The Day The WWE Universal Title Died

Cursed, man.

Finn Bálor's shoulder injury right as the company were about to take a once-in-a-generation gamble. Kevin Owens' loss to Goldberg. Brock Lesnar's impossibly long stints as a perpetual absentee. Roman Reigns' disastrously delayed turn with it and the way it had to end. The collapse of the credibility Seth Rollins worked his Twitter fingers to the bone to achieve. The Fiend's obsession with it ultimately undermining just about every bit of work the company had done on the character before that point. His loss to Goldberg. Braun Strowman getting pushed three years too late and not working a single match in a six-month stint in front of fans.

There's perhaps no title in wrestling with a resumé so rotten to the core, yet WWE were forced to commit to the bit and commit belt for the good of TV rights they ultimately achieved. The 2016 Brand Split sparked enough back into SmackDown that they were able to sell the show to Fox for a billion dollars, bungled belt and all.

Only now, held aloft by awesome heel Roman Reigns, does it feel like the curse is starting to lift. Like there's new life slotting into place where the old one used to be. But one need only look to events from this year as a reminder of how close we to this just being all a dream. The Universal Championship died long before Goldberg ploughed through Bray Wyatt in Saudi Arabia just weeks before the ongoing global bastard closed down the entire world, Though the former WCW Champion was the heart of its original demise.

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