There is no shortage of championships in WWE in 2026. The company that once revolved around just three titles now features 19 championships spread across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.
Discussing the current title bloat, former WWE star Stevie Richards said on his podcast, “I think there needs to be quality over quantity right now. I think what they did was they created all these championships to sell merchandise, and then creatively it just became bankrupt.”
His solution?
“Anything that doesn’t have the
lineage of the WWE should be removed,” said the 21-time WWE Hardcore Champion, leaving only the titles traditionally associated with WWE: the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the World Tag Team Championships.
Those three titles would be standard for both the men’s and women’s divisions, for a total of six championships between Raw and SmackDown. As for what that would mean for the brand split, Richards said the champs would defend their titles on both shows.
Richards would also bring back the classic championship designs, including the Winged Eagle belt and the Intercontinental title belt associated with legendary champions such as Randy Savage and Bret Hart.
Richards didn’t offer a fix for NXT, the developmental brand which currently has eight championships, but noted, “It’s just too much of everything.”
Alternative Solution
Richards is right that there’s too much of everything when it comes to titles in WWE. In fairness, though, this isn’t the WWE of the 1980s or 1990s. Raw, SmackDown, and NXT each have enough wrestlers to function as their own promotion.
For the most part, NXT remains largely separate from the main roster. Instead, the bigger issue is between Raw and SmackDown.
Despite a roster split, wrestlers from each show frequently cross over, often with little explanation. The main angle on Raw for more than a month has been the world title feud between Raw’s Roman Reigns and SmackDown’s Jacob Fatu, who simply showed up on Monday night and challenged his cousin.
While no one doubts the prestige of the WWE Championship, calling it the Undisputed Championship seems dubious when there’s a second world title in play, while its counterpart, the Women’s Championship, doesn’t carry the same distinction.
The easiest fix would be to keep Raw and SmackDown as separate as possible. As history has shown, that’s unlikely to happen, ever, especially when one side starts lacking star power or fresh matchups are needed.
Still, WWE could at least eliminate the confusion at the top by having one world champion for the men’s and women’s divisions, along with one set of tag team champs for both sides.
Your Fix
What do you make of WWE’s title scene across its three major brands? Too much, too little, or just right? What changes, if any, would you make, Cagesiders? React in the comments section.
