The Disturbing Truth Behind WWE Universal Title

finn balor
WWE.com

Has it ever functioned as a prestigious drawing card?

Created to shape the Monday Night RAW main event scene, post-2016 brand split, it was initially captured and immediately vacated by Finn Bálor at SummerSlam. This was a profoundly inauspicious start; the fans in New York mercilessly jeered the design itself because it was, simply, the WWE Heavyweight Championship with a red strap. Clearly, WWE aimed to create visual parity between the two top titles, but to fans, this reeked of a lack of imagination. Those fans weren't trusted to accept a bolder design as its equivalent. It was, to them, an insult to the intelligence and an indictment of WWE's ability to create something new.

The name itself provoked a certain cynicism. Reductively, the belt either crowned the best wrestler in the universe, which is of course preposterous and flippant, but the truth of the matter isn't much better. It's marketing!

Bálor was injured in the course of the match. It was all deeply unfortunate; the match was worked at such a high, scintillating level that fans quickly forgot about the design. Bálor and Seth Rollins made it prestigious, or worthy, over the course of 20 excellent minutes. And then Bálor suffered a labrum tear at the worst possible time. The irony is that WWE, with impressive conviction, had attempted to create something new. Fate put an end to that.

Also sh*tty, defining booking.

CONT'D...(2 of 5)

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!