10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About the Universal Championship
1. They Used To Recognise Cody Rhodes Holding It
Cody Rhodes finally finished the story at WrestleMania XL, dethroning Roman Reigns to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. It was the emotional peak of a years-long journey, fulfilling his dream of holding the championship his father never won.
At first, WWE recognised Cody as holding both the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship, even listing both titles under his name on WWE.com. For a brief period, he was the final name in the Universal title’s lineage. But then, things started to change.
Commentary quietly stopped referencing the Universal Championship, and Cody himself began calling his title simply the WWE Championship. WWE was slowly phasing out the Universal branding, and eventually, they made it official: the Universal Championship was retired, and Cody’s reign with it was erased from the title’s history. The lineage now ends with Roman Reigns, and Cody is listed solely as the Undisputed WWE Champion.
And there may be a strategic reason behind this quiet rewrite: John Cena.
Had WWE continued recognising the Universal Championship separately, Cena’s win at Mania 41 would have made him an 18-time world champion, breaking Ric Flair’s record by two. WWE wasn’t about to let that happen.