WWE Universal Championship
With the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension, a draft took place on the SmackDown Live premiere episode on July 19, 2016 and then-WWE Champion Dean Ambrose was drafted to the SmackDown brand. At Battleground on July 24, Ambrose successfully defended the title in a triple threat match against Raw draftees Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
When Ambrose retained the title, Raw was left without a world championship. On the following episode of Raw, Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and then-Raw General Manager Mick Foley created the WWE Universal Championship to serve as the brand’s top accolade. According to Foley, the title was named in honor of the WWE Universe, the name WWE uses to refer to its fan base.
In response, the WWE Championship was subsequently renamed to WWE World Championship before reverting to the former name in December 2016.
Source: Wikipedia
| No. | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Brock Lesnar | 1 | April 2, 2017 | 452+ | Orlando, FL | WrestleMania 33 |
| 3 | Goldberg | 1 | March 5, 2017 | 28 | Milwaukee, WI | Fastlane |
| 2 | Kevin Owens | 1 | August 29, 2016 | 188 | Houston, TX | Raw |
| — | Vacated | — | August 22, 2016 | — | Brooklyn, NY | Raw |
| 1 | Finn Bálor | 1 | August 21, 2016 | 1 | Brooklyn, NY | SummerSlam |
Longest reign: Brock Lesnar (452+ days)
Shortest reign: Finn Balor (22 hours)