When we talk about the WWE Universal Championship, there is one name that runs riot, defying all odds and it is that of the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns who has been the longest reigning WWE Universal Champion. He has held the belt around his waist for 1039 days as of now (at the moment of writing) and he continues to thrive at his blazing best.
Well, there haven’t been many Universal champions in the antiquity of WWE and believe this or not, Roman Reigns is just the 14th of them all and the concept of Universal Championship has actually happened in very recent times unlike the others. Here is a look at the five longest reigning WWE Universal Champions.
#1 Roman Reigns – 1039 days and counting
A man who didn’t get pinned for more than two years had to finally say goodbye to the extraordinary sequence after the Usos bested him in the Bloodline Civil War at the Money in the Bank match. But that didn’t allow them to lay claim to the title.
Roman Reigns is the whole package! 🔥
Night guys 🫶🏼 pic.twitter.com/opdwsfklzt
— 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 ⸜❤︎⸝ ᴿᵒᵐᵃⁿ ᴿᵉⁱᵍⁿˢ 1000+ᵈᵃʸˢ (@_RomansLegacy) July 5, 2023
Advertisement
He won the Universal championship against Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a no-holds-barred match at Payback 2020 and unified the WWE title by beating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38, where the stipulation said that the winner would take it all. Since then, till date, by hook or by crook, he has managed to keep both the titles around his waist.
#2 One of the longest reigning WWE Universal Champions: Kevin Owens – 188 days
Well, the man who has been on and off at crossroads with Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens is the next name in the line, but his reign is nowhere close to what Roman has achieved. KO managed to keep the Universal championship with him for slightly north of six months.
He bagged the Universal championship in a fatal four-way match against Roman Reigns, Big Cass and Seth Rollins on an episode of Raw in 2016.
#3 One of the longest reigning WWE Universal Champions: Brock Lesnar – 156 days
“Brock & Braun were supposed to fight for the world title & we had a whole RAW written with Braun Strowman as champion and then sike, Brock Lesnar wins”
– Former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide, on plans changing regarding Braun Strowman winning the Universal Title @ Crown Jewel 2018 pic.twitter.com/mW3ANf3djn
Advertisement— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) May 4, 2021
In what was ideally scheduled to be a triple-threat match between Lesnar, Reigns and Strowman, Reigns backed out due to Leukemia and then in a singles match between Lesnar and Braun, it was the Beast Incarnate who got the better of the Monster amongst Men and eventually picked up the unified title at Crown Jewel in November 2018.
#4 Braun Strowman – 141 days
It was WrestleMania 36 when Braun Strowman racked up this unified title. Even though the dates are slightly confusing in this case because the grandest PPV was taped on both the days and as per records of WWE, the dates are not accurately mentioned.
However, Braun’s title reign is recognized from April 4th that makes it 141 days for Strowman before he eventually lost it.
#5 Seth Rollins – 98 days
It was a historic night for the Architect who was up against the Beast Incarnate and his evil advocate, Paul Heyman. In a match that lasted for only 2 and a half minutes, Brock Lesnar was stunned by the Beast Slayer as he walked away with the title. Rollins held the title close to 100 days, bagging the hallowed belt around his waist at the Metlife Stadium.