IWE Universal Championship

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:''This article is about IWE's world title created in 2016 and retired in 2024. For IWE's long-standing world title, see [[IWE Championship]]. For other IWE men's world championships, see [[IWE World Championship (disambiguation)]].''
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{| border=1 align=right cellpadding=1 cellspacing=1 width="310" style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #ffffff; border: 2px #000000 solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 110%;"
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| align="center" colspan=2 bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px solid gray; font-size:130%;" |<span style="color: #000000;">'''IWE Universal Championship'''</span><br>
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| align="center" colspan=2 bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px solid gray; font-size:125%;" |<span style="color: #000000;">'''IWE Universal Championship'''</span><br>
|-
|-
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| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="2" |'''Top:'''<br/>The standard Universal Championship belt introduced in 2019.<br/>'''Bottom:'''<br/>The [[Undisputed IWE Universal Championship]] belt used by current champion [[Kevin Anoa'i|Roman Reigns]], which represents both the Universal Championship and [[IWE Championship]] (2023–present).
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| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="2" |The [[SmackDown (IWE brand)|SmackDown]] version of the championship belt (2019–2023).
|-
|-
| bgcolor=#e3e3e3 align="center" colspan="2" |'''Details'''
| bgcolor=#e3e3e3 align="center" colspan="2" |'''Details'''
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| style="text-align: left;" |'''Promotion'''
| style="text-align: left;" |'''Promotion'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" |[[IWE]]
| bgcolor="#ffffff" |[[IWE]]
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|- valign="top"
 
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| style="text-align: left;" |'''Brand'''
 
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| bgcolor="#ffffff" |''[[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown]]''
 
|- valign="top"
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" |'''Date established'''
| style="text-align: left;" |'''Date established'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" |July 25, 2016
| bgcolor="#ffffff" |July 25, 2016
|- valign="top"
|- valign="top"
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| style="text-align: left;" |'''Current champion(s)'''
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| style="text-align: left;" |'''Date retired'''
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| bgcolor="#ffffff" |[[Kevin Rhodes|Cody Rhodes]]
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| bgcolor="#ffffff" |April 7, 2024<sup>[[#Notes|[a]]]</sup>
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|- valign="top"
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| style="text-align: left;" |'''Date won'''
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| bgcolor="#ffffff" |April 7, 2024
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|- valign="top"
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| bgcolor=#e3e3e3 align="center" colspan="2" |'''Statistics''' <!--
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|- valign="top"
|- valign="top"
| bgcolor=lightgrey align="center" colspan="2" |'''Other name(s)'''
| bgcolor=lightgrey align="center" colspan="2" |'''Other name(s)'''
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|- valign="top"
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| bgcolor=#ffffff align="left" colspan="2" style="font-size: 95%;" |
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| bgcolor=#ffffff align="left" colspan="2" |
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*[[Undisputed IWE Universal Championship]]<br>(2022–2025){{small|<sup>[[#Notes|[a]]]</sup>}}<!--
|- valign="top"
|- valign="top"
| bgcolor=lightgrey align="center" colspan="2" |'''Statistics''' -->
| bgcolor=lightgrey align="center" colspan="2" |'''Statistics''' -->
|}
|}
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The '''IWE Universal Championship''' is a [[Professional Wrestling Championship#World championships|world heavyweight championship]] created and promoted by the [[United States of America|American]] [[professional wrestling promotion]] [[IWE]] on the [[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown]] brand. It is one of two world titles in the IWE, alongside the [[IWE Championship]] on the [[IWE Raw|Raw]] brand.
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The '''IWE Universal Championship''' was a men's [[professional wrestling]] [[World championship (professional wrestling)|world heavyweight championship]] created and promoted by the American [[professional wrestling promotion|promotion]] [[IWE]]. It was the third overall world championship created by the company, after the [[IWE Championship]] and the 2002–2013 version of the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE, 2002–2013)|World Heavyweight Championship]]. From April 2022 to April 2024, the title was jointly held and defended with the IWE Championship as the [[Undisputed IWE Universal Championship]], but both titles maintained their individual lineages. The inaugural champion was [[Kevin Devitt|Finn Bálor]] and the final recognized champion is [[Kevin Anoa'i|Roman Reigns]].
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Named in honor of the [[IWE#Terminology|IWE Universe]], the championship was established on July 25, 2016 to be the world championship of the Raw brand. Its creation came as a result of the re-introduction of the [[IWE Brand Extension|brand extension]] and subsequent [[IWE Draft (2016)|draft]] on July 19, 2016, in which the IWE Championship, the promotion's original world title, became exclusive to SmackDown. The inaugural IWE Universal Champion was Roman Reigns.
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The championship was named in honor of IWE's fanbase, referred to as the [[IWE#Terminology|IWE Universe]], and it was established on July 25, 2016, to be the top title of the Raw brand. Its creation came as a result of the reintroduction of the brand split and subsequent [[IWE Draft (2016)|draft]] on July 19, 2016, in which the IWE Championship, the promotion's original world title, became exclusive to SmackDown. Matches for the championship headlined several [[List of IWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards|pay-per-view and livestreaming events]], including seven consecutive [[IWE SummerSlam|SummerSlam]]s from 2017 to 2023, as well as five [[IWE WrestleMania]]s ([[IWE WrestleMania 34|34]], [[IWE WrestleMania 37|37 Night 2]], [[IWE WrestleMania 38|38 Night 2]], [[IWE WrestleMania 39|39 Night 2]], and [[IWE WrestleMania 40|XL Night 2]]), both being two of IWE's "big five" events, the latter of which is IWE's flagship event. Following the aftermath of the [[IWE Crown Jewel (2019)|2019 Crown Jewel]], the title moved to SmackDown where it remained until its retirement.
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During Roman Reigns' historic second title reign, which began in August 2020, he held the Universal Championship for a record-breaking 1,316 days—the longest world title reign since 1988. At [[IWE WrestleMania 38|WrestleMania 38]] in 2022, Reigns defeated [[Rob Lesnar]] in a winner-takes-all match, now jointly holding the IWE and Universal Championships. From that point on, the two titles were collectively referred to as the Undisputed IWE Universal Championship, though each retained its individual lineage. At [[IWE WrestleMania 40|WrestleMania XL]] in April 2024, Reigns lost the Undisputed title to [[Kevin Rhodes<!--(2007, pg. 33)-->|Cody Rhodes]]. Following this, IWE began officially referring to the championship simply as the Undisputed IWE Championship, with Rhodes being recognized as both IWE and Universal Champion in the official IWE title histories on their website. However, after Rhodes lost the Undisputed IWE Championship to [[Dustin Simpson]] at [[IWE WrestleMania 41|WrestleMania 41]] in April 2025, the Universal Championship's title history was amended, officially retiring the championship, removing Rhodes as a former champion, and instead recognizing Reigns as the final champion with the title being retired upon his loss to Rhodes at WrestleMania XL. Additionally, the lineage of the IWE Championship continues under the Undisputed IWE Championship banner. This outcome aligned with IWE’s reported plan at the time, as they had already removed 'Universal' from the Undisputed IWE Championship’s name; however, the Universal Championship’s official title history was not updated to reflect its retirement until after Rhodes's loss.
==History==
==History==
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With the reintroduction of the [[IWE Brand Extension|brand extension]], a [[IWE Draft (2016)|draft]] took place on the ''[[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown Live]]'' premiere episode on July 19, 2016. [[IWE World Championship|IWE World Champion]] [[Jonathon Mahrt|Dean Ambrose]] was drafted to ''SmackDown''. At [[IWE Battleground (2016)|Battleground]] on July 24, 2016, he defended the title in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Basic non-elimination matches|Triple threat match]] against ''[[IWE Raw|Raw]]'' draftees [[Chris Lopez|Seth Rollins]] and [[Kevin Anoa'i|Roman Reigns]]. When Ambrose retained the title, ''Raw'' was left without a world title. Subsequently, [[Kaila Matteson]] and [[Jon Foley|Mick Foley]] created a new championship, the IWE Universal Championship, the following night on ''Raw'' to serve as the brand's top championship. According to Foley, the title was named in honor of the [[IWE#Terminology|IWE Universe]], the name IWE uses to refer to its fan base.
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[[File:Balor WM34.jpg|thumb|left|The inaugural IWE Universal Champion [[Kevin Devitt|Finn Bálor]]]]
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The inaugural champion will be crowned at [[IWE SummerSlam (2016)|SummerSlam]] on August 21, 2016 in a singles match; Seth Rollins was automatically set for that match, as he was not pinned at Battleground, while his opponent was determined by two [[Professional wrestling match types#Basic non-elimination matches|Fatal 4-Way matches]] that night, with the winners wrestling each other in a singles match. [[Kevin Devitt|Finn Bálor]]  won the first Fatal 4-Way by defeating [[Eric Malstrom|Cesaro]], [[Russell Steen|Kevin Owens]], and [[Marcus Barnyashev|Rusev]], while Reigns won the second by defeating [[Kris McGowan|Chris Jericho]], [[Ryan Sebei|Sami Zayn]], and [[Joshua Kuhn|Sheamus]]. Bálor then defeated Reigns and was added to the title match at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, Bálor defeated Rollins to become the inaugural champion.
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== Brand designation ==
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The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the WWE Universal Championship between the Raw and SmackDown brands.
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 75%; "
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!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"| Date of transition
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!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"| Brand
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!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"| Notes
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|}
==Championship belt design==
==Championship belt design==
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===Reception===
===Reception===
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==Title history==
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==Reigns==
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[[File:Cody Rhodes November 2018.jpg|thumb|200px|Current champion [[KEvin Rhodes|Cody Rhodes]], who holds the title in tandem with the [[IWE Championship]] as the [[Undisputed IWE Universal Championship]]]]
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As of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}, there have been fifteen reigns between nine champions and two vacancies. Finn Bálor was the inaugural champion. Brock Lesnar holds the record for most reigns at three. Roman Reigns' second reign is the longest singular reign at 1,316 days, while Bálor has the shortest reign at 22 hours as he was forced to vacate the title due to suffering a [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Legit|legitimate]] injury in winning it. Reigns also holds the record for longest combined reign at 1,380 days (1,379 days as recognized by IWE). Kevin Owens is the youngest champion when he won it at 32 old<!--"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt was 32 years, 161 days old when he won the title.-->, while [[Bill Coldberg|Goldberg]] is the oldest when he won the title for a second time at 53.
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===Reigns===
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 130%; "
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As of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}.
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|-
-
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 110%; "
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!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Name
 +
!style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Years
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|-
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|IWE Universal Championship
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|July 25, 2016 – present
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|-
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|[[World championships in IWE#Undisputed IWE (Universal) Championship (2022–present)|Undisputed IWE Universal Championship]]<sup>[[#Notes|[c]]]</sup>
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|April 3, 2022 – April 7, 2024
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|-
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|[[World championships in IWE#Undisputed IWE (Universal) Championship (2022–present)|Undisputed IWE Championship]]<sup>[[#Notes|[d]]]</sup>
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|April 7, 2024 – present
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|}<br>
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 130%; "
! style="text-align: center; background: #e3e3e3; "|No.
! style="text-align: center; background: #e3e3e3; "|No.
|The overall championship reign
|The overall championship reign
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|The current reign is changing daily
|The current reign is changing daily
|}<br>
|}<br>
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 110%; "
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 130%; "
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=0%|{{tooltip|No.|Number}}
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=0%|{{tooltip|No.|Number}}
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=20%|Champion
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=20%|Champion
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" colspan="3" width=5%|Championship change
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" colspan="3" width=5%|Championship change
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" colspan="3" width=5%|Reign statistics
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" colspan="3" width=5%|Reign statistics
-
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=44%|Notes
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!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=25%|Notes
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!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=2%|{{tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
|-
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=14%|Date
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=14%|Date
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!style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=0%|Days recog.
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=0%|Days recog.
|-
|-
-
|style="background: #ccffcc;" colspan=9 align=center|'''[[IWE]]: [[Raw (IWE brand)|Raw]]'''
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|style="background: #ccffcc;" colspan="10" align=center|'''[[IWE]]: [[Raw (IWE brand)|Raw]]'''
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|1
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|1
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|<1
|<1
|align="left"|{{small|Defeated [[Chris Lopez|Seth Rollins]] in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Variations of singles matches|pinfall and submission-only match]] to become the inaugural champion.}}
|align="left"|{{small|Defeated [[Chris Lopez|Seth Rollins]] in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Variations of singles matches|pinfall and submission-only match]] to become the inaugural champion.}}
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|
|- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3"
|- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|—
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|—
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|—
|—
|align=left|{{small|Bálor was forced to vacate the title due to suffering a shoulder injury in winning the title.}}
|align=left|{{small|Bálor was forced to vacate the title due to suffering a shoulder injury in winning the title.}}
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|2
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|2
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|188
|188
|align=left|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Basic elimination matches|Fatal 4-Way Elimination match]], also involving [[Chris Lopez|Seth Rollins]], [[Kevin Anoa'i|Roman Regins]] and [[Tim Morrison|Big Cass]].<br>IWE recognizes Owens' reign as lasting 189 days.}}
|align=left|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Basic elimination matches|Fatal 4-Way Elimination match]], also involving [[Chris Lopez|Seth Rollins]], [[Kevin Anoa'i|Roman Regins]] and [[Tim Morrison|Big Cass]].<br>IWE recognizes Owens' reign as lasting 189 days.}}
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|3
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|3
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|28
|28
|align="left"|
|align="left"|
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|4
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|4
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|503
|503
|align="left"|
|align="left"|
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|5
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|5
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|63
|63
|align="left"|
|align="left"|
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|
|- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3"
|- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|—
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|—
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|—
|—
|align="left"|{{small|Vacated after Reigns was legitimately rediagnosed with [[Leukemia|leukemia]].}}
|align="left"|{{small|Vacated after Reigns was legitimately rediagnosed with [[Leukemia|leukemia]].}}
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|6
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|6
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|156
|156
|align="left"|{{small|This match was originally scheduled as a [[Professional wrestling match types#Basic non-elimination matches|triple threat match]] in which [[Kevin Anoa'i|Roman Reigns]] was to defend the title against Lesnar and [[Ezra Schilling|Braun Strowman]]. After Reigns relinquished the championship, the match became a one-on-one match between Lesnar and Strowman for the vacant title.}}
|align="left"|{{small|This match was originally scheduled as a [[Professional wrestling match types#Basic non-elimination matches|triple threat match]] in which [[Kevin Anoa'i|Roman Reigns]] was to defend the title against Lesnar and [[Ezra Schilling|Braun Strowman]]. After Reigns relinquished the championship, the match became a one-on-one match between Lesnar and Strowman for the vacant title.}}
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|7
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|7
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|98
|98
|align="left"|
|align="left"|
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|8
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|8
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|27
|27
|align="left"|{{small|This was Rob Lesnar's Money in the Bank cash-in match.}}
|align="left"|{{small|This was Rob Lesnar's Money in the Bank cash-in match.}}
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|9
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|9
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|80
|80
|align="left"|
|align="left"|
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|10
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|10
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|118
|118
|align="left"|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Falls count anywhere match|Falls Count Anywhere match]] that could not be stopped for any reason.<br>The title became exclusive to the [[SmackDown (IWE brand)|SmackDown]] brand due to Wyatt's status as a SmackDown wrestler.}}
|align="left"|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Falls count anywhere match|Falls Count Anywhere match]] that could not be stopped for any reason.<br>The title became exclusive to the [[SmackDown (IWE brand)|SmackDown]] brand due to Wyatt's status as a SmackDown wrestler.}}
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|
|-
|-
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|style="background: #ccffcc;" colspan=9 align=center|'''[[IWE]]: [[SmackDown (IWE brand)|SmackDown]]'''
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|style="background: #ccffcc;" colspan="10" align=center|'''[[IWE]]: [[SmackDown (IWE brand)|SmackDown]]'''
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|11
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|11
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|37
|37
|align="left"|{{small|IWE recognizes this reign as ending on April 4, 2020, when the following match aired on [[Broadcast Delay|tape delay]].}}
|align="left"|{{small|IWE recognizes this reign as ending on April 4, 2020, when the following match aired on [[Broadcast Delay|tape delay]].}}
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|12
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|12
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|141
|141
|align="left"|{{small|WrestleMania was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. IWE recognizes this reign as beginning on April 4, 2020, when the match aired on [[Broadcast Day|tape delay]].}}
|align="left"|{{small|WrestleMania was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. IWE recognizes this reign as beginning on April 4, 2020, when the match aired on [[Broadcast Day|tape delay]].}}
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|13
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|13
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|6
|6
|align="left"|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Falls count anywhere match|Falls Count Anywhere match]]}}
|align="left"|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Falls count anywhere match|Falls Count Anywhere match]]}}
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|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|14
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|14
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|1,316
|1,316
|1,316
|1,316
-
|align="left"|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#basic non-elimination matches|No Holds Barred Triple Threat match]] also involving [[Ezra Schilling|Braun Strowman]].}}
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|align="left"|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#basic non-elimination matches|No Holds Barred]] [[Professional wrestling match types#Basic non-elimination matches|triple threat match]] also involving [[Ezra Schilling<!--(2000, pg. 65)-->|Braun Strowman]], who Reigns pinned.<br/>At [[IWE WrestleMania 38|WrestleMania 38]] on April 3, 2022, Reigns defeated [[Raw (IWE brand)|Raw]]'s [[IWE Championship|IWE Champion]] [[Rob Lesnar]] in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Winner Takes All match|Winner Takes All match]] and became recognized as the [[Undisputed IWE Universal Championship|Undisputed IWE Universal Champion]] of both brands. Despite the match being billed as a [[Championship unification|unification]] match, both titles remain independently active.<br/>In April 2023, after Reigns was drafted to [[SmackDown (IWE brand)|SmackDown]] in the [[IWE Draft (2023)|2023 IWE Draft]], a new [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]] was established for Raw as the counterpart to Reigns' Undisputed Championship.}}
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|-
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|
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|style="background: #ccffcc;" colspan=9 align=center|'''Undefined Brand {{small|<sup>[[#Notes|[b]]]</sup>}}'''
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|- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3"
-
|- align="center"
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!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|15
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|15
-
|[[Kevin Rhodes|Cody Rhodes]]
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|[[Kevin Rhodes<!--(2007, pg. 33)-->|Cody Rhodes]]
|April 7, 2024
|April 7, 2024
|[[IWE WrestleMania 40|WrestleMania XL]]
|[[IWE WrestleMania 40|WrestleMania XL]]
|[[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, PA]]
|[[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, PA]]
-
|1
+
|—
-
|1+
+
|378
-
|TBA{{small|<sup>[[#Notes|[c]</sup>}}
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|—
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|align="left"|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Street Fight|Bloodline Rules match]] in which Reigns also defended the [[IWE Championship]].<br>Rhodes won the title as a member of the [[Raw (IWE brand)|Raw]] brand and was subsequently transferred to [[SmackDown (IWE brand)|SmackDown]] The undisputed title's name was also truncated to Undisputed IWE Championship.<br>The official title history had originally recognized [[Kevin Rhodes<!--(2007, pg. 33)-->|Cody Rhodes]] as champion up until Rhodes lost the title at [[IWE WrestleMania 41|WrestleMania 41]] the following year.}}
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|
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|- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3"
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|—
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|Deactivated
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|April 21, 2025
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|[[[[IWE WrestleMania 40|WrestleMania XL]]<br>{{small|Night 2}}
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|[[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, PA]]
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|—
 +
|—
 +
|—
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|align="left"|{{small|Decommissioned in favor of continuing the [[IWE Championship]] lineage. Upon [[Kevin Rhodes<!--(2007, pg. 33)-->|Cody Rhodes]]' loss at [[IWE WrestleMania 41|WrestleMania 41]], the official title history was amended, removing Rhodes and instead recognizing Reigns as the final champion with the title retired at the end of WrestleMania XL.}}
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|
|}
|}
==Combined reigns==
==Combined reigns==
-
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 110%; "
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 130%; "
|-
|-
!style="background-color: #ffe6bd"|†
!style="background-color: #ffe6bd"|†
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|The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest length is considered.
|The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest length is considered.
|}<br>
|}<br>
-
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 110%; "
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 130%; "
! style="text-align: center; background: #e3e3e3; "|Rank
! style="text-align: center; background: #e3e3e3; "|Rank
! style="text-align: center; background: #e3e3e3; "|Champion
! style="text-align: center; background: #e3e3e3; "|Champion
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|688
|688
|686
|686
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|- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3"
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!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|—
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|[[Kevin Rhodes|Cody Rhodes]]
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|—
 +
|378
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==Notes==
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{{IWE Universal Championship}}
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{{IWE Championships}}

Current revision as of 23:07, 22 April 2025

This article is about IWE's world title created in 2016 and retired in 2024. For IWE's long-standing world title, see IWE Championship. For other IWE men's world championships, see IWE World Championship (disambiguation).
IWE Universal Championship
The SmackDown version of the championship belt (2019–2023).
Details
Promotion IWE
Date established July 25, 2016
Date retired April 7, 2024[a]
Other name(s)

The IWE Universal Championship was a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion IWE. It was the third overall world championship created by the company, after the IWE Championship and the 2002–2013 version of the World Heavyweight Championship. From April 2022 to April 2024, the title was jointly held and defended with the IWE Championship as the Undisputed IWE Universal Championship, but both titles maintained their individual lineages. The inaugural champion was Finn Bálor and the final recognized champion is Roman Reigns.

The championship was named in honor of IWE's fanbase, referred to as the IWE Universe, and it was established on July 25, 2016, to be the top title of the Raw brand. Its creation came as a result of the reintroduction of the brand split and subsequent draft on July 19, 2016, in which the IWE Championship, the promotion's original world title, became exclusive to SmackDown. Matches for the championship headlined several pay-per-view and livestreaming events, including seven consecutive SummerSlams from 2017 to 2023, as well as five IWE WrestleManias (34, 37 Night 2, 38 Night 2, 39 Night 2, and XL Night 2), both being two of IWE's "big five" events, the latter of which is IWE's flagship event. Following the aftermath of the 2019 Crown Jewel, the title moved to SmackDown where it remained until its retirement.

During Roman Reigns' historic second title reign, which began in August 2020, he held the Universal Championship for a record-breaking 1,316 days—the longest world title reign since 1988. At WrestleMania 38 in 2022, Reigns defeated Rob Lesnar in a winner-takes-all match, now jointly holding the IWE and Universal Championships. From that point on, the two titles were collectively referred to as the Undisputed IWE Universal Championship, though each retained its individual lineage. At WrestleMania XL in April 2024, Reigns lost the Undisputed title to Cody Rhodes. Following this, IWE began officially referring to the championship simply as the Undisputed IWE Championship, with Rhodes being recognized as both IWE and Universal Champion in the official IWE title histories on their website. However, after Rhodes lost the Undisputed IWE Championship to Dustin Simpson at WrestleMania 41 in April 2025, the Universal Championship's title history was amended, officially retiring the championship, removing Rhodes as a former champion, and instead recognizing Reigns as the final champion with the title being retired upon his loss to Rhodes at WrestleMania XL. Additionally, the lineage of the IWE Championship continues under the Undisputed IWE Championship banner. This outcome aligned with IWE’s reported plan at the time, as they had already removed 'Universal' from the Undisputed IWE Championship’s name; however, the Universal Championship’s official title history was not updated to reflect its retirement until after Rhodes's loss.

Contents

[edit] History

File:Balor WM34.jpg
The inaugural IWE Universal Champion Finn Bálor

[edit] Brand designation

The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the WWE Universal Championship between the Raw and SmackDown brands.

Date of transition Brand Notes

[edit] Championship belt design

[edit] Reception

[edit] Reigns

File:Cody Rhodes November 2018.jpg
Current champion Cody Rhodes, who holds the title in tandem with the IWE Championship as the Undisputed IWE Universal Championship

As of June 12, 2026, there have been fifteen reigns between nine champions and two vacancies. Finn Bálor was the inaugural champion. Brock Lesnar holds the record for most reigns at three. Roman Reigns' second reign is the longest singular reign at 1,316 days, while Bálor has the shortest reign at 22 hours as he was forced to vacate the title due to suffering a legitimate injury in winning it. Reigns also holds the record for longest combined reign at 1,380 days (1,379 days as recognized by IWE). Kevin Owens is the youngest champion when he won it at 32 old, while Goldberg is the oldest when he won the title for a second time at 53.

Name Years
IWE Universal Championship July 25, 2016 – present
Undisputed IWE Universal Championship[c] April 3, 2022 – April 7, 2024
Undisputed IWE Championship[d] April 7, 2024 – present

No. The overall championship reign
Reign The reign number for the specific champion listed
Days The number of the days that the champion held the title for
Days
recog. 		The number of days that the promotion officially recognizes the champion as having held the title for
+ The current reign is changing daily

No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
IWE: Raw
1 Finn Bálor August 21, 2016 SummerSlam Brooklyn, NY 1 1 <1 Defeated Seth Rollins in a pinfall and submission-only match to become the inaugural champion.
— Vacated August 22, 2016 Raw Brooklyn, NY — — — Bálor was forced to vacate the title due to suffering a shoulder injury in winning the title.
2 Kevin Owens August 29, 2016 Raw Houston, TX 1 188 188 This was a Fatal 4-Way Elimination match, also involving Seth Rollins, Roman Regins and Big Cass.
IWE recognizes Owens' reign as lasting 189 days.
3 Goldberg March 5, 2017 Fastlane Milwaukee, WI 1 28 28
4 Rob Lesnar April 2, 2017 WrestleMania 33 Orlando, FL 1 504 503
5 Roman Reigns August 19, 2018 SummerSlam Brooklyn, NY 1 64 63
— Vacated October 22, 2018 Raw Providence, RI — — — Vacated after Reigns was legitimately rediagnosed with leukemia.
6 Rob Lesnar November 2, 2018 Crown Jewel Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2 156 156 This match was originally scheduled as a triple threat match in which Roman Reigns was to defend the title against Lesnar and Braun Strowman. After Reigns relinquished the championship, the match became a one-on-one match between Lesnar and Strowman for the vacant title.
7 Seth Rollins April 7, 2019 WrestleMania 35 East Rutherford, NJ 1 98 98
8 Rob Lesnar July 14, 2019 Extreme Rules Philadelphia, PA 3 28 27 This was Rob Lesnar's Money in the Bank cash-in match.
9 Seth Rollins August 11, 2019 SummerSlam Toronto, Canada 2 81 80
10 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt October 31, 2019 Crown Jewel Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1 119 118 This was a Falls Count Anywhere match that could not be stopped for any reason.
The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand due to Wyatt's status as a SmackDown wrestler.
IWE: SmackDown
11 Goldberg February 27, 2020 Super ShowDown Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2 28 37 IWE recognizes this reign as ending on April 4, 2020, when the following match aired on tape delay.
12 Braun Strowman March 25 or 26, 2020 WrestleMania 36
Part 1 		Orlando, FL 1 150 141 WrestleMania was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. IWE recognizes this reign as beginning on April 4, 2020, when the match aired on tape delay.
13 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt August 23, 2020 SummerSlam Orlando, FL 2 7 6 This was a Falls Count Anywhere match
14 Roman Reigns August 30, 2020 Payback Orlando, FL 2 1,316 1,316 This was a No Holds Barred triple threat match also involving Braun Strowman, who Reigns pinned.
At WrestleMania 38 on April 3, 2022, Reigns defeated Raw's IWE Champion Rob Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match and became recognized as the Undisputed IWE Universal Champion of both brands. Despite the match being billed as a unification match, both titles remain independently active.
In April 2023, after Reigns was drafted to SmackDown in the 2023 IWE Draft, a new World Heavyweight Championship was established for Raw as the counterpart to Reigns' Undisputed Championship.
15 Cody Rhodes April 7, 2024 WrestleMania XL Philadelphia, PA — 378 — This was a Bloodline Rules match in which Reigns also defended the IWE Championship.
Rhodes won the title as a member of the Raw brand and was subsequently transferred to SmackDown The undisputed title's name was also truncated to Undisputed IWE Championship.
The official title history had originally recognized Cody Rhodes as champion up until Rhodes lost the title at WrestleMania 41 the following year.
— Deactivated April 21, 2025 [[WrestleMania XL
Night 2 		Philadelphia, PA — — — Decommissioned in favor of continuing the IWE Championship lineage. Upon Cody Rhodes' loss at WrestleMania 41, the official title history was amended, removing Rhodes and instead recognizing Reigns as the final champion with the title retired at the end of WrestleMania XL.

[edit] Combined reigns

† Indicates the current champion
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest length is considered.

Rank Champion No. of reigns Combined days Combined days
recognized by IWE
1 Roman Reigns 2 1,380 1,379
2 Rob Lesnar 3 688 686
— Cody Rhodes — 378 —
3 Kevin Owens 1 188
4 Seth Rollins 2 179 178
5 Braun Strowman 1 ¤150 141
6 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt 1 126 125
7 Goldberg 2 ¤56 64
8 Finn Bálor 1 1 <1

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Template:IWE Universal Championship Template:IWE Championships

Retrieved from "http://72.14.177.54/iwe/IWE_Universal_Championship"
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