10 Reasons The WWE Title Is Meaningless In 2017

1. Universal Praise

Bray Wyatt WWE Champ
WWE.com

Despite a rocky start thanks to shortsighted fan complaints on the aesthetics and a injury-hit quick switch between inaugural champion Finn Balor and Kevin Owens, the Universal Title has become the WWE's top prize in less than a year.

It was an inevitability that Raw's championship would gradually usurp the WWE Title as per the longstanding loyalty Vince McMahon holds towards his flagship show, but the gulf between the two championships was at it's widest as Brock Lesnar unseated Bill Goldberg after a breathless four minutes at WrestleMania 33.

The abbreviated length of the match and limitations of the performers didn't concern the mammoth Orlando crowd. Lesnar and Goldberg were stars and they were competing for the biggest prize in the industry. Furthermore, on a show without an Undertaker retirement, it was also a cert they would go on last.

As champion, Brock isn't even on television regularly, which only enhances the the credibility of the title and the challenger that ultimately unseats him.

This has forced Raw to promote the importance of the Intercontinental Title, which mirrors SmackDown Live!'s treatment of the United States title despite the fact a WWE Title is still in situ every week over on the blue brand. The former 'top' strap can nary afford to take more damage.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett