WWE's Best and Worst Trends of 2018

Worst: The Universal Championship

The. Worst.

The Universal Championship has been cursed from its inception.

It was jeered when it was unveiled, it has a silly name, and its champions have a knack for having something wrong with them. First, Finn Balor got injured. Then Kevin Owens had a tedious reign. Then Goldberg won it to be fed to Brock Lesnar, which has kept the championship off television for the better part of the last two years. The exception to that two years was Roman Reigns, who finally won the title in underwhelming fashion, only to then have a hum-drum reign and then have to leave to battle leukemia. Brock Lesnar won the title back.

Through it all, Raw's main event has suffered tremendously. Brock Lesnar's absentee title run has left a big black hole at the top of the card, and the show feels directionless as a result. There was something novel about the champion only showing up ever so often to have a big fight feel, but that point has long since passed.

If Raw is to rebuild, getting the title off Brock Lesnar is the first thing that needs to be done. There needs to be a focus for the stars of the brand. A title may be a prop, but that prop is the centerpiece of the stories that professional wrestling is based on.

Seth Rollins is currently in the best position to make the top title of the red brand meaningful. The goal should be to get it to him as soon as possible. If Lesnar retains to WrestleMania, he needs to finally be defeated decisively there. In the unlikely event Braun Strowman wins it, the time will have passed, and he should drop it to Rollins.