10 Ways To Fix WWE's Universal Title

9. Establish Better Alignments

Kevin Owens Roman Reigns Seth Rollins
WWE.com

One of the biggest issues surrounding Raw’s current main event scene is that every major player is in the wrong role. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, under their current personas, are too charming and entertaining to boo, and they regularly draw louder cheers than the brand’s apparent faces. This means one of two things: stripping away their humour, or turning them face.

Owens has played heel throughout his WWE run, but he has tremendous babyface potential. His backstory and family-based motivations are incredibly relatable, and he’s comfortably one of the most engaging talkers in the company. Most of Raw’s audience are already rooting for him anyway, so why not pull the trigger and have KO become the anti-hero Raw desperately needs?

On the babyface side, Seth Rollins has behaved like a petulant child since turning in August, and Roman Reigns’ struggles are well-worn at this point. They’re a set of overbearing bullies who ooze arrogance, and think nothing of sneak-attacking their opponents or running them down on the microphone. Each is a natural villain, and their current characters only bury their strengths and emphasise their weaknesses.

It’s tough to get invested in a storyline when the bad guys are more likeable than the good guys, and WWE can’t fix the Universal Title scene without addressing their miscast protagonists.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.