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The Universal Championship was introduced by WWE following the brand split in 2016. In nearly five years since then, we've seen eight WWE Superstars hold the Universal title across a total of 14 reigns. Currently, Roman Reigns is the Universal Champion, in what is considered by many to be the best run in the history of the title so far.
It was at WWE Payback 2020 where Reigns won the Universal Championship for the second time in his career. It has been over 275 days but no superstar has been able to dethrone The Tribal Chief. It's entirely possible that he could hold the title for the entire year, heading into WrestleMania 38 as the champion. However, could we see a twist in the tale with an unexpected name winning the title this year?
Let's take a look at five unlikely WWE Superstars who could win the Universal Championship this year. Be sure to comment down and let us know your thoughts on the same.
#5 Jimmy Uso could win his first world title in WWE
After a long absence due to his injury, Jimmy Uso is back on Friday Night SmackDown and has already spiced up the Head of the Table storyline. While Jey Uso has become the right-hand man of Roman Reigns, Jimmy has made it clear that he won't be taking orders from the Universal Champion.
Last year, we saw Jey challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship, lose against his cousin, and ultimately join him. We might see a similar angle with Jimmy Uso this year as well, but WWE could swerve us all by letting him defeat Roman Reigns to become the new Universal Champion.
The Usos have always been considered tag-team specialists throughout their careers, but Jey Uso proved last year that he could be an amazing singles star as well. Jimmy Uso might follow in the footsteps of his brother, and shock the world by winning the Universal title. While the possibility of this happening is extremely low, one can't completely deny it.
#4 Keith Lee could join WWE SmackDown and win the Universal Championship
Keith Lee has surprisingly been missing from WWE TV for over three months now. While he was initially pulled from his scheduled match at WWE Elimination Chamber 2021 due to an injury, there has been no proper explanation for his extended absence.
Interestingly, there have been rumors of his real-life partner and WWE Superstar Mia Yim (also known as Reckoning in RETRIBUTION) moving over to Friday Night SmackDown. WWE almost always keeps real-life couples on the same brand and this might lead to Lee also joining the Blue brand upon his return.
While The Limitless One's booking on the main roster has mostly been a disappointment, fans still dearly remember his run as the NXT Champion last year. Given a chance, Keith Lee definitely has the potential to be a world champion in WWE.
While unlikely, we might see him go up against Universal Champion Roman Reigns sometime later this year and defeat him to win his first main roster title. The two have some interesting history together, dating back to WWE Survivor Series 2019 where Keith Lee had a star-making performance, almost defeating Roman Reigns to win the elimination match for Team NXT.
The two also shared a moment of respect following the match and Lee has since revealed that Reigns told him that he wants to have a one-on-one match with him.
#3 Shinsuke Nakamura could finally win his first world title in WWE
After an incredible career in Japan, Shinsuke Nakamura signed with WWE in 2016 and joined NXT. His arrival was met with amazing applause from the fans and soon The King of Strong Style reached the top of the NXT mountain. During his time on the Black and Gold brand of WWE, he won the NXT Championship twice.
Shinsuke Nakamura moved up to the main roster and joined SmackDown after WrestleMania 33. He got booked very strongly in his first year, even going on to win the 2018 men's Royal Rumble match. However, his loss to WWE Champion AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34 and the subsequent heel turn did him more harm than good.
Now, it's not like Nakamura hasn't achieved anything on the main roster since then. He has won the Intercontinental Championship, the United States Championship, and also the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. However, a WWE or Universal title victory has still eluded him.
That might change this year if WWE puts enough trust in Nakamura, something that they have hinted at recently. The biggest problem with the Japanese star is language issues due to which his promos aren't on that level.
But that can easily be fixed by giving him a manager who can talk for him, while Nakamura just shows why he's one of the best at what he does. What are your thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura as the Universal Champion?
#2 Drew McIntyre could move to WWE SmackDown and challenge Roman Reigns
There are not many WWE Superstars on the current roster who have been booked as well as Roman Reigns since the last year or so. One star that comes close is former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre and Reigns took on each other at last year's Survivor Series 2020 in a "Champions vs. Champions" match. After a thrilling back-and-forth match, it was Roman Reigns who emerged victorious by using some heel tactics. However, fans were extremely impressed with the match and wanted to see the two have a proper rivalry.
Now, Drew McIntyre winning the Universal Championship in the future is very much possible, however, him doing it this year is unlikely. But as the saying goes in WWE - never say never!
If WWE holds another draft later this year, McIntyre might move over to SmackDown where he could challenge for the Universal Championship and even win it. A long-term feud between two of WWE's biggest superstars in Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns in front of a live crowd could shoot the ratings through the roof.
#1 Finn Balor returns to the WWE main roster and wins the Universal Championship
It was in 2016 when WWE introduced the Universal Championship on Monday Night RAW. There were several major names who were in contention to become the first Universal Champion. However, WWE had other plans as they put their faith in Finn Balor, who was definitely an established name in the business but was new to the main roster.
On his first night on RAW, Balor defeated Rusev, Cesaro, and Kevin Owens, and then defeated Roman Reigns in a singles match to earn the opportunity to compete for the Universal Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2016. At the pay-per-view, Finn Balor wrestled in his Demon King avatar and defeated Seth Rollins to become the first Universal Champion.
Unfortunately, he severely injured himself during the match and had to relinquish the title the next night on RAW. Fans still wonder to this day how different things would have been if Balor had a proper run as the Universal Champion in 2016.
Nearly five years later, Finn Balor has moved back to NXT and is having a great run there, even winning the NXT Championship once again. However, we might see him return to the main roster and join SmackDown soon, possibly sometime later this year.
Finn Balor has time and again proven just how good he is, and if given the opportunity, he could win the Universal Championship and go on to finally have the run that the WWE Universe never saw from him in 2016.
