10 Ways To Fix WWE's Universal Title
6. More Title Defences
Kevin Owens became WWE Universal Champion 123 days ago, on August 29th. He has defended the belt a grand total of four times since then: thrice against Seth Rollins, once against Roman Reigns, and only on pay-per-view.
That’s an average of one title defence per month, and it doesn’t help that the matches themselves have been disappointing. While AJ Styles can often be seen putting his WWE Championship on the line on SmackDown, KO hides it away on Raw, and rarely has a major title been so invisible on WWE’s flagship brand.
Introducing more regular title defences would do the belt the world of good. It would not only improve the division’s competitiveness, but give the champion the opportunity to score some big wins away from the monthly PPV grind. It’s all very well having a multi-month title reign, but what is it really worth if you never defend the belt? The answer is “very little.”
Furthermore, the promise of regular Universal Title matches may also help ease the company’s viewership crisis. Just look at SmackDown’s success this week: WWE built their show not only around John Cena’s return, but a big WWE Championship Triple Threat match, and the show outdrew Raw for the first time since the Brand Split. People tune in for big title fights, and hosting more on Raw feels like a win-win situation.