Can Roman Reigns Just Become Universal Champion Already?

Since Wrestlemania 33, Brock Lesnar’s held the Universal Championship. His reign started off well enough. He beat Goldberg in a really good match. Then he retained against Samoa Joe at Great Balls of Fire. At Summerslam, he defeated Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe in an absolutely brutal Fatal Four Way. But we all knew Lesnar was just keeping the belt warm for a certain Big Dog. Roman Reigns was going to beat him at Wrestlemania. And then he didn’t.

Come Greatest Royal Rumble, and everyone’s expecting Reigns to beat Lesnar again. And then he doesn’t. What’s up with that?

I’ve been advocating it for a while now, but perhaps now more than ever is the right time to bring this up. WWE should seriously just give Roman Reigns the Universal Championship.

raw’s roster is suffering

Right now, Raw’s roster is ridiculously talented. Thing is, they only have one title to fight for. That’s why you get former world champions fighting for the Intercontinental Championship. On a roster with Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Braun Strowman, and so many others, there’s only one title for them. A roster with 22 singles competitors and only one title for all of them. It’s crazy.

Main event talents are all left to fight over the Intercontinental Championship, and actual midcarders get shafted. If someone who held the WWE Championship before is now the Intercontinental Championship, how can some dude who’s never held a title before believably beat him? Who on the roster could believably beat Seth Rollins? Zack Ryder and Mike Kanellis sure can’t. It’s going to be another main event talent who doesn’t really need the Intercontinental Championship.

If Roman Reigns gets his hands on the Big Red Belt, then the top stars could have feuds for a top title, and this frees up space for the midcarders to fight for the IC title. I’m not advocating for the death of the IC title, or that the midcard title is reserved for jobbers and scrubs. Nor am I saying that top talents shouldn’t hold the white and gold. Far from it.

I’m just saying that there should be a healthy balance. Raw does not have one right now because the top champion shows up maybe four times a year.

the universal title is worthless right now

The way it is right now, the Universal Championship is worth less than the actual belt used to represent it. First champion Finn Balor vacates it after a day. Next champion, Kevin Owens, was made to be a total schmuck in an absolutely horrendous title run before losing it in thirty seconds to Goldberg. Goldberg holds it for a month before losing to Brock Lesnar.

I’m not necessarily against the idea of having only a few defenses each year. If done right, it can really make the title seem like a big deal. Unfortunately, that’s not how it’s been handled at all.

Superstars should be jockeying for a chance to face Lesnar. They don’t know when The Beast comes out of hiding from the Middle of Nowhere to fight and get more money. Even when he’s not there, Brock Lesnar should be talked about.

Instead, when he’s gone, no one brings him up. Everyone just shrugs their shoulders, says “aww shucks,” and forgets about him. The top title has become an afterthought until suddenly they need a number one contender to feed to Brock.

Call me crazy, but perhaps Roman Reigns could save the Universal Championship. Roman Reigns is there five days a week (unless he catches meningitis or whatever), and he’ll be carrying the title with him. He will be a prominent part of the show, like a top champion should.

If Roman Reigns is a prominent part of Raw and has a series of good matches defending the title, it would do wonders for its ailing stock.

But first he has to become champion.