announced that he had been legitimately diagnosed with a recurrenceleukemia. | [43][44] | ||
| 6 | Brock Lesnar | November 2, 2018 | Crown Jewel | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 2 | 156 | 156 | Originally scheduled as atriple threat match in whichRoman Reigns was to defend the title against Lesnar andBraun Strowman.[45] After Reigns relinquished the championship, the match became a singles match between Lesnar and Strowman for the vacant title.[44] | [46] | ||
| 7 | Seth Rollins | April 7, 2019 | WrestleMania 35 | East Rutherford, NJ | 1 | 98 | 98 | [47] | |||
| 8 | Brock Lesnar | July 14, 2019 | Extreme Rules | Philadelphia, PA | 3 | 28 | 27 | This was Lesnar'sMoney in the Bank cash-in match. | [48] | ||
| 9 | Seth Rollins | August 11, 2019 | SummerSlam | Toronto, ON, Canada | 2 | 81 | 80 | [49] | |||
| 10 | "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt | October 31, 2019 | Crown Jewel | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 1 | 119 | 118 | This was aFalls Count Anywhere match that could not be stopped for any reason. The title became exclusive to theSmackDown brand due to Wyatt's status as a SmackDown wrestler. | [50] | ||
| WWE:SmackDown | |||||||||||
| 11 | Goldberg | February 27, 2020 | Super ShowDown | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 2 | 27–28 | 37 | WWE recognizes this reign as ending on April 4, 2020, when the following match aired ontape delay. | [51] | ||
| 12 | Braun Strowman | March 25–26, 2020 | WrestleMania 36 Part 1 | Orlando, FL | 1 | 150–151 | 141 | WrestleMania was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on April 4, 2020, when the match aired ontape delay.[52] | [53] | ||
| 13 | "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt | August 23, 2020 | SummerSlam | Orlando, FL | 2 | 7 | 6 | This was aFalls Count Anywhere match. | [54] | ||
| 14 | Roman Reigns | August 30, 2020 | Payback | Orlando, FL | 2 | 1,316 | 1,316 | This was aNo Holds Barredtriple threat match also involvingBraun Strowman, who Reigns pinned. AtWrestleMania 38 on April 3, 2022, Reigns defeatedRaw'sWWE ChampionBrock Lesnar in aWinner Takes All match. Despite the match being billed as aunification match, both titles remained independently active and were collectively referred to as theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship. In April 2023, after Reigns was drafted toSmackDown in the2023 WWE Draft, a newWorld Heavyweight Championship was established for Raw as the counterpart to Reigns' Undisputed title. | [55][14] | ||
| † | Cody Rhodes | April 7, 2024 | WrestleMania XL Night 2 | Philadelphia, PA | — | 378 | — | This was aBloodline Rules match in which Reigns also defended theWWE Championship. Rhodes won the title as a member of theRaw brand and was subsequently transferred toSmackDown. The undisputed title's name was also truncated to Undisputed WWE Championship. The official title history had originally recognized Rhodes as champion up until Rhodes lost the title atWrestleMania 41 toJohn Cena the following year. | [56][20] | ||
| — | Deactivated | April 7, 2024 | WrestleMania XL Night 2 | Philadelphia, PA | — | — | — | Decommissioned in favor of continuing theWWE Championship lineage. FollowingRoman Reigns's loss, the official title history had originally recognizedCody Rhodes as champion up until Rhodes lost the title atWrestleMania 41 toJohn Cena the following year.[57] Upon his loss, the official title history was amended, removing Rhodes and instead recognizing Reigns as the final champion with the title retired the night he lost it at WrestleMania XL. | [20] | ||
| ¤ | The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest length is considered. |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days | Combined days rec. by WWE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roman Reigns | 2 | 1,380 | 1,379 |
| 2 | Brock Lesnar | 3 | 688 | 686 |
| — | Cody Rhodes | 1 | 378 | — |
| 3 | Kevin Owens | 1 | 188 | |
| 4 | Seth Rollins | 2 | 179 | 178 |
| 5 | Braun Strowman | 1 | ¤150 | 141 |
| 6 | "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt | 2 | 126 | 124 |
| 7 | Goldberg | 2 | ¤55 | 64 |
| 8 | Finn Bálor | 1 | 1 | <1 |
Finn Bálor becomes the first Superstar to ever win a world title in his debut match on a pay-per-view.
The most recent WWE world title, exclusive to Raw, has had a lot of shit thrown at it.
