WWE Universal Championship

WWE Universal Championship

The WWE Universal Championship belt with default side plates
Details
Promotion WWE
Brand Raw
Date established July 25, 2016
Current champion(s) Kevin Owens
Date won August 29, 2016

The WWE Universal Championship is a world heavyweight championship[1][2][3] created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the Raw brand.[4] It is one of two world titles in the promotion, and was created on July 25, 2016 to rival the WWE World Championship, which became exclusive to SmackDown following the re-introduction of the brand extension on July 19, 2016.[5] The championship is named in honor of the WWE Universe.[6] Finn Bálor was the inaugural champion. The title is currently held by Kevin Owens, who is in his first reign.

History

With the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension,[7][8] a draft took place on the SmackDown Live premiere episode on July 19, 2016 and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose was drafted to SmackDown.[5] At Battleground on July 24, Ambrose successfully defended the title in a triple threat match against Raw draftees Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.[9] When Ambrose retained the title, Raw was left without a world title.[10] On the following episode of Raw, Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon and Raw general manager Mick Foley created the WWE Universal Championship to serve as the brand's top championship.[6] According to Foley, the title was named in honor of the WWE Universe, the name WWE uses to refer to its fan base.[6]

The inaugural champion was crowned at SummerSlam on August 21, 2016 in a singles match; Seth Rollins was automatically set for that match, as he was Raw's number one draft pick, while his opponent was determined by two fatal four-way matches on Raw, with the winners wrestling each other in a singles match.[6] Finn Bálor won the first fatal four-way by defeating Cesaro, Kevin Owens, and Rusev, while Roman Reigns won the second by defeating Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, and Sheamus.[6] Bálor then defeated Reigns and was added to the title match.[11] At SummerSlam, Bálor defeated Rollins to become the inaugural champion, and as a result, Bálor became the first WWE wrestler to win a world title in their pay-per-view debut, as well as winning his first world title in less than a month since his debut on WWE's main roster.[12]

Championship belt design

The title was unveiled at SummerSlam and is similar in appearance to the WWE World Championship, with a few notable differences. The strap is red, to symbolize its exclusivity to Raw, with the underline of the WWE logo in the center plate being black to make it visible (essentially the reverse of the World Championship belt). As the championship belt is similar to the WWE World Championship, the center plate is a large cut out of the WWE logo with diamonds sitting inside an irregular heptagonal plate, with the phrase "Universal Champion" in small print sitting underneath the logo. Each side plate, sitting on the other side of gold divider bars, features the same default side plates of the WWE World Championship, with the champion's logo able to be customized for the side plates as a similarity of the name plate feature.[13]

Reception

The physical belt garnered a strongly negative reaction from fans, both in attendance at SummerSlam, and online.[14] Adam Silverstein of CBS Sports called it "ugly",[15] while Jason Powell of Pro Wrestling Dot Net referred to it as "a title belt that no one likes".[16] The New England Sports Network said the live reaction to the belt turned what should have been a "landmark moment for the company" into an "awkward experience".[17]

In the aftermath of the title's debut, Seth Rollins chastised the crowd's reaction, writing on Twitter: "More important than a title's appearance is what it represents for the men fighting over it. You really let me down tonight, Brooklyn".[17] Raw general manager Mick Foley, while acknowledging that he himself might have chosen a different belt design, echoed Rollins' response in a lengthy Facebook post. He recalled being presented with the Hardcore Championship, a title belt made of broken metal pieces held together by duct tape, which challengers "made... mean something by busting [their] asses".[18] In a kayfabe promo on the following episode of Raw, the villainous Rollins called the championship belt "beautiful".[16]

Title history

Reigns

As of December 5, 2016, there have been 2 reigns and 1 vacancy. Finn Bálor is the inaugural champion, who defeated Seth Rollins in a pinfall and submission-only match on August 21, 2016 at SummerSlam, but was forced to vacate the title due to suffering a legitimate injury during the match. Due to this, his reign is the shortest at 22 hours, and he is the oldest champion at 35. Kevin Owens is the youngest champion at 32.

The current champion is Kevin Owens, who is in his first reign. He won the vacant championship in a four-way elimination match by defeating Big Cass, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins on the August 29, 2016 episode of Raw in Houston, Texas.

Reign The reign number for the specific champion listed
Location The city in which the title was won
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won
† Indicates the title change is not recognized by WWE
+ Indicates the current reign is changing daily
No. Wrestler Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Finn Bálor 1 August 21, 2016 1 Brooklyn, NY SummerSlam Defeated Seth Rollins to become the inaugural champion. [19]
— Vacated — August 22, 2016 — Brooklyn, NY Raw Vacated after Bálor suffered a legitimate shoulder injury during his match at SummerSlam. [20][21]
2 Kevin Owens 1 August 29, 2016 98+ Houston, TX Raw This was a four-way elimination match, also involving Big Cass, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins. [22]

Combined reigns

Current champion Kevin Owens

As of December 5, 2016.

† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns		 Combined days
1 Kevin Owens † 1 98+
2 Finn Bálor 1 1

References

  1. ↑ WWE (August 21, 2016). "Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Championship)". SummerSlam (2016). Finn Bálor becomes the first Superstar to ever win a world title in his debut match on a pay-per-view.
  2. ↑ Powell, Jason (July 25, 2016). "7/25 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: New World Title, the brand split begins, Finn Balor and Nia Jax debut". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  3. ↑ Ruse, David (July 26, 2016). "WWE Raw: Finn Balor earns world title shot with big win on Raw debut". Sky Sports. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  4. ↑ "WWE Universal Championship". WWE. August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "2016 WWE Draft results: WWE officially ushers in New Era". WWE. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Tedesco, Mike (July 25, 2016). "WWE RAW Results – 7/25/16 (Live from Pittsburgh, fallout from Battleground, new era of RAW begins)". Wrestleview. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  7. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  8. ↑ "WWE's destiny to be determined during SmackDown's Live premiere". WWE. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Caldwell, James (July 24, 2016). "7/24 WWE Battleground Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  10. ↑ Melok, Bobby. "WWE Champion Dean Ambrose def. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  11. ↑ Clapp, John. "Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins to crown the first WWE Universal Champion". WWE. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  12. ↑ Laboon, Jeff. "Finn Bálor def. Seth Rollins". WWE. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ "An up-close look at the all-new WWE Universal Championship: photos". WWE. August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  14. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (August 21, 2016). "WWE SummerSlam live results: Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  15. ↑ Silverstein, Adam (August 21, 2016). "WWE SummerSlam 2016 results: Brock Lesnar gets savage, Finn Balor wins title". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Powell, Jason (August 22, 2016). "8/22 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: Finn Balor injury and the WWE Universal Championship, SummerSlam fallout". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  17. 1 2 Doyle, Ricky (August 22, 2016). "Seth Rollins Rips Barclays Center Crowd After WWE SummerSlam Reaction". New England Sports Network. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  18. ↑ Werner, Barry (August 22, 2016). "Mick Foley laces WWE fans for their reaction at SummerSlam". Fox Sports. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  19. ↑ Caldwell, James. "8/21 WWE Summerslam Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  20. ↑ "UPDATE: Finn Bálor relinquishes WWE Universal Championship due to injury, undergoes successful surgery". WWE. August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  21. ↑ Caldwell, James. "8/22 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live TV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  22. ↑ Keller, Wade. "KELLER'S WWE RAW REVIEW 8/29: Ongoing coverage of fatal four way for the WWE Universal Title". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

External links

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