WWE will crown a new World Heavyweight Champion this Saturday as Seth Rollins will take on AJ Styles at the Night of Champions pay-per-view. Paul “Triple H” Levesque first unveiled the title last month, though its introduction was immediately met with pushback from fans due to its design and its status as a “consolation prize” for all the wrestlers who couldn’t beat Roman Reigns for his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Even Styles agreed in an interview with The New York Post this week that the title feels secondary compared to what “The Tribal Chief” holds.ย
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“Is it a secondary? Well if the Raw championship is held by Roman, the SmackDown championship is held by Roman, then how can you argue that it’s not? We had to make a new championship because Roman holds them all,” Styles said. “What happens if he decides to wrestle for the World Heavyweight Championship? It is what it is, and we got what we got. If we make the best of it, and if and when Roman does challenge [for it], we beat the brakes off of him, whomever it might be, then we’ll see what title’s secondary.”
But WWE might have found a way to improve this title’s value. According to insider @BoozerRasslin, WWE plans to recognize this title as a continuation of the original World Heavyweight Championship from 2002-2013. That title was previously unified with the WWE Championship via Randy Orton and the company wouldn’t operate with two world titles again until the Universal Championship was introduced in 2016.ย
While not as prestigious as the WWE Championship, the original World Heavyweight Championship had some noteworthy reigns from the likes of Triple H, Batista, Edge and The Undertaker. Will this lineage help the new version of the title in the eyes of fans? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!ย
WWE Night of Champions Full Card (As of Now)
- World Heavyweight Championship:ย Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships:ย Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs.ย Roman Reignsย & Solo Sikoa
- WWE Intercontinental Championship:ย Gunther vs. Mustafa Ali
- Raw Women’s Championship:ย Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya
- Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
- Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
