WWE Buy or Sell: Universal Championship vs. WWE Championship

This week in WWE saw the same trends continue: the Universal Championship is up and the WWE Championship is down. Anyone who casually watches wrestling can tell you which belt feels more important, but can they tell you why?

For those that got invested in the Universal Championship after Brock Lesnar conquered Bill Goldberg at WreestleMania 33, the rewards have been bountiful. Although Lesnar keeps a personally convenient schedule, he’s been making regular appearances on RAW leading up to Great Balls of Fire. They’ve been nothing short of spectacular.

Up Next: Great Balls of Fire Predictions & Banter

The WWE Championship is sick – and not in a cool way. Just like Tinkerbell, it needs applause to stay vital. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been too much to clap about and the belt’s value has been on a steady decline for 2 months.

If these belts were individual stocks, the decision on which to buy and which to sell would be easy. But let’s do some forecasting. Can the Universal Championship keep this momentum. Will the WWE Championship ever get out of this rut?

Universal Championship

The Universal Championship is proof that a good, believable feud is critical to keeping a title looking strong. Since entering the fray as number one contender, Samoa Joe has been fantastic. His weekly, fiery contributions have brought out the best in Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship’s value has been on a steady rise. 

Joe and Lesnar’s big three tussles on from RAW have already garnered over 12 million views on YouTube. This is what an electric championship feud looks like. 

More: Former RAW GM Smitten Over Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar

Even though Joe is clearly losing on Sunday, he’s been a nearly priceless hold over between now and Brock’s SummerSlam blockbuster. If these two bruisers can give us a great match, then there is no reason to think that the Universal Championship will continue it’s steady incline to and through SummerSlam.

Fans will flock towards potential matches like Lesnar vs. Reigns or Lesnar vs. Strowman. These are WreslteMania quality contests that will play out in August.

If the Universal Championship is to be treated like a stock, then dip into your child’s college fund (which may prove to be worthless, anyway) and sink some cheddar on the licorice belt! 

WWE Championship

It’s not that the WWE Championship is tanking, it’s more like it’s just not going anywhere. As Woody Allen once said, a wrestling title is like a shark, it most constantly be moving forward or it dies.

Under that philosophy, we have a dead WWE Championship. 

Well, we have a mostly dead WWE Championship. 

Jinder Mahal has cut identical promos for about a month straight: Americans are intimidated by him. Americans don’t appreciate culture. Punjabi jabbering. 

More: Randy Orton’s Advice to Jinder Mahal: Care Less

Randy Orton hasn’t offered much better. His promos typically hinge upon respect for family, America, and a mandatory PG-13 insult. 

What’s odd is that these two have great chemistry in the ring. But after 3 weeks of dueling promos, we’re ready to watch something else. The Punjabi Prison match may be fun, but because this was such an old school program, it feels a little incongruent to use such a modern day gimmick.

So while the value of the WWE Championship is pretty unattractive as a worthy investment, the hope lies in what could be next. However, even that could be tenuous as an unproven Baron Corbin is circling above a sickly championship. 

Verdict

BUY: Universal Championship

Combining a great build with Joe/Lesnar with what could be next (Reigns or Strowman) has this title’s stock soaring. 

SELL: WWE Championship

The tough times may be here to stay as only an unproven Baron Corbin is on the loom. Things could change after Battleground, but this championship should continue to trend downwards for the next few weeks.

SELL: Jinder Mahal

 It was a valiant effort by the Modern Day Maharaja and WWE but it’s time to get serious now with SummerSlam approaching. 

BUY: Randy Orton

Oh this is risky. But with Mahal, Orton is asked to carry the emotional part of the program – an unfair request to someone nicknamed The Viper. Mahal likely will not beat Randy Orton for the 3rd consecutive PPV at Battleground. Which means that Orton will be defending the WWE Championship against someone like AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura or even John Cena at SummerSlam.