WWE World Heavyweight Championship

"Roman is Roman. Everything he brings inside the ring--his performance, storytelling, crowd interaction, and ability to provoke the audience--makes him the safest bet and most reliable presence every time. Penta was amazing as usual, and the match was exactly what I expected. Thank God it ended cleanly without any interference. One day, Penta will definitely win the world title."

[5.0] "Why does a major wrestling promotion need TWO "World Championships"? I'll tell you why, egos and lack of creative direction. Created because tHe BiG DaWg didn't want to lose the belt and because creative sucks."

[7.0] "The current age of RAW's world title has most certainly had its ups-and-downs, like a lot of questionable MITB shenanigans, starting with me being 50/50 on the Ruse of the Century last year, then we had Drew cashing in on Priest on MITB night just for Punk to spoil it, a not-very-needed arc in the Punk/Drew feud that could've gone to so, but we did have a sick MITB cash in on Drew from Priest previously with an injured Punk spoiling his moment at the commentary desk at WMXL. I understood Jey winning it in retrospect coz he was awarded for getting mad over, but there were better ways to get the title off Gunther without resorting to him quickly tapping out. Punk with the WHC is prolly one of his last hurrahs with a belt and it prolly being a night 2 WM main event with Roman in the other corner is pretty damn good going for this still-kinda-new strap."

[7.0] "The World Heavyweight Championship has been pretty good with a solid lineage of champions throughout its 3 year existence, my main complaint is that it isn't defended often. I'll use Punk's certain reign as an example, When he won the title on Saturday Night's Main Event in November, beating Jey Uso to win the title for the 2nd time, he didn't defend it for over 2 months, but as of lately, that hasn't been the case, but still."

[8.0] "In it's 3 years of existence, the World Heavyweight Championship had a difficult challenge with it essentially being created simply because the two world championships had been unified into by someone who was barely around to defend said belt. Nevertheless, everyone who has held the belt (aside from Jey Uso) has helped elevate the belt's importance to the point that after Crown Jewel I would argue it's pretty much on the same level today as the much more prestigious WWE Championship defended on the Smackdown brand."

[7.0] "They've really tried to make this championship feel important, and a lot of the reigns on here have been very good. The only small nitpicky knock I could give is that they just decided to create a whole new lineage when they have the exact world heavyweight championship with lots of history behind it."

[8.0] "A beautiful title (at least for Modern WWE standards) and a solid lineage so far, hope it can stay as the solid world title for RAW and becomes one of the most sought after and well-respected titles within WWE."

[6.0] "I really don't like the design of this title. The big WWE logo in the middle of Big Goldy is ugly in my opinion. I wish the marketing department realized that not everything has to be plastered with the company logo."

[9.0] "The WWE World Heavyweight Championship is in league with the historical WCW World Championship or today's IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The wrestlers who have held the title have been best in class, and the retirement of WWE's Universal Championship allows this title to be genuinely recognized as RAW's main title instead of a third belt consolation prize."

[8.0] "Has gone through some great periods, and provided some great moments. I'm sure this could become a brilliant belt if the lineage stays as good as it has been. Not been flawless so far. GUNTHER's reigns have been midtier and Jey's went through some bad parts."

[4.0] "No matter how much WWE tells you otherwise, this still feels like a midcard title. Only Seth's first run was half-decent so far, and I'd say that from Priest's run all the way into Gunther's second one (both of which were underwhelming and, well, I'd rather not even mention the one that happened in between them), pretty much only midcarders were fighting for the clear #2 (if you can even rate it as highly as that, which you can easily argue could be even lower) spot in the company, as you could count on one hand the number of proper main event level talent that challenged for the belt."

[9.0] "So far really good title with great matches and almost all great line up of champions, one of the few things that keep raw interesting."

[10.0] "How do you elevate a title that everyone has counted out since day one? A title who everyone was saying was going to be a glorified midcard belt playing second string to the actual world title ? Well here is your answer. You have Seth Rollins, Damian Priest, Gunther, CM Punk and Damian Priest make it their mission to destroy each other for 2years and have the best cashin ever take place for the title. Kinda easy right? This title has became what its initial variation very much also resembled. Although second string the the "main" title. This is where the heart of wrestling is. This is where wrestlers give their everything to show why they are great. This is not a sellout title. This is a hardworking and deserving wrestlers reward. I love it. 10/10"

"[9.5] Foi uma luta incrível entre eles. Uma luta clássica entre um heel dominante e um face perseverante que não desiste nunca."

[9.0] "Going into our 8th reign with the belt we've had 3 really solid runs, 4 transitional runs which would really help validate the main event status of stars set to boom (or otherwise outstandingly hot talent to establish the belt prestige). It looks like Seth's reign as the 8th champion will be a longer one to build the Brons into main event babyface/antiheros. While I see a lot of criticism towards this championships booking the match quality along with the holder resume leaves it looking in a great position compared to prior to silver championships in the WWE which could inevitably be an equivalent to the WWE championship."

[8.0] "While it was basically created b/c Roman never showed up, it has been great value since and is a much better secondary world title than the Universal Championship, both in design and who has been champion."

"The midcard world championship, playing second fiddle to the main world championship in the company. The title's feuds have been hit-or-miss, and the belt hasn't created any major star-making moments. The design is absolutely nothing special too, feels very bland and corporate."

[7.0] "Out of the two World Titles on the Main Roster in WWE. The World Heavyweight Championship manages to be the workhorse championship of them all. A genuinely decorated championship with great holders (except 1.5 we'll get into that) and a beautiful design to go along with it. Seth "Freakin" Rollins was the first champion and his reign was amazing. It did fall off track during the last 2 months due to injury but It doesn't matter for me. Absolute workhorse title with banger matches and moments. Priest's reign was obviously underwhelming. He couldn't lace up the boots that Seth wore during his reign and because of that people casted doubts on Priest as World Champion material. GUNTHER's reign was good but missing something larger. He looked weak when losing to Cody, The last few months of his reign were just meh at best and he lost it in the worst way possible. Jey Uso is the current champion, I have my doubts but I wanna see how it goes. [***3/4]"

[5.0] "Never before in WWE has a world title felt more like a midcard title. This one is clearly the B title, a few rungs down from the title Cody holds and barely(if any) above the Intercontinental title. This isn't the big gold belt of old, it's an upper mid card title that outside of Seth's reign has never felt like a title meant for main event talent"

[8.0] "Great title. Agree with the lineage, even Jey which some take issue with. Gunther's had the weakest run thus far of those who held longer than a day. I wouldn't even say it's a bad run just underwhelming and poorly booked at times. Given the guys who'll likely hold this title in the future (Breakker, McIntyre again, perhaps Knight), I think it's in good hands."

[7.0] "It's fine it just feels like the people who are attached or fighting for the belt would never win the WWE title like Damian Priest and Jey Uso. Also people like Roman or Cody would see this belt as a step down and a clear example is when Cody won the rumble and the idea of him going for Seth's belt was seen as a step down."

[6.0] "This title is meaningless. They couldn't have Roman lose, so they made a pretend world title for Seth. Put Roman in one of those gimmick matches where the tag partner can lose the other's title and have Jey eat the pin leading to Roman vs Jey at the height of the bloodline story. Roman loses the World title, still has the streak with the universal title, and we can see world titles again. Instead they made a new title that will seemingly eventually replace the world title. Just silly. But Seth has been a great champion and putting the title on the map. This is also a beautiful title. Wish it meant something. UPDATE 2025.02.02 [6] - it means a little more than it did before. But I still have a hard time seeing it remotely a title worth pursuing when the WWE title is right there. I didn't care for the priest run but Gunther is making it look great"

[10.0] "I believe that it takes at least 4 champions to judge if a title is good and legitimate or not. The WHC as it is right now, despite having a short history, doesnt feel too inferior to the main WWE title. First Seth Rollins build the foundation, Drew established prestige, Damian elevated the title, and Gunther is the champion whos finalized the struggle. At this point, its better than the Universal title when it had its first 4 champions"

[6.0] "Nine months ago, I gave this title a 1.0 rating because creative decisions during Rollins' reign made this title a joke. Because, you know, the Rock's promo burying the belt wasn't exactly wrong; it was definitely a title for the "loser's bracket". It's a testament to Gunther's skills that he has elevated it from a trinket for NBC to put on their ads (hilarious, now Raw is going to Netflix) to something with some worth. However, there are still some inherent issues. This is the fourth attempt at a "second world title" that WWE have tried - after the acquired WCW, original WHC, and Universal titles - and they all failed because even in attempting to present the belts as equal, one of them was clearly lesser (as demonstrated at 2013, where they even called the WWE Championship's match the "all-star" match). Even if they're successful this time around, they're going to be batting at 1-3. And right now, WWE now has three active world titles - four if you count the Crown Jewel belt - and coupled with Triple H's PLE booking philosophy, it feels like a) he's getting high on a supply of belt presentations, which started here and b) they're trying to have their cake and eat it too when it comes to how the brands are presented. WWE currently recognises thirteen titles on the main roster, and even if you're lucky, only three of them are going to get PLE time. WWE's championship philosophy really needs to be examined, because I don't think it's sustainable in the long run. Because, to paraphrase Syndrome from The Incredibles, when everyone is a champion, nobody is."

[8.0] "This title started off hot with Rollins, then when he got injured, focus completely shifted away from title defenses as the only mention of the title from January to a bit after Elimination Chamber is the Rock going to make the title "disappear". Then McIntyre wins it, Priest wins it via cash in 5 min later setting up at least the next 8 months of WWE storylines. Damian Priest had a really fun and exponentially growing reign as champion as the crowd got more behind him after every feud. It all culminated with Gunther beating Priest at Summerslam in a banger. Now Gunther is the ultimate troll artist bragging about how he is saving the division for the sake of the great sport of pro-wrestling. You can only go up."

[6.0] "I understand it's just wrestling, and you can book anything, but creating a world title out of thin air doesn't feel right. Considering the reasons behind this belts existence, its hard to take it seriously. However, each reign has worked to elevate the title, and if anyone deserves credit for giving it meaning, it's the wrestlers themselves. Theyve done their best to add legitimacy, even if the titles origins remain questionable."

[10.0] "Your Ring General is champion. There is no other spot to put this belt then a 10/10. Your Ring General helped elevate the title. I'm so excited to see what Gunther does with the World Heavyweight title. Just him holding it makes it more prestigious. 10/10"

[8.0] "4 champions, a great first champion in Seth, a short but logical reign for Drew, and a pretty good reign by Priest, now the Ring General, it's going to elevate the title and propably is going to have the greatest world title reign in WWE"

[9.0] "I just started re-watching WWE after a long hiatus so I've only seen a few of Seth's title matches in his reign, but overall I have really enjoyed this title and feel only better things ahead with GUNTHER in charge. Priest's run also did accomplish its goal of making Priest a main event worthy guy. Great stuff"

[10.0] "I would have preferred that they kept the original title linage and design, rather than this weird allusion to it. But whatever. Seth pretty much did what Roman wasn't able/willing to do, which is great because the show needs a champion/title. Drew McIntyre's mini reign probably adds something in as much as it brings the payoff from his never having been WWE Champion in front of an audience to the new title, while making it a focal point of the mega feud with CM Punk. Damian Priest was a good champion with some unfortunate botches. Crowning Gunther will no doubt a great thing for the title's future."

[10.0] "When it was first introduced, obvious reservations were there considering the reign of Roman Reigns, however, in the 16 months that have passed, it has quickly established its position as nearly, if not, completely equal to the WWE Championship. The first reigns it has had so far have been absolutely brilliant and have helped in building the new world title up, and the reign that is about to happen with GUNTHER will further elevate it. Each reign has served a great purpose, with Seth's reign helping in establish the title, Drew's reign and subsequently Priest's reign helping in creating a star in Damian Priest and elevating his stock, and now, GUNTHER can capitalize on this and further elevate the World Heavyweight Championship to be THE world title in the company potentially. Moreover, Priest's cash-in and Drew's "obsession" with winning the title make it seem like an important title to have, further building its prestige. The design of the championship, being a modernized rendition of the Big Gold, also looks amazing, and is honestly one of the best-looking world titles in wrestling today."

[10.0] "Not missed with this belt yet even though it was once used as a secondary world title. Every reign on here has served a purpose through a story or establishing a wrestler. Seth Rollins - The Workhorse champion who only really got recognised after he lost the championship Drew McIntyre - Was used to fill his character and his feud with Punk Damien Priest - Overlooked MITB winner but carried this belt with the intentions of becoming a solid main eventer and he did exactly that (my favourite reign)"

[8.0] "When the title was first introduced, people looked at it as a consolation prize, but then Seth had an amazing reign and proved all the doubters wrong. Priests title reign was decent, started mediocre but got better as time went on, and I already know Gunther will do great things as World Heavyweight Champion."

[8.0] "The Heavyweight Championship has the history of the original title but this one I believe has been booked better. Seth was a strong workhorse champion, and the belt has elevated Priest to where he does feel like a main eventer. Constantly has great matches."

[9.0] "I'm really liking what they are doing with this belt, leading to my initial score of 8 to be bumped up to a 9. Seth Rollins is the guy to start any WWE world title with, as we have seen before with the NXT title. He absolutely elevated it to the level of importance of a world title, even if you can debate that it still feels quite secondary. What is really getting me excited about this belt is the story of Drew McIntyre, with him winning the belt and immediately losing it to Damian Priest, which only continues Drew's big descent into madness, as well as giving Damian a huge win that he absolutely deserves. Not to mention the involvement in CM Punk with everyone. I'm very happy with how this title is being written so far, and is certainly just as interesting to me as the WWE title is at the moment."

[8.0] "This belt has had a very tough role to fill since its inception, going up against the mammoth title reign of Roman which up until that point had all eyes on it. Creating a new world title, even if its one that pays homage to the original Big Gold Belt and fills the void of WWEs original version of the World Heavyweight Championship, was both inherently risky but ultimately needed. While some may roll their eyes at the new World Heavyweight Championship as a second rate belt I disagree entirely. Thanks very much to the work of Seth Rollins, who admittedly couldve dropped it once or twice during his initial run to the likes of Finn or Shinsuke in my opinion, this belt fills the void of the workhorse belt. Not just Seth deserves mentioning either, as a reinvigorated McIntyre (my next pick for champion), a returning CM Punk with all the gravitas that implies and the constant attention of Judgement Day which has finally paid off thanks to Priest cashing in, the new World Heavyweight Championship feels like a breath of fresh air and a chance for new blood and neglected wrestlers to get their hands on some world title gold. My only complaint is wondering why it doesnt share the original lineage of the old WHC."

[10.0] "Easily the best thing on Night 2 and one of the best matches this mania (along with the Becky match and main event of night 1). Didn't care for the finish since I wanted a Drew reign, but it was done well to further the CM Punk feud which has been great so far. This cemented the World Heavyweight Championship as a real title and not just "that thing to keep Seth Rollins from leaving when his contract is up. Extremely solid opener to the mania that might have broken the "Night 2 curse"."

"exciting after seeing Drew won the match, but the length of the game is just too short for me and Seth looked so strong that he didn't look like he'd hurt his leg at all. The processing was a little boring for me cause Drew just used claymore continuously like he beat Lesnar in the way what I didn't expect. Priest got the title finally also made me feel bad for Drew as he just has gotten the Heavyweight Title 5 mins ago. If the match has 20 mins length I think I could give a 8 even more, 7 for now."

"This match was everything I was hoping for and more. This may have been Drews best match since his triple threat at clash of the castle. Seth also had just as quality of a performance. A 4/5 star match with 5 star booking as Drew drops the title after getting into a tussle with CM Punk with a Damian Priest Cash in. - was perfect (chefs kiss). I cant vote, but anything less than 9 is criminal."

[6.0] "So slow .. 0 new move from the wrester. Drew is the good person to win this. But i dont understand the interaction between logan et Randy ... Triple Threat at wrestlemania ? Why not"

[5.0] "A consolation prize created specifically to try and circumvent the booking purgatory of Roman's endless title reign deadlocking the momentum of the entire upper card. This title willnbe just as desirable! they said. It's not a second place trophy, honest! And then despite Seth's best effort, Roman and company and this absurd clusterfuck surrounding 2024 Wrestlemania has well and truly buried this loser bracket title. What a waste of time."

[5.0] "While Seth did a solid job trying to make this title entertaining in the ring, frequent defenses stopped helping it acquire prestige once it became apparent about halfway through his reign that's he's just not losing it anytime soon. I'd argue it made it worse, and have some anecdotal evidence for that - my wife, whose casually tuning in to what I'm watching or talking about, when informed of Cody giving up Roman to make way for the Rock at Wrestlemania, asked me "So what's Cody going to do at WM? Fight Seth for the TV title? " and that felt very accurate to me. Giving it 5/10 for now since the matches are pretty good. I'll revise it up if WWE manages to make it feel prestigious."

[7.0] "A nice looking championship and one that is being defended on the regular within its first reign by Seth. It does feel like its prestige is growing. Who know wht the future holds for this Championship bit its off to its best possible start."

[8.0] "A good-looking title, but I don't think it's fair to give it a ten or a zero, because this is just a revived version of the Big Gold. But I believe in the future fans will take this title more serious, and this is also the only good looking belt that was made in the past 15 years."

[2.0] "An insult of a championship. They ahve done nothing with this belt (wich was always a bad idea cos of whay it existets) to make it feel like a world titiel , insted yhey have alowed it to go super stale wich seths rigine being booked as maybe the 4th bigest thing in the company at any given time. No work was done to make this belt feel like it is a world chapionahip it feels like a 2010s midcard belt ie. An afterthoght. In short i like habing another wolrd championship if you are not gona have your aother world chapion on TV all tge time but thiss belt feels like its just a random prop."

"I get this match a 8 say what you want about Jinder but he plays the heel so well and he was doing the things that a classic feel should be trying to do to win using his cronies to try to win cheating to try to win at the end of the day. His attempts at cheating where the things that cost in the match. Classic old school wrestling. You can never go wrong with an age-old formula"

"Tony if you are reading this, stop sniffing the powder, and know that no one cares about Taz's kid outside of a reddit meme of him being good. Seth sucks and Jinder is Based. AEW Will NEVER get a million again and you will NEVER be on HBO Max"

[10.0] "While it's clearly as not big as Roman's Undisputed WWE Universal Title current title run. It's already had a fantastic inaugural champion in Seth Rollins with future possible champions looking to elevate this new title to even greater heights."

[5.0] "It has had a decent title reign with seth as champion, but i dont think theres anything that can stop me from ever thinking of this as the 3rd place championship they made to keep roman on top. It sucks, it really does, cause theres no reason that roman needs both the world and universal title, he can have a dominant reign with just one of them, but they had to make this as a backup."

"this first reign of this new World Heavyweight championship is excellent. Seth Freakin Rollins is on fire, the ultimate fighting champion."