WWE Raw: World Title Picture Is About To Flourish Like It Hasn’t In A Long Time

The April 8 edition of WWE Raw lived up to the reputation of the “Raw After ‘Mania” that the WWE universe has come to know and love with a night filled with surprises and unexpected moments.

Last night’s WWE Raw saw the debut of Lars Sullivan, the return of Sami Zayn, and the unexpected appearance of The Undertaker, but it also featured a key moment featuring the two new world champions following WrestleMania 35.

The show kicked off with new Universal Champion, Seth Rollins, who addressed the WWE universe after his huge win over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.  He said the fans deserve a new champion and they helped him accomplish what he set out to do.  However, he wouldn’t be the only new champion arriving on Raw last night.

Towards the end of Rollins’ promo, out came The New Day and new WWE Champion Kofi Kingston after his monumental victory over Daniel Bryan just 24 hours earlier.  The two new world champions in the WWE were in the same ring together on the same show, which was a cool moment in itself.  That wouldn’t be all they did, however.

After some New Day-like shenanigans, Kofi upped the ante with Rollins by mentioning how WrestleMania 35 saw both women’s titles go to Becky Lynch in a winner take all match.  He then went on to say he thinks doing the same thing tonight with the Universal and WWE Championships in a winner take all match would be good.  The challenge was issued to The Architect, and he answered the challenge to officially set up a champion vs. champion match.

Even though that winner take all match didn’t actually happen thanks to interference by The Bar and an impromptu tag team match being made from that point, this was the start of what could become a tremendous era for both world titles in the WWE.  It was quite lame to advertise a winner take all match between Rollins and Kingston when they had no intention of actually doing it, but seeing both men last night builds excitement for the future.

The WWE Championship has been in a pretty good position for a while now with AJ Styles carrying the banner for over a year heading into November of 2018.  The New Daniel Bryan had an impactful six-month reign in which he developed into arguably the top heel in the WWE.  But even with that, Kofi’s win at WrestleMania felt special and almost unheard of.

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His shocking rise to winning the WWE Championship on the grandest stage of them all is exactly what the WWE Championship needed.  This could be a fantastic title reign that showcases Kofi as a legitimate main event talent and with that, the title picture should be elevated to a higher level given the caliber of matches and work Kofi is bound to have.  He deserves to have a lengthy title reign.

On the flipside of the WWE Championship picture, the Universal Championship picture has been as lackluster as any world title in WWE history.  The title has been held hostage by Lesnar for the better part of two years with only one superstar holding the title since WrestleMania 33, that being Roman Reigns.  He could have had a great reign, but his real-life battle with Leukemia ended his Universal Championship reign much earlier than it should have been.

Lesnar’s part-time status didn’t give the Universal Championship enough air-time or pay-per-view title defenses, and that’s an understatement.  So, when Rollins won the 2019 men’s Royal Rumble match, fans immediately started to imagine him dethroning The Beast Incarnate at WrestleMania 35.  Thankfully, that prophecy came true and Rollins knocked off Lesnar to win the Universal Championship.

There is not a better superstar on Monday nights to carry the banner of Universal Champion than Rollins.  He is the most consistent superstar on the red brand and has been for some time, but most importantly, he’s a full-time competitor that can be a fighting champion.  Some of the best matches in recent WWE history have come courtesy of The Architect, so imagining what he can do with a nice, long Universal Championship reign is enticing.

This is the most exciting time for the world title picture in the WWE since both the WWE Championship and Universal Championship have been in play at the same time.  A first-time, deserving WWE Champion like Kofi is a breath of fresh air that the WWE universe has been starving for.  And then there’s The Beast Slayer, who is the perfect superstar to hold the Universal Championship.

The potential of both title reigns is off the charts and that should lead to some outstanding work from both men.  As long as the WWE doesn’t handle these reigns the wrong way or ends them too early, there’s no way they don’t work out.  And with the superstar shakeup looming next week, that could create more enticing possibilities in terms of opponents for both Rollins and Kingston.

Buckle up, WWE universe, the collective main roster world title picture in the WWE is about to flourish under new, deserving leadership.