Ranking All The 14 Champions In WWE and NXT Today

Championship gold in the WWE is significant in reflecting the years of perseverance and struggle of finally grabbing that brass ring and making it big in the world of professional wrestling.

While some superstars are genuinely handpicked, others have scratched and clawed to reach their full potential in the WWE.

Superstars like Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens, and Dean Ambrose have successfully held the gold, but have never received the push they actually deserved.

Since holding the gold definitely elevates a superstar's credibility, the creative team has a lot of work to do in order to maintain the stock of an individual performer.

There are a total of 14 Championships in the WWE and NXT today, with superstars sharing different personalities, and in order to assess the credibility of those belts, there are many elements that are need to be taken into consideration.

Considering that the NXT UK Women's Championship has been recently introduced to the frame, it won't be appropriate to rank the prescribed champion.

The overall booking, the champion's characterization, and the fans' reaction to their reign stands as significant components to judge where these champions stand.

So, without further ado, let's dive deep and rank the 14 champions in the WWE and NXT today.

#14 Cedric Alexander - WWE Cruiserweight Champion

After defeating Mustafa Ali in a gruesome encounter at WrestleMania 34, Cedric Alexander finally got his hands on the prestigious Cruiserweight Championship.

Since the division was already relegated due to its poor booking initially, Triple H's creative involvement has brought some intrigue to 205 Live, but Cedric Alexander's stock as a legitimate champion is depreciating.

While he is definitely a standout performer, but his characterization remains stagnant, and since stars like Drew Gulak, Lio Rush, Mustafa Ali, and Buddy Murphy already enacting their part so well, the focus has diverted from the gold.

With Cedric Alexander bound to defend his championship against Buddy Murphy at WWE Super Show-Down in Australia, the fans are expecting the latter to win the belt.

Despite being a versatile performer, his title reign has not clicked with the fans and creative management's lack of involvement in the narrative has been pathetic.

#13 Shinsuke Nakamura - WWE United States Champion

When Shinsuke Nakamura signed for the WWE, a large portion of the audience was excited beyond belief, and the King of Strong Style delivered in his first bout against Sami Zayn.

The Japanese Sensation went on to showcase his highly offensive style of wrestling under Triple H's wing, but the same cannot be said about his run on the main-roster.

Shinsuke Nakamura's debut on the main roster felt promising, and the United States Champion went on to become the Royal Rumble winner in 2018.

However, his promising debut failed very quickly at the expense of poor narrative and stale characterization. While he still carries the United States Championship around his waist, the title has remain devoid of a compelling story, as of late.

Jeff Hardy's feud with the Rockstar focused more on his ongoing beef with Randy Orton than the match itself. If WWE seriously needs to push the envelope with Nakamura, they must provide him enough creative freedom to display his offensive mannerisms to get over, again.

#12 Drew Mcintyre and Dolph Ziggler - WWE Raw Tag-Team Champions

Does WWE really even care about the tag-team division?

It's a damn shame that despite being WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw is producing some of the worst tag-team wrestling in North America today.

While Drew Mcintyre and Dolph Ziggler will bring some rejuvenation to the division, but the title itself has been degraded to such an extent that it seems impossible to care now.

Since the B-Team held the tag-team championships earlier, their feud with the Deleter of Worlds and Revival was beyond pathetic.

Two superstars who were basically jobbers were handed the tag-team belts without any significant investment in the narrative, and this is a more substantial reason why the Raw Tag-Team division has no substance at the moment.

Considering that Mcintyre and Ziggler are already feuding with The Shield, the creative team could provide some legitimate interest before heading into Hell in a Cell by booking an excellent bout between Dolph Ziggler and Drew Mcintyre Vs. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.

This could surely be the start of something beautiful for the Raw Tag-Team division, but until then, let's not get carried away by what has transpired throughout the entire summer.

#11 The New Day - WWE SmackDown Live Tag-Team Champions

While Monday Night Raw has unfortunately reduced their fans' interest in the tag-team division, SmackDown Live still continues their stagnant run with the tag-team championships.

There's no denying that a lot could have changed if the company started taking their tag-team talent seriously, but WWE's booking of some dominating NXT factions has been absolutely ridiculous.

Taking SAnitY, Revival, and Authors of Pain into consideration, the creative team have not utilized them to their full potential, and they have been constantly buried, to put over an already established team.

Since The New Day has already maintained their stock as a solid faction, winning the tag-team championships could bring more momentum to their side, but only if they are supported by a compelling narrative.

With the WWE Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship already producing some personal rivalries, the interest on the tag-team division will only elevate, if there is some serious storyline attached.

It's particularly difficult to rank the New Day so down, but the current state of tag-team division on the main roster has reduced our interest.

#10 Pete Dunne - WWE United Kingdom Champion

One way or the other, Pete Dunne will be a more substantial component for the future of this business, especially when Triple H takes over.

He is currently the longest reigning champion in the WWE, and has held the United Kingdom Championship for a stellar 477 days.

However, despite possessing all the ingredients to become a vicious heel champion, Dunne is not a primary feature on WWE's television, be it NXT or the main roster.

His current animosity with Ricochet could result in a blockbuster clash, and while the match may be outstanding, the company needs to take the UK Championship more seriously.

Pete Dunne has been defending his title on independent shows, and if the company starts taking his talent seriously, then he could go toe-to-toe with anyone in the big league.

This superstar has a lot of potential in him, and he will eventually grab Vince McMahon's brass ring, but if we are comparing his reign with other champions, then it would be difficult to ascend into the top five, at the moment.

#9 Kairi Sane - NXT Women's Champion

While it is particularly difficult to rank champions that have scratched and clawed to get their way to the top, the lack of widespread attention has led this championship to drop a little.

There's no denying that NXT is producing some of the finest television in North America, and with The Game carrying the torch, he has already established the future through his master storytelling and creative freedom to characters.

Kairi Sane's bout with Shayna Baszler at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn was perhaps one of the most entertaining matches produced from the women's division, in a while.

Both the competitors gave everything they had, and while the Queen of Spades legitimately delivered some of her finest performances, it was Kairi Sane that took her down, eventually.

Despite defeating the monstrous heel successfully, her title reign has just begun and a lot of her credibility depends upon her ability to maintain her dominance.

For now, she stands here but if she continues to put hellacious performances with her opponents, then she can really make her mark as a legitimate champion.

#8 The Undisputed ERA - NXT Tag-Team Champions

They have definitely captured tremendous attention from the audience

Triple H's fantastic booking of the tag-team division has elevated the stature of many teams on the developmental brand, and has been highly successful in making them into bigger stars.

Adam Cole's Undisputed Era is an example here. All the performers in the talented faction have all the potential in the world to be successful on the main roster.

There's no denying that their matches have a lot of freshness and intrigue attached to them. While WWE is still trying to figure out how to book their tag-team division, the Undisputed Era is thriving under Triple H's radar and are producing fine television.

Since some individual championship belts are already doing well on both platforms, it's a damn shame that we have to rank the Undisputed Era at such a low rank.

#7 Charlotte Flair - WWE SmackDown Women's Champion

Possib;y — Possibly in the best feud of her career at the moment

Possibly the most athletic female competitor on the main roster, Charlotte Flair is bound to achieve tremendous things under Vince McMahon's rule.

Despite being Ric Flair's daughter, the Queen has successfully managed to make a name for herself as a talented performer that thrives more as a heel, than as a babyface.

While SmackDown Women's Championship failed to be exciting under Carmella's reign, a lot could change now that Charlotte has captured the gold.

After Charlotte won the gold at SummerSlam, Becky Lynch shocked the entire wrestling world by senselessly beating her best friend.

This could probably be the start of something intriguing for the women's division, and could possibly result in making Becky Lynch into the most popular star on the main roster.

There's no denying that Charlotte is a fantastic champion, but a lot of the fans are against her and siding with Becky on her journey to win the gold.

A terrific option would to be either turn Charlotte heel or give Becky Lynch the gold at Hell in a Cell. Either way, this will be fantastic.

#6 Ricochet - NXT North American Champion

By introducing a new championship in NXT, Triple H was successful in inviting more performers on the developmental brand and producing some of the finest matches in the entire company.

The match at NXT Takeover: New Orleans for the inaugural NXT North American Championship blew the roof of the place, and received a whopping five star rating from Dave Meltzer.

Competitors like Adam Cole, Ricochet, EC3, Velveteen Dream, Lars Sullivan, and Killian Dain delivered the match of their lives and entertained the audience to the core.

Considering that all the six competitors were strongly booked and were doing everything in their power to decimate the other opponent only elevated the championship's prestige in the eyes of the audience.

While Adam Cole went on to win the Championship, he went on to lose the belt to Ricochet by delivering another outstanding match. Some of the spots in that match were hellacious and only justified what they were fighting for.

Matches like this indeed catapult the prestige of the championship gold, and in this case, Ricochet did just that.

#5 Ronda Rousey - WWE Raw Women's Champion

Despite being vehemently criticized earlier during her initial segments, Ronda Rousey has struck a chord with the fans and has indeed, took the Raw Women's division by storm.

Her feud with Alexa Bliss has been entertaining and has been receiving some worldwide attention on social media platforms.

Since the Rowdy One happens to be a popular female superstar, everything she does on the main roster garners extreme attention from the casual fans and has been assisting WWE in doing good business.

While her feud with Nia Jax fell flat, a lot of things could be achieved with Rousey as the Raw Women's Champion, with feuds like Ruby Riott, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte still rumored to happen.

With main stream attention catapulting WWE in making good business, there's a sure possibility that the company will keep her the face of the division, as long as they want to.

#4 Roman Reigns - WWE Universal Champion

The Big Dog is still not over with the crowd

Since the Universal Championship is the biggest championship in the entire company today, degrading it down for its terrible booking might not be right.

Brock Lesnar's pathetic reign as the champion is gone, and the Big Dog has stepped up to take charge of WWE's flagship show.

However, Roman Reigns' characterization is an issue here. He has not developed into a legitimate babyface, and still continues to struggle as far as character investment is concerned.

His opponents are cheered more than him, and a large proportion of the audience always wants to see him lose to the opposition side.

While his feud with Braun Strowman does look promising, not turning The Big Dog heel is particularly hindering his credibility as a legitimate superstar.

He is still very good in the ring and continues to be a major focus on the main roster but, he still has to improve a lot, if he needs to be taken seriously.

#3 A.J. Styles - WWE Champion

The Phenomenal One is finally involved in an intriguing rivalry

There's no denying that A.J. Styles is the most versatile competitor working in the entire company today, and can deliver a fantastic contest with almost anyone.

However, the creative team have not been so versatile, as far as his booking is concerned. A lot of the fans expected Shinsuke Nakamura to win the WWE Championship from the Phenomenal One, but for some strange reason, that never happened.

Since the feud felt so promising, the creative team were not able to garner much interest due to their stale storytelling.

A.J. Styles' feuds with Jinder Mahal, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rusev have been underwhelming but have been highly successful in positioning him as a fighting champion.

Moreover, his latest feud with Samoa Joe is already hitting the right notes, and with two men yearning to get their hands on each other, there is some serious attention on the most coveted prize in sports entertainment.

There's no denying that the Phenomenal One brings credibility, prestige, and dignity to the WWE Championship, and his incredibly agile performances make him an outstanding competitor.

Whatever he does on the blue brand will invoke massive interest from the fans, and it's about time WWE start pushing the WWE Championship as the main title on both brands.

#2 Seth Rollins - WWE Intercontinental Champion

Probably the hottest competitor in WWE today, Seth Rollins has managed to become one of the biggest babyfaces in the company, and has done it through sheer commitment and his incredible performances.

The Architect has rejuvenated the mid-card scene and has definitely made the Intercontinental Championship into 'The Championship' on Monday Night Raw.

A more legitimate reason why Rollins has worked as a champion is because of his incredible performances, and the ability to make his opponent look better between the ropes.

His bouts with Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, the Miz, and Dolph Ziggler have been a treat to the eyes, and were successful in bringing more attention to the Intercontinental Championship.

While the Universal Championship is considered to be the main title on Raw, the Architect is still burning it down with his open challenges, and might not be replaced anytime soon.

If WWE are consistent enough with Rollins on this one, he might go down in history as one of the most competent Intercontinental Champions of all time.

He's brilliant in the ring and brings dignity to the title he holds, but he still falls short on some platforms, and that is why he is not the NO.1 Champion, at the moment.

#1 Tommaso Ciampa - NXT Champion

Is thrEnter caption — Is he the biggest heel in the company today?

If you're a hardcore fan of professional wrestling, and are updated with what's transpiring in the wrestling world, then you know for a fact that Tommaso Ciampa is the most credible champion in both platforms today.

His heelish mannerisms inspire hate in the audience, and considering that his rise was so organic and so incredible, fans are always invested in what Triple H will do with him.

His epic rivalry with Johnny Gargano has been substantial in making Ciampa rise to the top of the company today, and both the competitors are giving us a 'rivalry for the ages'.

With so much heat surrounding the Black Heart, it's a damn shame that the main roster has failed to achieve something of this stature with any heel champion.

There's no way Ciampa will be replaced anytime soon, and the fact that his offensive in-your-face heel tactics are so incredible, he's here to stay for a long, long time.

A lot of the credit for booking him into such a vicious heel goes to Triple H and Johnny Gargano too. If you're not a fan of NXT, and have never been too interested in it, this man's championship reign will certainly make you realize why you've been a life-long wrestling fan.

Edited by Riju Dasgupta