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Since the introduction of the Brand Split in 2002, WWE has often featured two top championships. Today these titles are RAW's WWE Championship held by Brock Lesnar and SmackDown's Universal Championship held by Roman Reigns.
The two champions are scheduled to battle at WrestleMania 38 with both titles on the line, and it seems that for the first time since 2013, the company will once again have only one main championship.
Although Lesnar and Reigns are fighting to unify the titles, this is by no means the first time the WWE Champion and the Universal Champion have done battle. Over the years, there have been five instances where the two top champions have clashed.
With a nice round number and the final match around the corner that promises to blow the previous ones away, let's rank every WWE vs. Universal Championship match from worst to best.
#5. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Universal Champion Seth Rollins: RAW, April 8 2019
The audience was abuzz the night after WrestleMania 35 with fan-favorites Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins winning their respective brands' top titles. Those who attended that night's RAW were waiting with baited breath to see what these champions would do.
At the start of the show, the audience erupted when the two agreed to a Winner Takes All match. The excitement over the prospect of an Undisputed Champion so soon after 'Mania had everyone on edge, and no one could predict who would walk out the victor.
Unfortunately, the match was ruled no-contest when The Bar interfered. It quickly transformed into a standard tag match with both champions teaming up against Sheamus and Cesaro rather than finishing their battle.
This is the most disappointing entry simply because it was the only Champion vs. Champion match that did not have a conclusive ending. On the most hyped RAW of the year, it overpromised on a stipulation that the company had no interest in sticking to.
#4. WWE Champion Big E vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns: Survivor Series 2021
Big E had a promising 2021 with his Money in the Bank cash-in and subsequent WWE Championship win. However, it would soon prove to be a disappointing run.
Big E was never treated as a top champion and continued to work closely with The New Day in more mid-card level matches. Aside from the occasional title defense on Raw, Big E was still presented as being lesser than other main event level talent.
When Survivor Series came around, it was already quite obvious that Roman Reigns was going to win his second consecutive Champion vs. Champion match at the event. That's exactly what happened, and a month later, Big E lost his title to Brock Lesnar.
This entry was not a bad match by any means, but it suffered from being too predictable and served no real benefit to the people involved in it.
#3. WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns: Survivor Series 2020
2020 was Drew McIntyre's year. He won the Royal Rumble, beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE title at WrestleMania and defended it in all manner of matches. He carried the company as its top babyface throughout the pandemic.
Come Survivor Series, however, it seemed that his momentum had stalled. After dropping the title to Randy Orton, McIntyre was not even placed on the Survivor Series card. Shockingly, he regained the title shortly before the event and went on to face the dominant Roman Reigns.
Unlike Big E, McIntyre could afford a loss or two and bounced back for a good main event after recapturing his title. Although he fought valiantly against Reigns, The Scottish Warrior lost. Despite this, he quickly regained his momentum and closed out the year at the top of the company.
#2. WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Universal Champion Brock Lesnar: Survivor Series 2017
The first match between the WWE Champion and Universal Champion took place at the 2017 Survivor Series. With two extremely talented veterans from completely different backgrounds, it helped set the stage for what we ought to expect from such a rare match type.
However, this was almost not to be. In the weeks leading up to the 2017 Survivor Series, it seemed that Jinder Mahal was going to take on The Beast instead. Realizing that fans had soured on this, the decision was made to have AJ Styles take the title from Mahal and create this hotly-anticipated match.
The bout itself was the typical Suplex City-fest fans had grown to expect from Brock Lesnar, with Styles getting a fair bit of offense in as well. Although it was a questionable decision to have the new champion lose so early on in his reign, the star power and quality of the match itself made for a very enjoyable showing.
#1. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Universal Champion Brock Lesnar: Survivor Series 2018
The main event of the 2018 Survivor Series seemed geared towards a rematch of the previous year's Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles.
However, like the year before, the WWE title switched hands shortly before the event. On the Smackdown before Survivor Series, Daniel Bryan turned heel and took the title from AJ Styles. With no buildup whatsoever, a villainous Bryan walked into Survivor Series and took on The Beast.
Fans had no idea what to expect from the encounter and were genuinely unsure of who would come out on top. The match itself was excellent, with Lesnar's dominance and strength being countered by Bryan's devious intelligence. Hitting his finishers and a low blow, Bryan came very close to slaying The Beast.
The two even blurred the lines between fiction and reality, with Bryan selling injuries to his head and leaving the audience unsure if he was legitimately hurt. He then ended the match laughing truimphantly despite his loss.
The match between Bryan and Lesnar was not only an excellent Champion vs. Champion match, but also a shining example of how a wrestler can lose a bout and come out of it looking even stronger.
If Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lensar at WrestleMania 38 truly wants be the top clash between the WWE and Universal Champion, this is the match it should strive to outdo.
