On this page, you find the full Title History for the WWE Universal Championship, with all Championship Info, Statistics, the Belt Design changes through the years, and the full list of Title Reigns, along with dates, events, and reign durations.
The WWE Universal Championship is a World Title contested in World Wrestling Entertainment on the SmackDown brand, by men wrestlers.
The championship was first established on July 25, 2016, and the inaugural champion was Finn Bálor.
When the WWE Championship became exclusive to SmackDown LIVE following the WWE Brand Extension, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley created the Universal Championship as the flagship title of Monday Night Raw. The Universal Title then switched to the blue brand with "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt's 2019 victory over Seth Rollins.
Since April 8, 2024, the title has been jointly held and defended with the WWE Championship as the Undisputed WWE Championship, but both titles have maintained their individual lineages.
The current champion is Cody Rhodes, who won the title at WWE WrestleMania XL on April 7, 2024, and has been reigning for 255 days (The title is being collectively defended with the WWE Championship as the Undisputed WWE Championship.).
WWE Universal Championship: Title History
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Promotions History
Promotion from to Promotion 
WWEBrand
SmackDown
October 31, 2019 Present Promotion WWEBrand
Raw
July 25, 2016 October 30, 2019 -
Defended With
- WWF Championship - Undisputed WWE Championship ( April 8, 2024 - Present)
- WWE Championship - Undisputed WWE Universal Championship ( April 3, 2022 - April 7, 2024)
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Championship Names & Belt Designs
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WWE Universal Championship (Undisputed) June 2, 2023 -
WWE Universal Championship February 27, 2020 June 1, 2023 -
WWE Universal Championship (The Fiend) November 29, 2019 February 26, 2020 - WWE Universal Championship November 15, 2019 November 28, 2019
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WWE Universal Championship July 25, 2016 November 14, 2019
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WWE Universal Championship: Title Reigns
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N. Image Champion Reign World Wrestling Entertainment: SmackDown 15 
Cody Rhodes 1
- April 7, 2024
- Philadelphia, PA
- | WWE WrestleMania XL
- 255+ days
The title is being collectively defended with the WWE Championship as the Undisputed WWE Championship.255+- days
14 
Roman Reigns 2
- August 30, 2020
- Orlando, FL
- | WWE Payback 2020
- 1316 days
At WrestleMania 38, Roman Reigns defeated the then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match. The titles remained independently active, but were collectively defended on any brand as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.1316- days
13 
Bray Wyatt / The Fiend 2
- August 23, 2020
- Orlando, FL
- | WWE SummerSlam 2020
- 7 days
7- days
12 
Braun Strowman 1
- April 4, 2020
- Orlando, FL
- | WWE WrestleMania 36
- 141 days
141- days
11 
Goldberg 2
- February 27, 2020
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- | WWE Super ShowDown 2020
- 37 days
37- days
10 Bray Wyatt / The Fiend 1
- October 31, 2019
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- | WWE Crown Jewel 2019
- 119 days
The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand due to Wyatt's status as a SmackDown wrestler.119- days
World Wrestling Entertainment: Raw 9 
Seth Rollins 2
- August 11, 2019
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- | WWE SummerSlam 2019
- 81 days
81- days
8 
Brock Lesnar 3
- July 14, 2019
- Philadelphia, PA
- | WWE Extreme Rules 2019
- 28 days
Cashed in the Money in the Bank contract.28- days
7 Seth Rollins 1
- April 7, 2019
- East Rutherford, NJ
- | WWE WrestleMania 35
- 98 days
98- days
6 Brock Lesnar 2
- November 2, 2018
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- | WWE Crown Jewel (2018)
- 156 days
Defeated Braun Strowman for the vacant title.156- days
Vacant
- October 22, 2018
- Providence, RI
- | Raw
- 11 days
The title was vacated after Roman Reigns announced that he had a re-diagnosis of leukemia.11- days
5 
Roman Reigns 1
- August 19, 2018
- Brooklyn, NY
- | WWE SummerSlam 2018
- 64 days
64- days
4 Brock Lesnar 1
- April 2, 2017
- Orlando, FL
- | WWE WrestleMania 33
- 504 days
504- days
3 Goldberg 1
- March 5, 2017
- Milwaukee, WI
- | WWE Fastlane 2017
- 28 days
28- days
2 
Kevin Owens 1
- August 29, 2016
- Houston, TX
- | Raw
- 188 days
Defeated Big Cass, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a fatal four-way elimination match for the vacant title.188- days
Vacant
- August 22, 2016
- Brooklyn, NY
- | Raw
- 7 days
The title was vacated due to Finn Bálor suffering a shoulder injury.7- days
1 
Finn Bálor 1
- August 21, 2016
- Brooklyn, NY
- | WWE SummerSlam 2016
- 1 day
The title was established for Raw after the WWE Championship became exclusive to SmackDown following the 2016 WWE Draft. Bálor defeated Seth Rollins to become the inaugural champion.1- day
WWE Universal Championship: Statistics
- Promotion
World Wrestling Entertainment
- Gender Male
- Title Type Primary Title
- Brand SmackDown
- Date Established July 25, 2016
- First ChampionFinn Bálor
- Current ChampionCody Rhodes
Most Number of Reigns
| Rank | Wrestler | Reigns |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Lesnar | 3 |
| 2 | Roman Reigns | 2 |
| 3 | Seth Rollins | 2 |
| 4 | Bray Wyatt / The Fiend | 2 |
| 5 | Goldberg | 2 |
Most Combined Days
| Rank | Wrestler | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Reigns | 1380 | |
| Brock Lesnar | 688 | |
| Cody Rhodes | 255+ | |
| Kevin Owens | 188 | |
| Seth Rollins | 179 |
Longest Reigns
| Rank | Wrestler | Reign | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Reigns | August 30, 2020 - April 7, 2024 | 1316 | |
| Brock Lesnar | April 2, 2017 - August 19, 2018 | 504 | |
| Cody Rhodes | April 7, 2024 - December 18, 2024 | 255+ | |
| Kevin Owens | August 29, 2016 - March 5, 2017 | 188 | |
| Brock Lesnar | November 2, 2018 - April 7, 2019 | 156 |