Ranking every WWE Champion in the SmackDown Live era from worst to best

Now that SmackDown is up and running on FOX, Tuesday nights are once again free from WWE programming, at least from an in-ring perspective. The Blue brand has entered the big time now, but they have been live for over three years.

WWE decided to split the brands in 2016, with SmackDown becoming a live show on Tuesdays. It was rebranded as SmackDown Live and remained as such until the move to FOX and Friday nights. They obtained the WWE Championship during the initial Draft and since then, the title has remained on the Blue Brand.

Eight different men have held the WWE Championship as a part of SmackDown Live and there is quite some variation in their respective reigns. Here is every single WWE Champion, who graced Tuesday nights, ranked from worst to best.

#8 Randy Orton

Immediately following the WWE Draft in 2016, SmackDown began firing on all cylinders. It was consistent in its delivery and became an excellent TV program, but more on that in a little bit.

Unfortunately, the Blue Brand's golden run ended following WrestleMania 33. This coincided with Randy Orton's WWE Championship victory at the Citrus Bowl. After winning the 2017 Royal Rumble Match as a member of the Wyatt Family, The Viper defeated Bray Wyatt to win the title, in what was a travesty of justice due to him setting Wyatt's place of residence (before the Firefly Funhouse) on fire.

Orton's title reign, however, did not catch fire. In the seven weeks he spent as champion, the Viper did not have even one successful defence. He even faced Wyatt in the infamous House Of Horrors match at Payback, before dropping the belt to Jinder Mahal at Backlash.

This title reign had so much potential since a motivated Randy Orton is one of the greatest wrestlers in history. But he did not seem motivated at the time. Also, it ended unceremoniously at the first time of asking while effectively ruining Bray Wyatt's status as a main eventer, until his tremendous reinvention.

#7 Jinder Mahal

Less than two months before beating Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Jinder Mahal was perceived as a mid-carder used to enhance the bigger Superstars.

Mahal had essentially hot-shotted into the main event scene with no prior indication at all, making his WWE Title victory at Backlash so shocking and unbelievable. He had the look and presentation of a top tier Superstar, but his in-ring skills left a lot to be desired. The Modern Day Maharaja was not a terrible wrestler, but he was put in a position way beyond his talent suggested.

WWE could have pushed Jinder Mahal at a steady rate, allowing him to hone his craft and improve, instead of booking him straight to the top of the company. His current position on the roster further proves that this title reign was nothing short of an anomaly.

Mahal's matches always ended through interference and some of his promos did not land well enough, particularly his cringe-worthy work in the feud with Shinsuke Nakamura. It did end phenomenally though, as AJ Styles won the WWE Championship from him ahead of Survivor Series 2017, in what was the best match of Mahal's career. But was this joyous moment worth the previous five months of stagnation for SmackDown Live? Probably not.

#6 Bray Wyatt

This is a sad case. After over three years of hurt and stop-start pushes, Bray Wyatt finally became the WWE Champion. He won a fantastic Elimination Chamber match, pinning both John Cena and AJ Styles en route to capturing the coveted prize.

Wyatt retained his title against the both of them in an excellent triple threat match on the SmackDown after Elimination Chamber, giving him at least one great title defence. The storytelling potential with the Eater of Worlds as WWE Champion was limitless, especially with the Wyatt Family splitting through the Road to WrestleMania.

It seemed like Luke Harper was set to enter the title scene for 'Mania, but it wasn't to be. Wyatt's house got burned by supposed follower, Randy Orton and from then, it all went downhill. A super hot program between Wyatt and Orton was severely cooled off due to a lacklustre 10-minute match at the Show of Shows, won by The Viper.

The WWE Championship reign of Bray Wyatt is remembered as a colossal failure because of how badly it ended, but the first few weeks of his time as champion were actually really good. It is still a massive shame that WWE failed to give Wyatt the ultimate redemptive WrestleMania moment that he deserved.

#5 John Cena

John Cena's record-equalling 16th WWE world championship reign only lasted for two weeks and not a lot happened during it. However, the only reason why this reign of his ranks in the middle of this list is because of the way it started, as well as the way it ended.

Cena defeated AJ Styles in a classic WWE Championship match at the 2017 Royal Rumble, a match that even topped their previous encounter at SummerSlam 2016. The significance of the match and the moment was perfectly exemplified by Mauro Ranallo in particular, who had a stellar performance at the commentary table.

Two weeks later saw the SmackDown-exclusive Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, where Cena defended his gold inside the menacing structure. Styles, Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin, The Miz and Bray Wyatt all vied for the WWE Title and produced one of the greatest Chamber matches in history, despite the aesthetic change to the structure.

John Cena had the shortest WWE Championship reign during the SmackDown Live era, but it was by no means the worst. This may have been one of the greatest transitional championship reigns in recent history, simply because it was book-ended with some of the best WWE Title matches in the past few years.

#4 Dean Ambrose

The first world champ of the SmackDown Live era

When RAW and SmackDown split the rosters, Dean Ambrose was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He was drafted to the Blue Brand and was the top face for a few months. His reign started off red hot, with a Money in the Bank cash-in on eternal enemy, Seth Rollins. It was one hell of a moment.

The current Jon Moxley defended his title against Rollins and Roman Reigns, in a Shield triple threat match at Battleground. This would ultimately decide where the WWE Championship would go. Of course, Ambrose retained and set off on his own.

He would face Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam, in a slightly disappointing bout which could not match the intensity of its build-up.

Also, Ambrose's strange appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast severely hurt his status as the main man on SmackDown. This was unfortunate, as Ambrose had clawed his way to the top of the mountain.

The Lunatic Fringe did have one final hurrah, putting on a great match against AJ Styles at the first brand-exclusive pay-per-view in close to a decade, Backlash.

Dean Ambrose was a good choice to kick off the era of SmackDown Live as WWE Champion, but his reign was never going to last much longer than a few months.

#3 Kofi Kingston

He was booked pretty strong, until the end

Most of the good from Kofi Kingston's WWE Championship story came during WrestleMania season. His chase for a one-on-one match for the title at the Show of Shows was prime storytelling and captivating television.

Kofi's eventual victory over Daniel Bryan was beautiful and emotional, but what came next was slightly more of a mixed bag.

Kofi Kingston was booked strongly throughout his time as champion, but his subsequent feuds and matches failed to even come close to the level of his win at WrestleMania 35.

Feuds against the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Samoa Joe felt underwhelming, but at least the New Day member was always winning.

Then arrived the Randy Orton feud. Kofi really came into his own here, with a truly compelling storyline. Unfortunately, their matches did not live up to the hype. But the one constant among the underwhelming nature of Kofi Kingston's run was that he always came out on top.

But his consistency came crashing down at the hands of Brock Lesnar on SmackDown's premiere on FOX, as The Beast Incarnate won the WWE Title from Kofi in nine seconds.

Kofi Kingston's WrestleMania moment alone enhanced his title reign, as he is now forever in the list of WWE Champions and no force of nature or embarrassing defeat could ever take his name out of it.

#2 AJ Styles

The only 2-time champ in SmackDown Live history

AJ Styles is the only man to hold the WWE Championship more than once during the SmackDown Live era, winning it once as a heel and once as a babyface. The Phenomenal One defeated Dean Ambrose to win the title, just over half a year after he made his WWE debut.

He had one hell of a run with the belt, consistently being one of the highlights of a thoroughly fun show. Styles fended off Ambrose, as well as Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and even James Ellsworth, before losing to John Cena in a thriller at the Royal Rumble.

Styles' second WWE Championship victory brought joy to the WWE Universe, as he ended the mediocre reign of Jinder Mahal on an episode of SmackDown in Manchester. The ensuing reign saw the current OC leader face loads of talents over the span of 371 days, with some of his feuds delivering and some of them disappointing.

AJ Styles had lengthy programs with the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe, ultimately coming out on top at the end of both of them.

It may have gone slightly boring, but the year-long title reign helped to bring prestige back to the WWE Championship after the title changed hands one too many times, following the end of The Phenomenal One's first championship reign.

On the SmackDown before Survivor Series 2018, Styles lost his belt in shocking fashion. The man who took it off him would make the WWE Championship even more prestigious.

#1 Daniel Bryan

After over a year of AJ Styles on top of SmackDown Live, the WWE Universe was left stunned as Daniel Bryan turned heel and won the WWE Championship five days before Survivor Series 2018. It was unthinkable at the time, even despite how bland Bryan's babyface character had become. This kickstarted one of the best WWE Championship reigns of the entire decade.

Bryan's new character was an incredible breath of fresh air, as he kept on one cutting scathing promo after another towards the fans, calling them fickle every time. His in-ring work also seemingly improved, with Bryan wrestling barnburners with Styles, Brock Lesnar and even Mustafa Ali.

He was not afraid to put other Superstars over, as demonstrated by his selfless performances against the former 205 Live Superstar and Kofi Kingston, during the pre-Elimination Chamber gauntlet match and eventually at WrestleMania 35. Despite the occasional defeats, Bryan was still excellent on the microphone and was as believable a world champion as any. The addition of Erick Rowan to his environmentalist act was also a good touch, giving the evil and conniving champion a tough heavy to occasionally do his bidding for him.

Bryan's ability to get the WWE Universe to despise him should not go unnoticed, considering he is the most likeable person in the entire company. It takes a pro wrestling wizard to pull off something to that level. His role in the KofiMania storyline was played to perfection, especially considering how it was him in that very position five years ago.

Daniel Bryan was given the ball with his new character and he ran full speed with it, becoming the Planet's Champion and even replacing the existing belt with an eco-friendly version made of hemp. He made the WWE Championship matter and his matches as champion were more often than not the best thing on any given pay-per-view. Bryan's five-month reign was near perfect, from start to finish.

An outstanding run from an outstanding talent. Daniel Bryan truly was the best WWE Champion in the SmackDown Live era.

Edited by Alan John