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List of WWE Universal Champions

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This redirect is about a list of wrestlers who have held the current WWE Universal Championship. For a list of wrestlers who have the now-retired World Heavyweight Championship defended from 2002 to 2013, see List of World Heavyweight Champions (WWE). For the wrestlers who have held the current World Heavyweight Championship, see World Heavyweight Championship (WWE, 2023–present). For wrestlers who have held another current WWE World Championship, see WWE Championship. For it's list, see List of WWE Champions. For a list of current title holders in WWE, see List of current champions in WWE.

The WWE Universal Championship is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand division. The title was named in honor of WWE's fanbase, referred to as the WWE Universe, the championship was established on July 25, 2016, to be the top title of the Raw brand at the time. Its creation came as a result of the reintroduction of the brand split and subsequent draft on July 19, 2016, in which the WWE Championship, the promotion's original world title, became exclusive to SmackDown. The inaugural Universal Champion was Finn Bálor.At WrestleMania 38 Night 2 on April 3, 2022, reigning Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Raw's WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match to claim both championships and become recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. WWE had billed the match as a championship unification match; however, both titles have remained independently active with Reigns being a double champion, defending both titles together across both brands as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.[1] On the April 24, 2023, episode of Raw, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H announced that regardless of what brand Reigns was drafted to in the 2023 WWE Draft, he and his undisputed championship would become exclusive to that brand. Triple H subsequently unveiled a new World Heavyweight Championship for the opposing brand, which was won by Seth "Freakin" Rollins at Night of Champions.[2][3] As Reigns was drafted to SmackDown, the World Heavyweight Championship became exclusive to Raw.[4] On the June 2, 2023, episode of SmackDown, Triple H presented Reigns with a new singular championship belt to represent the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.[5]

Current champion Cody Rhodes, who holds the title in tandem with the WWE Championship as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

As of October 18, 2024, there have been fifteen reigns between nine champions and two vacancies. Finn Bálor was the inaugural champion. Brock Lesnar holds the record for most reigns at three. Roman Reigns' second reign is the longest singular reign at 1,316 days, while Bálor has the shortest reign at 22 hours as he was forced to vacate the title due to suffering a legitimate injury in winning it. Reigns also holds the record for longest combined reign at 1,380 days (1,379 days as recognized by WWE). Kevin Owens is the youngest champion when he won it at 32 years, 114 days old, while Goldberg is the oldest when he won the title for a second time at 53.

Cody Rhodes is the current champion in his first reign. He won the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (Universal and WWE Championships) by defeating Roman Reigns in a Bloodline Rules match at WrestleMania XL Night 2 on April 7, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Title history

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
<1 Reign lasted less than a day
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
WWE: Raw
1 Finn Bálor August 21, 2016 SummerSlam Brooklyn, NY 1 1 <1 The title was established for Raw after the WWE Championship became exclusive to SmackDown following the 2016 WWE Draft. Bálor defeated Seth Rollins in a pinfall and submission-only match to become the inaugural champion. [6]
— Vacated August 22, 2016 Raw Brooklyn, NY — — — Vacated due to Finn Bálor suffering a legit shoulder injury during his match at SummerSlam. [7][8]
2 Kevin Owens August 29, 2016 Raw Houston, TX 1 188 188 This was a fatal four-way elimination match for the vacant title also involving Big Cass, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins, who Owens last eliminated to win. [9]
3 Goldberg March 5, 2017 Fastlane Milwaukee, WI 1 28 27 [10]
4 Brock Lesnar April 2, 2017 WrestleMania 33 Orlando, FL 1 504 503 [11]
5 Roman Reigns August 19, 2018 SummerSlam Brooklyn, NY 1 64 63 [12]
— Vacated October 22, 2018 Raw Providence, RI — — — Vacated after Roman Reigns announced that he had a legitimate re-diagnosis of leukemia. [13][14]
6 Brock Lesnar November 2, 2018 Crown Jewel Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2 156 156 Originally scheduled as a triple threat match in which Roman Reigns was to defend the title against Lesnar and Braun Strowman.[15] After Reigns relinquished the championship, the match became a singles match between Lesnar and Strowman for the vacant title.[14] [16]
7 Seth Rollins April 7, 2019 WrestleMania 35 East Rutherford, NJ 1 98 98 [17]
8 Brock Lesnar July 14, 2019 Extreme Rules Philadelphia, PA 3 28 27 This was Lesnar's Money in the Bank cash-in match. [18]
9 Seth Rollins August 11, 2019 SummerSlam Toronto, ON, Canada 2 81 80 [19]
10 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt October 31, 2019 Crown Jewel Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1 119 118 This was a Falls Count Anywhere match that could not be stopped for any reason.
The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand due to Wyatt's status as a SmackDown wrestler. 		[20]
WWE: SmackDown
11 Goldberg February 27, 2020 Super ShowDown Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2 27 or 28 37 WWE recognizes this reign as ending on April 4, 2020, when the following match aired on tape delay. [21]
12 Braun Strowman March 25 or 26, 2020 WrestleMania 36
Part 1 		Orlando, FL 1 150 or 151 141 WrestleMania was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on April 4, 2020, when the match aired on tape delay.[22] [23]
13 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt August 23, 2020 SummerSlam Orlando, FL 2 7 6 This was a Falls Count Anywhere match. [24]
14 Roman Reigns August 30, 2020 Payback Orlando, FL 2 1,316 1,316 This was a No Holds Barred triple threat match also involving Braun Strowman, who Reigns pinned.
At WrestleMania 38 on April 3, 2022, Reigns defeated Raw's WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match and became recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion of both brands. Despite the match being billed as a unification match, both titles remain independently active.
In April 2023, after Reigns was drafted to SmackDown in the 2023 WWE Draft, a new World Heavyweight Championship was established for Raw as the counterpart to Reigns' Undisputed Championship. 		[25][1]
15 Cody Rhodes April 7, 2024 WrestleMania XL
Night 2 		Philadelphia, PA 1 194+ 193+ This was a Bloodline Rules match in which Reigns also defended the WWE Championship. Rhodes was a member of the Raw brand. [26]

Combined reigns

The inaugural WWE Universal Champion Finn Bálor.
Record three-time champion Brock Lesnar.
Longest reigning at a record-setting 1,316 days and most combined days at a record-setting 1,380 days Roman Reigns.

As of October 18, 2024.

† Indicates the current champion
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest length is considered.
<1 Reign was less than a day
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
days 		Combined days
rec. by WWE
1 Roman Reigns 2 1,380 1,379
2 Brock Lesnar 3 688 686
3 Kevin Owens 1 188
4 Seth Rollins 2 179 178
5 Braun Strowman 1 ¤150 141
6 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt 2 126 124
7 Goldberg 2 ¤55 64
8 Cody Rhodes † 1 194+ 193+
9 Finn Bálor 1 <1

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Keller, Wade (April 3, 2022). "4/3 WWE WrestleMania 38 Results: Keller's detailed match report with analysis including Lesnar vs. Reigns, Edge vs. Styles, Knoxville vs. Sami, McAfee vs. Theory". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Thompson, Andrew (April 25, 2023). "Paul Levesque unveils new World Heavyweight Title, champion to be crowned at WWE Night of Champions". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Keller, Wade (April 24, 2023). "4/24 WWE Raw results: Keller's report on Triple H announcement, Bad Bunny appearing in person, Rey vs. Priest". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Bath, Dave (April 28, 2023). "WWE SmackDown live results: The WWE Draft begins". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  5. ^ Rose, Bryan (June 2, 2023). "WWE unveils new Undisputed WWE Universal Championship belt". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Caldwell, James (August 21, 2016). "8/21 WWE Summerslam Results – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Vacancy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Raw08222016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Keller, Wade (August 29, 2016). "Keller's WWE Raw Review 8/29: Ongoing coverage of fatal four way for the WWE Universal Title". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  10. ^ Powell, Jason (March 5, 2017). "3/5 Powell's WWE Fastlane Live Review: Kevin Owens vs. Goldberg for the WWE Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, Bayley vs. Charlotte for the Raw Women's Championship, Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Powell, Jason (April 2, 2017). "Powell's WrestleMania 33 live review: Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns, Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon, Seth Rollins vs. Triple H in an unsanctioned match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  12. ^ Powell, Jason (August 19, 2018). "Powell's WWE SummerSlam 2018 live review: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship, Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship, Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  13. ^ Benigno, Anthony (October 22, 2018). "Roman Reigns relinquished the Universal Championship after revealing his battle with leukemia". WWE. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Keller, Wade (October 22, 2018). "10/22 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Reigns cancer announcement, final Evolution hype, Ronda Rousey-Nikki Bella contract signing, HBK and Triple H hype DX reunion, Braun-Drew fallout, Tag Title match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  15. ^ Keller, Wade (September 17, 2018). "9/17 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report with the Hell in a Cell follow-up including controversial finish with Brock Lesnar in the main event". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  16. ^ Powell, Jason (November 2, 2018). "Powell's WWE Crown Jewel live review: Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship, Undertaker and Kane vs. DX, World Cup tournament". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  17. ^ Powell, Jason (April 7, 2019). "WrestleMania 35 results: Powell's live review of Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair for the Raw and Smackdown Women's Titles, Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship, Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship, Batista vs. Triple H, AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  18. ^ Powell, Jason (July 14, 2019). "WWE Extreme Rules results: Powell's live review of Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch vs. Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans in an Extreme Rules match for the WWE Universal Championship and the Raw Women's Championship, Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  19. ^ Powell, Jason (August 11, 2019). "WWE SummerSlam results: Powell's live review of Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship, Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon, Trish Stratus vs. Charlotte Flair, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  20. ^ Powell, Jason (October 31, 2019). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's live review of Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez for the WWE Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the WWE Universal Championship, Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury, Lacey Evans vs. Natalya". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (February 27, 2020). "WWE Super ShowDown results: Powell's live review of "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship, Brock Lesnar vs. Ricochet for the WWE Championship, Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz and John Morrison for the Smackdown Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  22. ^ "WWE grabará Wrestlemania 36". Solowrestling (in Spanish). March 21, 2020. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  23. ^ Powell, Jason (April 4, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 results: Powell's live review of night one featuring Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship, Undertaker vs. AJ Styles in a Boneyard match, Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler for the Raw Women's Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  24. ^ Powell, Jason (August 23, 2020). "WWE SummerSlam results: Powell's review of Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Braun Strowman vs. The Fiend for the WWE Universal Championship, Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville in a No DQ, loser leaves WWE match, Asuka challenges for two titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  25. ^ Powell, Jason (August 30, 2020). "WWE Payback results: Powell's review of The Fiend vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Championship, Keith Lee vs. Randy Orton, Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  26. ^ Powell, Jason (April 7, 2024). "WrestleMania XL results: Powell's live review of night two with Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Universal Championship with Bloodline Rules, Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
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