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A brief history of the WWE Universal Championship
The WWE Universal Championship has been in dire straits ever since its inception in July 2016. It all began with a title belt design that was heavily criticized by fans. In the wrestling front, it really went downhill when the inaugural Universal Championship of Finn Bálor was cut short after a mere 22 hours, as he was forced to vacate the title due to an injury while winning the title.
'The Prize Fighter' Kevin Owens became the next WWE Universal Champion with much fan-fare. However, his title reign was under-whelming to say the least. The dreaded ghost of a cowardly WWE Champion got hold of Owens as well. Eventually, he was forced to let go of the title right before Wrestlemania 33.
The man who dethroned him was none other than the legendary Goldberg, who made a spectacular return to the ring by defeating 'The Beast Incarnate' Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016.
Given his age and limited wrestling skills, Goldberg was meant to be only a transitional champion. At Wrestlemania 33, Goldberg and his nemesis Brock Lesnar squared off for the Universal Championship in a well-received pocket sized match. At the conclusion of a hard-fought bout, Lesnar finally managed to defeat Goldberg and became the fourth WWE Universal Champion in the history.
Thus began the title reign that legitimately sucked the entire life out of the prestige of the Universal Championship. In a massive 503-day reign that stretched from Wrestlemania 33 in April 2017 till Summerslam 2018 in August 2018, Brock Lesnar defended the title a mere 14 times (and only 6 were on PPV).
Brock Lesnar was a dormant champion and his absence caused severe damage to WWE's storylines. For months, the superstars of the WWE's flagship show did not have the topmost prize to fight for. This logjam was eventually broken off by 'The Big Dog' Roman Reigns at Summerslam 2018.
In Roman Reigns, WWE Universe finally had a Universal champion who was "there". Despite his unpopularity among the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC), Reigns had started to make the Universal Championship look prestigious once again. However, in the most unfortunate turn of events one could imagine, Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish the title on 22 October 2018 as he was diagnosed with leukemia.
At Crown Jewel held in Saudi Arabia, Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar squared off for the vacant Universal Championship. Against the popular opinion of putting the title on Strowman and anointing him as the next top guy, WWE once again decided to put the title back on Brock Lesnar. Perhaps the prospect of Lesnar fighting as the WWE Universal Champion against the UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier was too tempting to ignore.
Where are we now?
The answer is: Back to square one. The reign of an absent champion who is perhaps even bigger than the company has gripped the WWE once again. WWE needs to move on from Brock Lesnar before the backlash from the fans becomes too hard to handle. The big question now is, who is good enough to topple the megastar as the WWE Universal Champion?
Taking into consideration the current pecking order and the popularity among the fans, here are the five superstars who can potentially replace Brock Lesnar as the next WWE Universal Champion.
5. Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose has had a rather strange return to the WWE. His storyline with former Shield brother, Seth Rollins has been all over the place. In the last month or so, each episode of Monday Night Raw has seen a strange promo by Dean Ambrose wherein he has talked about germs and even took a syringe in his buttock to protect himself from the "disease" that is Seth Rollins.
He has taken inspirations from the famous DC Comics villain Bane by wearing similar gas masks and coats. This story line had so much inherent history that it did not require any such shenanigans.
However, 'The Lunatic Fringe; has been a WWE Champion in the past, is still a popular figure among the fans and his wrestling skills are well-proven. He is now the current Intercontinental Champion, which has definitely bolstered his position in the pecking order.
Despite the inconsistent writing and booking decisions, Dean Ambrose as a heel could be a vicious character. Given the right character framework, he can definitely stake a claim to be the Universal Champion.
4. Finn Bálor
The first-ever Universal Champion has not managed to regain his momentum ever since he was forced to vacate the title due to injury in August 2016. Finn Bálor's run in the WWE, since his return in April 2017, has been marred with inconsistent booking of extreme proportions.
On 22 October 2017, he defeated AJ Styles in a stupendous match at TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs). On the very next night on Raw, we saw Bálor being squashed by Kane. Bálor has generally been portrayed as the "Almost Guy", who always fights valiantly irrespective of his opponents' size advantage, but is never quite able to emerge victorious.
However, there are two things that do give him a slight advantage: His 'Demon King' gimmick, and his enormous popularity among the fans.
His 'Demon King' gimmick has been heavily protected by the WWE creative. It has been used very rarely by Bálor, but whenever it has been used, he is portrayed very strongly.
His entrances is one of the highlights of any WWE show and make him one of the most beloved superstars on the entire roster. Recent rumors also suggest that Finn Bálor could be given a significant push in the near future.
3. Drew McIntyre
McIntyre was anointed as the ‘The Chosen One’ by none other than the chairman of WWE, Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon. But he could not live up to those expectations and left the company in 2014.
He wrestled extensively at the independent circuit and worked on his physical appearance.Ever since his return to the WWE in April 2017, Drew McIntyre has been "on a roll". His successful run in the NXT is now being complemented by the consistently strong booking in his main roster run, which began in April 2018.
After various alliances with the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin, McIntyre looks set to foray into the main event picture. Unfortunately, McIntyre's gradual rise has coincided with Monday Night Raw's dismal ratings and abysmal responses from the fans.
His feud with Braun Strowman never really happened, despite being teased on numerous occasions. Furthermore, his momentum seems to have been derailed a bit, courtesy his recent losses to Dolph Ziggler and Finn Bálor.
Drew McIntyre, with his resounding stature and persona, perfectly fits the template usually seen in the WWE for the top guy. He surely has all the ingredients and it remains to be seen how the WWE creative is willing to utilize it.
2. Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins has definitely been one of the most consistent performers in the WWE for the past 18 months. He has delivered quality wrestling matches on a weekly basis and has been the workhorse that the WWE has truly needed.
In the absence of the Universal Champion Brock Lesnar from the weekly episodes, Seth Rollins, as the Intercontinental Champion, rose to the occasion and made his title feel ever-so important.
His 'heist of the century' at Wrestlemania 31, wherein he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, remains one of the most iconic moments in the history of Wrestlemania. He is one of the few superstars who is capable of being both the biggest heel as well as the top babyface of the company.
2018 began looking like the year of Seth Rollins. However, the stop-start reunion of the Shield and his so-far underwhelming rivalry with Dean Ambrose does seem to have slowed his momentum down at the moment. Nonetheless, his years of hard work deserves to be rewarded with a Universal Championship run in 2019
Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman is the man who should have been the current Universal Champion. Braun Strowman, in fact, should have been the Universal Champion a long time ago. It is a huge surprise that the WWE upper management has not pulled the trigger yet, given the way he has been booked in the last two years.
'The Monster Among Men' has been portrayed as the biggest destroyer in the entire WWE roster. From toppling ambulances to eliminating 5 superstars at Elimination Chamber 2018, he has been the biggest 'Big Guy' in the WWE for some time now. Plus, he is extremely popular among the fans, especially the kids and is the perfect fit to be WWE's next top guy.
However, despite being booked so strongly for lengthy period, WWE upper management does not seem to entrust him with being the face of the company. At Wrestlemania 34, despite having all the momentum after his strong showing at Elimination Chamber 2018, he was booked to win the Raw's tag team titles along with a 10-year old kid.
When Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish the title right before Crown Jewel, Braun Strowman was touted to be the next Universal Champion. However, at Crown Jewel, Strowman took 4 F5s and did not get in any offence against Lesnar and thus was almost squashed by the Beast Incarnate.
Brock Lesnar's long term future does not lie with the WWE and Strowman seems to be the most credible wrestler to topple him as the Universal Champion. However, has the WWE waited a bit too long to give a title push to the 'Monster Among Men'?
