1,000 days of the WWE Universal Championship: 3 positives and 4 negatives

#5 Negative: Part-time champions

The aura surrounding Goldberg after his long-awaited return to WWE was intact following his 86-second victory over Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016. However, three months later, fans began to turn against the WCW legend when he squashed Kevin Owens in a 22-second match to win the Universal Championship at Fastlane.

This kick-started a run where Raw’s top male title was held by part-time champions – first Goldberg, then Lesnar – in 23 of the 25 months between March 2017 and April 2019.

Needless to say, particularly during Lesnar’s two reigns, fans did not take kindly to seeing part-time Superstars show up every once in a while in segments on Raw without competing in matches. Not only did the title’s reputation suffer as a result, but it meant that the majority of men on Raw could only strive to win the Intercontinental Championship.

It should have felt like a big deal every time the Universal Championship was finally defended (e.g. Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34), but fans were so disinterested in the storyline and title that they hijacked the match with boos and chants.