The WWE Universal Championship is a Men’s premium professional wrestling belt created by WWE for the RAW brand and currently is defended on SmackDown. It is one of the four top prizes for Men in WWE besides the NXT Championship on NXT, the World Heavyweight Championship on RAW, and the WWE Championship on SmackDown. However, the WWE Championship is only defended alongside the Universal Championship.
In April 2022, the title was merged with the WWE Championship and renamed the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Per the official WWE records, the two titles have continued their original lineage after being merged. The current Universal Champion is Roman Reigns in his second reign with the title.
Who has held the Universal Championship the longest
Roman Reigns is the longest-reigning WWE Universal Champion of all time, and it is not even close. He has held the belt for more than 1263 days and continues to be the champion, at the time of writing. The Tribal Chief won the Universal Title at Payback 2020 in August of that year.
Fast forward almost four years later and after dozens of title defenses, Reigns still stands supreme on the Head of the Table.
5 Wrestlers With The Longest WWE Universal Championship Reign
#5. Braun Strowman - 141 Days
Braun Strowman is called a Monster among Men, and rightfully so. It is hard to find a man of his size with the sheer athleticism he possesses. After his debut in mid 2010s, a world title reign for Strowman was inevitable in WWE. It was during the COVID-19 Pandemic, that he finally won a world title.
The Universal Champion Goldberg was booked to defend his title at WrestleMania 36 against Roman Reigns. However, the latter pulled out due to health concerns and was swapped by Strowman at the last minute. The Monster would go on to win the title and hold it for 141 days before dropping it to his former master, The Fiend Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam.
#4. Brock Lesnar - 156 Days
Brock Lesnar has won the Universal Championship a record three times in WWE. After his first reign ended at SummerSlam 2018, Lesnar was booked to challenge Roman Reigns in a triple threat match at Crown Jewel also involving Braun Strowman. However, Reigns had to relinquish the title due to Leukemia and The Beast Incarnate then defeated The Monster to become the champion. Lesnar would go on to hold the gold for five months before dropping it to 2019 Royal Rumble winner Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins at WrestleMania 35.
#3. Kevin Owens - 188 Days
Kevin Owens was the second wrestler after Finn Balor to ever win the Universal Championship, and to date, is the youngest wrestler to hold the belt. The Prizefighter defeated Big Cass, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins on Monday Night RAW to win the vacant title. His title reign is often credited for the early success of the title.
During his reign of six months, Owens defended the title in seven televised matches, three of which were against Seth Rollins, two against Roman Reigns, one against Braun Strowman, and the last against Goldberg where he lost the belt.
#2. Brock Lesnar - 503 Days
Brock Lesnar had a great feud with Goldberg in 2016-17, which came after The Beast slayed Da Man at WrestleMania 33. Thereafter began a reign of a conqueror. Lesnar then reigned supreme on the top of Monday Night RAW, for more than eighteen months. In this reign, The Beast defended the gold on seven different occasions against the likes of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, and Kane.
#1. Roman Reigns - 1263+ Days
Considered to be the greatest title reign of all time in all of pro-wrestling, Roman Reigns’ run at the top is the longest Universal Championship reign of all time. The Big Dog was set to face Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 for the latter’s Universal title before he pulled out due to medical reasons. He would return at SummerSlam that year to layeth the SmackDown on Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman.
In a shocking turn of events, Reigns turned heel and aligned himself with Paul Heyman. It was the beginning of a run. Not only is it the greatest run of all time, but is also considered one of the most dominant reigns of all time. It has been more than 44 months since Reigns had become the champion and, to date, he has defended the belt in 31 televised matches. He is next booked to defend the gold against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL.
Roman Reigns’ title defenses
These are all the title defenses by Roman Reigns during his second reign with the Universal Championship.
| No | Date | Event | Opponents | Venue and Location |
| 31 | 27-01-24 | WWE Royal Rumble 2024 | Randy Orton, LA Knight, AJ Styles | Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA |
| 30 | 04-11-23 | WWE Crown Jewel 2023 | LA Knight | Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi |
| 29 | 05-08-23 | WWE SummerSlam 2023 | Jey Uso | Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| 28 | 02-04-23 | WWE WrestleMania 39 | Cody Rhodes | SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, USA |
| 27 | 18-02-23 | WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 | Sami Zayn | Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| 26 | 28-01-23 | WWE Royal Rumble 2023 | Kevin Owens | Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, USA |
| 25 | 05-11-22 | WWE Crown Jewel 2022 | Logan Paul | Mrsool Park in Riyadh, Saudi |
| 24 | 03-09-22 | WWE Clash At The Castle | Drew McIntyre | Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, UK |
| 23 | 30-07-22 | WWE SummerSlam 2022 | Brock Lesnar | Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, USA |
| 22 | 17-06-22 | WWE Friday Night SmackDown #1191 | Riddle | Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| 21 | 03-04-22 | WWE WrestleMania 38 | Brock Lesnar | AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA |
| 20 | 19-02-22 | WWE Elimination Chamber 2022 | Goldberg | Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi |
| 19 | 29-01-22 | WWE Royal Rumble 2022 | Seth Rollins | The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| 18 | 03-12-21 | WWE Friday Night SmackDown #1163 | Sami Zayn | Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| 17 | 21-10-21 | WWE Crown Jewel 2021 | Brock Lesnar | Mohammed Abdu Arena On The Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi |
| 16 | 26-09-21 | WWE Extreme Rules 2021 | Finn Balor | Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, USA |
| 15 | 03-09-21 | WWE Friday Night SmackDown #1150 | Finn Balor | Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| 14 | 21-08-21 | WWE SummerSlam 2021 | John Cena | Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, USA |
| 13 | 18-07-21 | WWE Money In The Bank 2021 | Edge | Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, USA |
| 12 | 18-06-21 | WWE Friday Night SmackDown #1139 | Rey Mysterio | Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| 11 | 16-05-21 | WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2021 | Cesaro | WWE ThunderDome (Yuengling Center) in Tampa, Florida, USA |
| 10 | 30-04-21 | WWE Friday Night SmackDown #1132 | Daniel Bryan | Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| 9 | 11-04-21 | WWE WrestleMania 37 | Daniel Bryan and Edge | Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, USA |
| 8 | 21-03-21 | WWE Fastlane 2021 | Daniel Bryan | WWE ThunderDome (Tropicana Field) in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA |
| 7 | 21-02-21 | WWE Elimination Chamber 2021 | Daniel Bryan | WWE ThunderDome (Tropicana Field) in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA |
| 6 | 31-01-21 | WWE Royal Rumble 2021 | Kevin Owens | WWE ThunderDome (Tropicana Field) in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA |
| 5 | 22-12-20 | WWE Friday Night SmackDown #1114 | Kevin Owens | Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| 4 | 20-12-20 | WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2020 | Kevin Owens | WWE ThunderDome (Tropicana Field) in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA |
| 3 | 25-10-20 | WWE Hell In A Cell 2020 | Jey Uso | WWE ThunderDome (Amway Center) in Orlando, Florida, USA |
| 2 | 16-10-20 | WWE Friday Night SmackDown #1104 | Braun Strowman | Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| 1 | 27-09-20 | WWE Clash Of Champions 2020 | Jey Uso | WWE ThunderDome (Amway Center) in Orlando, Florida, USA |
FAQ's On List of Longest Reigning WWE Universal Champions
A. John Cena and Ric Flair have both won a record 16 world titles in WWE.
A. Roman Reigns has held the Universal Championship for more than 42 months, since winning it at Payback 2020.
A. Roman Reigns is the current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and has only one title. He previously carried two belts before the WWE Championship and Universal Championship were merged into one.
A. CM Punk held the WWE Championship for 434 days.
A. The Universal Championship was merged into the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 38.
