WWE Rumors: New Universal Championship Belt Design For ‘RAW’ Revealed?
The latest WWE rumor suggests that there will be a whole new Universal Championship belt, and hints about its design were dropped on last night’s episode of RAW.
That’s according to FanSided, one of the most respected blogs in the wrestling world today. They claim that the rumors about the belt were dropped on a Reddit board by a user called “Da Belt Guy.” And while rumors are often unsubstantiated, “Da Belt Guy” has a long and respected history on the board, and many of his proposed rumors turned out to be true later on.
The photo that he posted was a mock-up of a proposed championship belt. The first one, the one on the top, shows a WWE belt with red stripes (aka swooshes), and the second one shows the same belt with blue stripes. FanSided claims that the belt with the red stripes will be the belt for the WWE Universal Championship, while the belt with the blue stripes will be the belt for the WWE World Championship (specifically, for SmackDown).
The belt shown below is similar to the one seen on Reddit but with different colors.
Sources say this si the new #WWE Championship title belt coming to Summerslam. pic.twitter.com/mUSDm9YHA2
— Brian H. Waters (@BrianHWaters) August 2, 2016
Previous WWE rumors put forth by fans suggested that the belt might have an eagle design — specifically, to look like the old Winged Eagle — but that rumor was dispelled shortly after it was first released.
In other WWE news, Fox Sports is reporting that Dean Ambrose retained the WWE Championship belt last Sunday night during the Battleground show. This left RAW without a heavyweight belt, but it was within this void that the Universal Championship belt was created. The creation of this belt was announced by “Mankind” Mick Foley, the legendary wrestler who is currently the on-screen general manager for the RAW brand. Foley made this announcement alongside Stephanie McMahon.
The first Universal Champion was determined by a series of wrestling tournaments, which featured both old and new stars. Amongst the wrestlers who competed for the title include Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, the latter of whom is known more for his acting and recording career than his wrestling career. That is a logical progression given The Rock’s career trajectory.
The eight wrestlers competed in two Fatal Four-Way matches. The winners of each of these two matches then faced each other to get the Universal Championship title. Then, the ultimate winner of the Universal Championship belt and title will face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. Finn Balor won the first Fatal Four-Way match. That was his first match on the WWE main roster, and he beat Roman Reigns to get the Universal Championship title and belt. This, needless to say, was certainly an upset in the wrestling world, given that Roman Reigns was a top contender for the longest time.
What are some of the WWE rumors surrounding SummerSlam, which will take place on Sunday, August 21? SmackDown Live commissioner Shane McMahon told Blasting News that he holds Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler in very high regard, putting full faith behind the fact that they will “show up” Finn Balor, particularly. However, McMahon may be hoping for too much, because it seems that the fan favorite to win the World Heavyweight Champion title is Dean Ambrose.
SummerSlam will air exclusively on the WWE Network and will also be available to be streamed immediately on the WWE Network as well. It will all begin live on the August 21 at 7 p.m. EST.
Will you be watching SummerSlam?
There WILL be a new Championship title created for the #NewEra of @WWE #RAW! https://t.co/Y8MgcYA8yo
— WWE (@WWE) July 26, 2016
[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
