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The WWE Universal Championship is one of the two active men’s world championships in the company. Named in honor of the WWE Universe, the title was unveiled on July 25, 2016.
Finn Balor was the inaugural winner of the title, but he was forced to relinquish it on the very next night. Since then, several top superstars such as Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns have held the title.
WWE legend Goldberg is a veteran who will retire as a former Universal Champion. There are some other veterans and legends in the company who deserve to win the title before retiring.
The Universal Championship is still very new, and WWE will want to make it look more prestigious by handing it to some of the biggest names in the company.
Let's take a look at five WWE veterans who should go down in history as former Universal Champions before retiring:
#5 Cesaro is finally in the race for the WWE Universal Championship
Cesaro has been one of the most consistent performers in WWE for almost ten years. The Swiss Superman joined WWE in 2011 and has performed on almost all the brands in the company.
Known as the strongest pound-for-pound wrestler in the company, it’s surprising that he hasn’t received many world championship opportunities in his career.
At WrestleMania Backlash 2021, Cesaro received his first singles shot at a world championship but failed to defeat Roman Reigns to take home the gold.
Cesaro will likely remain in a rivalry with Reigns for some time and has spoken about his plans if he wins the Universal title.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, The King of Swing talked about wanting to defend the title all over the world once he ended up winning it from The Tribal Chief.
“I mean, I don’t want to belong at a table he’s at. I have my own table. His table is very small, I feel like my table would be big so the whole WWE Universe can share it with me. You got to spread the wealth. When I become Universal Champion, I want to share that championship with everybody around the world. Hopefully, by that point, we can start traveling again soon and I can defend that title all over the world. Bring it everywhere and kind of do a happy reunion tour with our WWE Universe.”
Cesaro is a WWE veteran who deserves a world championship reign in his career. He has already proven to be a great asset for the company, and he needs to sit atop the company for some time before calling it a day. Therefore, WWE should reward him with a good Universal Championship reign before he retires.
#4 Jeff Hardy has his eyes set on the WWE Universal Championship
Jeff Hardy had his first match in WWE in 1994. It wasn’t until 1998 that Jeff Hardy and his brother Matt joined the company for a longer stint. Since then, Jeff has performed for the company on and off for over two decades as part of The Hardy Boyz and as a solo performer.
Hardy has won several different titles in WWE, including the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy’s rivalry against CM Punk for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was a treat to watch for many fans.
Hardy returned from injury in 2020 and spoke to WrestlingInc about what the future holds for him. He made it clear that he wanted to become the world champion once again in the company.
“I would like to win the world title again for sure. That’s probably the main thing; back when me and my brother returned at WrestleMania 33 we won the tag team championships. It’d be good now that we are doing solo deals, in singles competition to be the world champion again. That’s one thing for sure.”
The Charismatic Enigma is now 43-years-old and has picked up several injuries during his career. He may still have a few years left in him and WWE should allow him to hold the Universal Championship at least once again before he retires.
Hardy usually plays a babyface character in WWE, and the fans could get behind him if he goes for the Universal Championship.
#3 Randy Orton needs to get a WWE Universal Championship reign
Randy Orton has been one of the top performers in WWE for quite some time. Orton joined WWE in 2001 and has been on top of his game for two decades now.
As part of Evolution, The Viper found world championship success rather early in his career. This allowed him to continue picking up big victories and become a 14-time world champion in WWE.
While Orton has gotten his hands on the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships multiple times, he hasn’t won the Universal Championship yet. The Viper is looking to tie with Ric Flair and John Cena for the highest number of world championship reigns before surpassing them.
Orton shared his idea for a dream match against Cena to determine the record-setting 17th World Championship reign during a conference call not too long ago.
"How cool would it be, for me, to wrestle Triple H, to win the title a few more times. Then have a match with John Cena to break the tie for 16 championships. I don’t know if Ric (Flair) would be the referee, I think he would be a special ringside commentator or in one of our corners depending on who’s the good guy or bad guy.
Now I might be dreaming there, but since I’ve been thinking of that storyline. It proves the number of world titles means a lot to me, definitely a feather in my cap. So yes, I would love to at least tie with Ric and John, but to come out 17-time World Champion, I don’t know if there’s anyone else that can do it."
Orton’s dream match could end up being for the Universal Championship, a title neither Cena nor The Viper have won in their careers. WWE should look to put the Universal Championship on Orton as it will help elevate the title’s value.
The Legend Killer is one of the biggest names in the wrestling industry, and he deserves to win the title a few times before he hangs up his boots.
#2 AJ Styles deserves to win the WWE Universal Championship
AJ Styles showed up at the Royal Rumble in 2016, to one of the loudest pops in recent memory. Before joining WWE, Styles enjoyed a rather long and successful career in several different promotions.
The Phenomenal One is one of the biggest names in the industry. He has been performing in WWE for over five years now. While his stay in the company hasn’t been too long, he has remained at the top of the roster for most of his career.
His reign as the WWE Champion was one of the longest and most iconic ones in the modern era.
Styles competed against Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship at the 2018 Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Even though he lost the match, Styles told Newsweek that he wanted to win the Universal title before ending his career.
"Just because you lose doesn't mean it's over. I've lost before. I've lost the WWE championship before. You find your way back into the hunt. You may get derailed by going to the back of the line but you want what you want. And I want to be Universal Champion before my career is over."
Styles is one of the best wrestlers in the industry. Therefore, WWE should look to put one of their top championships on him at least once.
The Phenomenal One is nearing the end of his career and WWE creative should look to get him in the chase for the title soon.
#1 Bobby Lashley should win the WWE Universal Championship
Bobby Lashley first arrived in WWE in 2005. Lashley was given a good run by the company following which he ended up winning the ECW World Championship. However, an injury forced WWE to release The All Mighty in 2008.
After conquering several other wrestling promotions, Lashley returned to WWE in 2018. The superstar has been eyeing the company's top title for a long time, but had been lingering in the mid-card.
In 2021, Lashley finally won the WWE Championship for the first time in his career from The Miz. The superstar is currently in his first reign as champion and is enjoying every bit of it.
However, The All Mighty may not get many more world championship reigns in the company. As he nears the mid-40s, the company could look to move away from him to focus on younger WWE Superstars.
Lashley is a man who has the power and charisma to elevate any title in a company. Therefore, WWE should look to hand him the Universal Championship at least once in his career after he is done with his WWE Championship reign.
Lashley could end up having an incredible rivalry with Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar before finally winning the big title.
