Roman Reigns is in the midst of the best run of his career, and it was a great idea to have him hold both the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship at once. It’s also an idea that should end soon.
Both men’s world title have been in Reigns’ possession since WrestleMania 38, when he defeated longtime rival Brock Lesnar in a match that ensured one of them (barring a draw or other non-conclusive finish) would leave as undisputed champion. Putting Reigns in that spot made perfect sense, as it only reinforced the untouchable Head of the Table/Tribal Chief persona that has defined his ascent to the top star in the company.
Though WWE didn’t know it at the time and wouldn’t have wished for it, the timing was also perfect due to a relative lack of top card stars during the summer. Cody Rhodes, who the promotion pushed hard since his return, tore his pec and wasn’t around after one heroic outing at Hell in a Cell. Randy Orton has been battling back ailments and had to be taken out of the mix of Reigns challengers, and Big E broke his neck in the spring.
Those are the kinds of talents that help sustain competition around two world titles, and WWE simply didn’t have enough of them around since WrestleMania. Some other wrestlers were elevated in the meantime — Riddle, in particular, was given a chance to step into an even higher profile spot — but it’s telling that when the company found itself without its first choice for a SummerSlam opponent for Reigns (reportedly Orton), it played it safe and called Lesnar.
It’s also worked out nicely for Reigns to work a reduced schedule since he could be written as only needing to defend his two championships as a package deal. Yet circumstances are rapidly changing under the new creative team led by Paul Levesque, and splitting the titles up now seems like the smarter way to go — and the sooner, the better.
For starters, it’s going to be a huge moment for whoever is written to finally dethrone Reigns, and there are two wrestlers who are particularly well-positioned for that honor. One is Drew McIntyre, who had his previous world title run during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, without live crowds. He’s done everything the company has asked of him since then, and having him defeat Reigns at Clash at the Castle, in his native U.K., would be an incredible feel-good moment.
The other top candidate is Rhodes, who is only going to be more over with fans when he returns from injury later this year or in early 2023. Recent reports (not to mention common sense) suggest he’ll be a big part of WrestleMania 39, and what could be bigger than making him part of a world title match in the main event? It’s easy to imagine him winning the Royal Rumble and getting his shot at Reigns in Los Angeles.
If WWE splits up the titles, it can have its cake and eat it too. Let’s say Reigns agrees to put only the WWE Championship on the line at Clash at the Castle; it would be easy to do in a logical manner, having Paul Heyman cook up a reason to risk only one of his client’s titles. That gives McIntyre his much deserved moment while keeping gold around Reigns’ waist as well.
Preferably, that would be the Universal Championship, because Reigns has held it for more than 700 days. By the time WrestleMania 39 rolls around, he’ll be closing in on 1000. How incredible would it be to have Rhodes as the man who finally ends such a dominant reign?
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As an added bonus, splitting up the world championships allows WWE to do intriguing programs with new matchups over the months ahead and give them higher stakes. Karrion Kross, for instance, has made a big impact since he returned a few weeks ago. If McIntyre were to win one of the titles in September, Kross could be the first person in line to challenge him.
Or WWE can use him as an interim challenger for the belt Reigns would still have while freeing McIntyre for his own title feud. And there are still others who seem more likely to be pushed as title challengers under WWE’s new creative team than they might have been even a few months ago, including potential contenders both old (like AJ Styles) and new (Montez Ford, anyone?).
The tradeoff, of course, is that having Reigns lose both championships in one fell swoop would arguably be an even bigger moment for the winner. Still, the reward here seems pretty obvious, and too good overall for WWE to pass up. With Clash at the Castle just a few weeks away, the time is now for the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship to bid each other adieu and be defended separately again, the better to create multiple moments of magic over the next eight months.