10 Reasons Why WWE SmackDown Is Better Than Raw
7. The WWE World Championship
After weeks of buildup, the WWE Universal Title was unveiled at SummerSlam, and fans hated it. A cheap-looking red knockoff of the WWE World Title, it spurred fans to spend much of the Finn Bálor-Seth Rollins match chanting about how ugly it was, taking away from the bout itself. After the match, Mick Foley took to Facebook to talk about how disappointed he was in the fans, and about how a title claimed value based on what it meant, not how it looked.
The problem with that argument, though, is that as a brand-new belt that came out from under a blanket, the Universal Title didn't mean anything. There wasn't even a proper tournament to crown an inaugural champion. More than two months later, Kevin Owens's p*ss-poor booking hasn't done much to help the belt's reputation.
By contrast, the WWE World Championship has had its ups and downs over the years, but there's no denying that it's got history on its side. For the past 50-plus years, it's been the centerpiece of the company, and the fact that the best worker on either brand is holding it right now only helps its legitimacy. It may not be a huge point in SmackDown's favor, but it means something.