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Just like sports, sports entertainment shows also need a championship. They need a champion to represent their show. The oldest championship in WWE, the WWE championship was created in 1963 as the World Wide Wrestling Federation championship. However, WWE has evolved, and on its way, has introduced various championships for the superstars to hold.
Currently, WWE has three brands - RAW, SmackDown Live and NXT - with each of them having a world championship, a secondary championship, a male tag team championship and a women's championship. In this list, we are ranking the respective championships in WWE. For example, in world championship category, we will be comparing the Universal championship, WWE championship and NXT championship. The factors under consideration will be
- The prestige of the championship.
- Previous champions and the quality of their reigns.
- Other miscellaneous factors
So here we go
Tag team championship
The RAW tag team championship was one of the most forgettable championships in WWE in the recent past. The booking was horrible and the match quality was abysmal. From Wrestlemania to Summerslam, this championship had nothing memorable with it. The recent victory of Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler is expected to elevate the title to another level.
The SD tag team championship has been on fire since it's inception. The New Day vs Usos feud in 2017 was one of the best ever feuds for a tag team title in WWE history. Now the entire division is stacked and the competition is all time high. The New Day is capable of creating absolute barn burners with anyone that comes across its path.
The NXT championship is also having a really good time. The undisputed era is projecting itself as the worthy tag team champion. The matches involving this titles are a special attraction in any takeovers. This championship was so good that it even main evented last year's Chicago Takeover, where DIY infamously split. This gives them the slight advantage over their smackdown counterpart
Verdict:
- NXT tag team championship
- SD tag team championship
- RAW tag team championship
Secondary titles
Intercontinental Championship is back to its prestigious days. The Miz played a huge role in bringing the title back where it belongs. Rollins further escalated it with his intercontinental championship open challenge. It has even main evented the recently concluded Extreme Rules. It was RAW's main championship during Brock Lesnar's hiatus with the Universal championship.
The United States championship is going through a rough phase. It did not a single outstanding match or feud in 2018 so far. And the most surprising thing is that it was held by some of the legends in this business including Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy recently. The US title has definitely seen better days and would be hoping to come back to relevance after Hell in a Cell.
The North American championship is fairly new and created a 5-star match on its debut. Adam Cole was outstanding with it and his title defense against Ricochet was an absolute barn burner. Ricochet is the new North American champion and is set to defend his title in a winner takes all match next week against UK Champion Pete Dunne. The NA championship has not been around for too long but is doing better than the US title.
Verdict:
- Intercontinental Championship
- North American Championship
- United States Championship
Women's championship
This is really close.
Ronda Rousey squashed Alexa Bliss at Summerslam to clinch her first title in WWE. However, their buildup to Hell in a Cell has been underwhelming, to say the least. The previous champions Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax also did not have a memorable title reign.
The Smackdown Women's championship scene has been on fire after Becky Lynch turned on her best friend Charlotte at Summerslam. This is one of the hottest angles in pro wrestling today. The prestige of this title is at an all-time high and their match at Hell in a Cell is one of the most anticipated matches of the card.
Shayna Baszler's reign of dominance was curbed by Kairi Sane in the previous takeover after she countered to rear naked choke to a successive pinfall. We cannot rate Kairi's reign so far. But before her, Baszler, Ember Moon and most importantly, Asuka had legitimate title reigns. Hence, the NXT women's championship looks like the most prestigious women's championship at the moment. But at the same time, the Smackdown women's title also has a legitimate claim to the same throne. Hence, this one will be a tie between NXT and Smackdown.
Verdict: Tie between SD and NXT
World championship
All 3 brands have a legitimate world champion each.
Roman Reigns put an end to the boring and elongated 504 reigns of Brock Lesnar as the universal champion at Summerslam 2018. The Universal title has been around for just two years. In that time, there have been 5 champions - Finn Balor had to relinquish the title the next day he won it because of his shoulder injury, Kevin Owens had a good reign but was abruptly ended by Goldberg who soon dropped it to Brock Lesnar. The universal championship is honestly one of the most forgettable championships to exist in WWE and if Roman Reigns cannot elevate it, the future looks bleak for the red title.
Jinder Mahal held the WWE championship for a good part of 2017. It was a really tiring reign as the feuds and matches were sub-par at best. However, as soon as AJ Styles captured it from the modern-day maharaja, fans began to gather hope. AJ soon had various title defenses against the likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, John Cena, Shinsuke, Rusev, Jinder and recently, Samoa Joe. He has held the title now for more than 300 days and the big gold belt is back at where it belongs. The lineage of this title is too big for this to be downgraded to mid-card.
Tommaso Ciampa became the first guy to pin Alastair Black in a singles match to capture the NXT championship. Black had an overlooked title reign and was shadowed by the epic feud of Gargano and Ciampa. Now, Ciampa is holding on to the NXT championship and had a successful defense against his nemesis at Takeover: Brooklyn IV. He is carrying the belt like a proper champion and we are all excited to see what is next for the psycho killer.
Verdict :
The WWE championship had its downs last year but is now back to its former self. Even though the NXT championship has been on fire since Ciampa got his hands to it, we got to give the top position the oldest championship in the company. The universal title, however, got a lot of grounds to cover.
- WWE Championship.
- NXT Championship.
- Universal Championship.
