All 8 WWE Universal Champions Ranked Worst To Best
With the Universal Championship now unified, how do all eight men who held the title stack up?
With Roman Reigns victorious in the main event of WrestleMania 38, the WWE and Universal Championships have been unified into the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. While The Head of the Table continues to carry both championships, it appears the title will continue the legacy of the WWE Championship. This would seem to signal the end of the Universal Title in WWE, at least for now.
The Universal Championship has had a controversial tenure in WWE since its unveiling by Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon on 25 July 2016. Since that day, only eight men have held the title for a combined 14 reigns. These eight men are a who's who of the main event scene of WWE, with a wide array of success amongst them. Some championship reigns have been all time greats, while others have left much to be desired, often due to circumstances outside of superstars control.
Despite being around for only a little less than six years, the Universal Championship has left a legacy for the superstars lucky enough to hold it. If this is truly is the end of the lineage of the red and blue championship, now is a perfect time to look back on its brief history.
Here are the eight men who have held the Universal Title, ranked.
8. Finn Bálor
Finn Bàlor does not deserve to be remembered as the worst Universal Champion. After debuting on the main roster, he defeated Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Rusev and Roman Reigns to earn his spot in a match to determine the first Universal Champion. At SummerSlam 2019, The Demon would become the inaugural holder of the red strap, defeating Seth Rollins in a stellar match. If those first two weeks on the main roster were any indication, the former Prince Devitt looked destined to eventually be at the top of this list, not the bottom.
Unfortunately that was not the case, as during that SummerSlam match a messed up powerbomb into the barricade caused a torn labrum for Bàlor. This meant the next night on Raw, Finn would be forced to relinquish his newly won Universal Championship. After an eight month absence, Bálor would return, and despite all the talent in the world, would not be able to recapture the Universal Title again.
That leaves the two-time NXT Champion with just 24 hours as Universal Champion, by far the shortest of anyone else on this list.