Predicting The First 10 WWE Universal Champions
Who will rule the WWE Universe?
After months of rumors that the new iteration of WWE's brand split would lead to the creation of another world championship, fans got a concrete answer. Dean Ambrose may have brought the WWE World Championship to Smackdown as a result of his victory in the Shield triple threat match at Battleground, but Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley responded with the creation of the Raw-exclusive WWE Universal Championship.
The wheels are already in motion to crown an inaugural champion. On Raw, Finn Balor and Roman Reigns each won fatal four-way bouts to qualify for a match against each other, and Balor defeated the three-time WWE Champion in their face off. That means that he'll take on handpicked contender Seth Rollins for the brand-new belt at SummerSlam.
After SummerSlam, though... who knows? The Raw brand will be an unpredictable place. Most fans agree that the flagship show got the better hand in the WWE draft, meaning that there'll be no shortage of contenders looking to vie for the Universal Championship. Whether Finn Balor or Seth Rollins emerges the first champ, they'll be beset on all sides by challengers.
Here's a predictive list of the first ten men to hold the WWE Universal Championship - and, by extension, the top storylines on Raw over the next couple of years. Let's hope the brand can use its talent wisely.
10. Finn Balor
There's no better way to kick off a new era than with a big surprise that fans love. While many people think it's a foregone conclusion that #1 draft pick Seth Rollins will leave SummerSlam with the Universal Championship, I'll go out on a limb and predict that Balor gets the victory in order to get people talking.
The match, of course, will be great. From an in-ring perspective, this will be the most-anticipated bout on an already strong card, and both Balor and Rollins will know that their first meeting needs to live up to some lofty expectations. Expect a ton of athleticism, counters, and drama, but when Seth Rollins gets frustrated and grabs the title belt as a weapon, his downfall will come.
Rollins will take the belt into the ring and swing it at Balor, but "The Demon" will duck the shot, run to the ropes, and come back with a Sling Blade. After that, he'll climb to the top, hit the Coup de Grace, and finish "The Architect" off to become the inaugural WWE Universal Champion.