Though it would have been nice if WWE would have split up the WWE Championship and Universal Championship a while back — or perhaps never unified them in the first place — it’s done the next best thing with the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship. With Roman Reigns off to SmackDown as the post-WWE Draft rosters take effect this week, the new title gives the Raw talent a top prize of their own.
To find the inaugural champion, WWE has created a 12-man tournament with six wrestlers each from Raw and SmackDown that will play out on both shows this week. There will be two Triple Threat matches per brand, with the winners squaring off later in the show to determine the finalists, who in turn will meet for the title at Night of Champions on May 27 in Saudi Arabia.
Saying that the World Heavyweight Championship has been divisive is an understatement. For every WWE fan looking forward to something new and a chance for wrestlers to breathe prestige into the belt, it’s easy to find one who is skeptical of its “consolation prize” feel.
Despite that, there’s an opportunity in the tournament to do what WWE does best, weaving long term storytelling in with liberal does of nostalgia and fresh matchups to arrive somewhere compelling by the time the first World Heavyweight Champion is crowned.
To that end, here are three things that should happen during the World Heavyweight Championship tournament to make it as worthwhile as possible.
Cody Rhodes shouldn’t win, and shouldn’t even make the final
One of the biggest worries once the World Heavyweight Championship was announced was that WWE would try to have its cake and eat it too with regard to Cody Rhodes. After he came up short against Reigns at WrestleMania, the new title would be the most convenient way for him to win that elusive world championship without having to defeat the Tribal Chief. Everybody wins! Except the fans, of course, as this would be quite the copout.
Seeing Rhodes sent to Raw and then announced as part of the tournament field has only amplified those concerns. But let’s give Triple H and the creative team the benefit of the doubt for now and assume this is just to mess with our heads.
The most entertaining way for WWE to handle Rhodes would be to lean into the idea that he’s likely going to win … and then pull the rug our from under him. Have Cody win his Triple Threat match Monday night and look good in the Raw semifinal until a deus ex machina (maybe deus ex beast?) arrives in the form of Brock Lesnar.
After losing without being convincingly defeated at Backlash, Lesnar shouldn’t be willing to let things go with Rhodes, and the best possible way for him to get revenge would be to cost the American Nightmare a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. That allows the Rhodes-Lesnar program to continue while clearing the road for Cody to still go after Reigns down the road, which would truly be a win-win.
Sheamus should win the SmackDown side of the bracket
There are a lot of ways the SmackDown side of the tournament could go, making it a little harder to figure out the best way forward. It’s easier to approach it by process of elimination based on who’s involved in ongoing feuds.
Austin Theory and Bobby Lashley, for example, cancel each other out since they likely have unfinished business together. Rey Mysterio is part of a larger LWO-Judgment Day war, one that could easily swallow up his tourney chances.
AJ Styles and Edge would both be fun sentimental picks, and it wouldn’t be out of the question for WWE to give either man a run at the World Heavyweight Championship as a sort of last hurrah deal (especially for Edge). But there’s an even better choice still remaining: Sheamus.
The Celtic Warrior has been lauded even more than usual for his work over the past year but has come up short every time he’s gone for gold. Even better, he hasn’t had a singles match with the person who should emerge from the Raw bracket in more than five years …
Seth Rollins should win the whole thing
Let’s not overthink this. Not only is Seth Rollins incredibly over in his current babyface role, he’s been a trooper over the past few years while WWE has pushed others in places he no doubt feels he deserves.
Rollins has already cut the best promo at making the World Heavyweight Championship feel like it can be something special and convinced many he’s the man to help it on its way. He and Sheamus would put on a heck of a match at Night of Champions without either man needing to turn heel to sell their desire to win.
Let Reigns keep his titles as long as needed, but give the Visionary a chance to run with the ball on Raw. It just feels right, and hopefully WWE agrees.