You’d be hard pressed to find a time in WWE, let alone any professional wrestling company, where the world champion, mid-card champion, tag team champions and women’s champion were all enjoying dominant runs simultaneously.
This weekend at WrestleMania 39, there will be four different champions enjoying reigns of at least 290 days each. Gunther, the Intercontinental Champion, has held the championship for over 290 days, and is the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of the 21st century. The Usos, have been Undisputed Tag Team Champions since May of last year (614+ days as SmackDown Tag Team Champions and 311+ days as RAW Tag Team Champions). Bianca Belair has been RAW Women’s Champion for over 350 days and has not lost the title since WrestleMania of last year. And of course, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, has been Universal Champion for over 930 days, easily the longest reign for a world champion in the modern era, and has also carried the WWE Championship since WrestleMania last year. You also have Charlotte Flair, and while she is not in the middle of a lengthy reign, she is enjoying her 14th reign as a women’s champion.
It is likely that by this time next week, some of these championships will have new faces after WrestleMania, but it is worth reflecting on what the last year has looked like. It is truly a rarity when you see each division be represented by a champion who is able to sustain an extended period of success, as opposed to being a placeholder/transitional one. There can be ups and downs on having so many dominant champions simultaneously, but perhaps it would help if we break down each of these dominant champions, and look at their reigns within the broader context of their opponents and how it has affected the product overall.
Roman Reigns – WWE Universal Champion
The standard bearer of WWE for the last two years, Roman Reigns has been the definition of a special attraction. Some have drawn comparisons to Brock Lesnar, in the sense that he’s not on RAW and SmackDown every week competing in matches. Critics of his reign have also taken aim at the fact that since he has been holding the world championship for both brands for over a year, he should be on each show and have more televised appearances or matches.
As we know, Roman Reigns signed a deal last year that would require him to appear less on TV and at live events. Meaning that his only matches would come in the form of title matches on PPV, or the very rare televised match that may happen once every few months. In Roman’s reign as the Tribal Chief, the anticipation of seeing him compete seems to have taken precedence over anything else. And many would be hard pressed to argue that point.
Time after time, Roman Reigns has delivered on the big stage. Be it with ring generals such as Sami Zayn, powerhouses such as Brock Lesnar, or celebrities such as Logan Paul, Roman Reigns has brought a big match feel to every match he competes in. So the infrequency with which he competes makes complete sense. Why have the most dominant champion in the 21st century compete twice a week when you can just have him wait until the big PPV event and build up the hype for him to compete?
As you can see here, the pros and cons of seeing him compete mirror that of Brock Lesnar’s reigns as Universal Champion half a decade ago. But there may be some changes to that sooner than later.
Bianca Belair – RAW Women’s Champion
In many ways, Bianca Belair has become the female equivalent to Roman Reigns in the women’s division. There just haven’t been many competitors during reign that have been able to rise to her level outside of Becky Lynch and Bayley. When you combine her ring presence, athleticism, strength and charisma, she is truly a jack of all trades. She has put on incredible performances on PPV and has done an outstanding job of representing the women’s division on RAW as its champion.
I haven’t seen any issue with her championship reigns as her matches have delivered, she’s a consistent, steady force on the RAW brand and she only continues to get better. They only potential competitor I could have potentially seen defeating Bianca was Bayley, to give Damage CNTRL all the championships on RAW. But aside from that, I have not seen much occasion to take the title off of her and it would make sense. That’s how much of an alpha woman she has become.
However, this weekend, she faces real danger of losing her championship to the revamped, darker version of Asuka.
Gunther – Intercontinental Champion
Since his main roster call-up, Gunther has arguably been the most protected star in the company next to Roman Reigns. And there’s good reason for doing so. His reign with the Intercontinental Championship has somewhat mirrored is work with NXT UK. As a matter of fact, it is about four years to the date where he defeated Pete Dunne to win the NXT UK Championship.
On SmackDown, he’s had high value matches with his opponents, and his reign has been most known for his incredible rivalry with Sheamus, where they continue to push the limits of physicality and the amount of punishment the human body is able to endure in one match.
This Sunday, he faces a stiff test as he competes against both Sheamus AND Drew McIntyre in an Intercontinental Championship triple threat that lives up to the billing. If Gunther is able to retain his Intercontinental Championship, it is very likely that he pushes 500 days as we head towards the summer.
The Usos – Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions
The Usos, holders of both the RAW and SmackDown tag team championships for about a year, have been the standard bearers of the tag team division, just as Roman Reigns has been for all of WWE. The dynamic duo that serves as both dual champions and Roman Reigns’ backups, have enjoyed great battles with the likes of The New Day, the Street Profits and RK-Bro. This recent run from The Usos have solidifed themselves as first ballot Hall of Famers when they retire, if they weren’t prior to this dominant run.
This weekend, they face a tall task with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn waiting in the wings for them. It’s a great story, and The Usos have been integral parts of The Bloodline’s dominance. The Usos have consistently faced competition on RAW and SmackDown week after week, with Jey Uso especially raising his stock and finding his stride as a singles competitor.
By proxy of Roman Reigns holding all the gold, it was only natural to award the same distinction to The Usos for that same amount of time for the sake of raising The Bloodline’s collective stock. Their dominant run has been good for WWE because it is what has contributed to their greatest active storyline. This will also make for eager anticipation for when they eventually drop the belts, which may be as soon as this weekend.
What do you make of WWE’s current era of dominant champions? Have the been good or bad for WWE as a whole?
