When WWE Planned to Introduce New World Heavyweight Championship

WWE has made a big announcement by introducing a new World Heavyweight Championship to its roster, and more details have surfaced regarding its origins and the first champion to be crowned.

According to Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the decision to introduce a second top title dates back to WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, where the current Undisputed WWE Universal Championship was unified.

The company had already been planning to bring back a second title before the match, but they had to wait for a certain period before creating the second championship due to the stipulations at WrestleMania.

“The idea of bringing back the second title dates back literally to when the titles were unified at the April 3, 2022, WrestleMania show in Dallas when Roman Reigns beat Brock Lesnar. We had been told before the match that the company felt it needed two titles, but also based on the Mania stipulation, it had to wait a certain length of time before creating the second one.”

Triple H revealed the new championship belt on the April 24 episode of WWE Raw, with the first champion to be crowned on May 27 at WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia.

Seth Rollins has emerged as a competitor who could vie for the title, after he cut a promo following the announcement of the new championship. In the promo, he emphasized the opportunity to have a championship that is not revolving around politics and part-timers in WWE. Meanwhile, Finn Balor took to social media to set his eyes on the new championship in his own way.

When announcing the title, Triple H commented on Roman Reigns' reign as WWE Universal Champion, stating that Reigns negotiated to defend his title less frequently, which is good for him but not for WWE or the fans. Triple H believes that WWE and the fans deserve more, and that Reigns will take the title with him to whatever brand he's drafted to, leaving the other brand to determine a new champion.

The new World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned on May 27 at Night of Champions and will be someone who is admired and will defend the title anywhere, anyplace, anytime to earn the acknowledgment from fans.