The Disturbing Truth Behind WWE Universal Title

by Michael Sidgwick
The Fiend Bray Wyatt
WWE.com

People fretted that the title would be the wrong colour upon its transfer to SmackDown this year. This bears repeating: people fretted that the title would be the wrong colour upon its transfer to SmackDown this year. It can't be red! That's the wrong colour! Red just looks weird on SmackDown!

Within three years, the colour of the title, once a source of complete scorn, became of the utmost importance. The very name of the Championship proved fatalistic; it is inextricably tied now to matters of branding and colour-coded marketing. It isn't a prestigious title that denotes triumph, quality, or anything of the sort. It is a prop.

It is a prop because it has only ever propped up WWE's foremost concerns of pushing office favourites and doing everything possible to fill out TV time with minimal imagination.

Consider the Official Bullsh*t Ratio of Universal Championship match finishes on pay-per-view. "Bullsh*t" here is defined, loosely, as any finish that functions to prolong and not conclude - something that has come to erode interest by all but telling fans that nothing matters, nobody ascends, nobody declines. WWE has promoted 27 Universal Title matches on pay-per-view. 15 have ended cleanly; 12 ended with some form of shenanigans designed to trick you into watching the next show via the most inelegant, apathetic means. WWE literally makes a mockery of your money practically half the time. Is it any wonder that the Universal Title doesn't feel - let alone look - like a major wrestling title?

The disturbing truth behind the WWE Universal Title is that it is a manifest symbol of WWE's creative woes, and literally, the only people willing to buy it are the remaining, dedicated, ultra-hardcores.

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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!