WWE is introducing a brand new World Heavyweight Championship to be decided at Night of Champions.
The company has unveiled its first major new title belt since the Universal Championship was created in 2016 and it will be defended on whichever brand – Raw or SmackDown – doesn’t land Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in the upcoming draft.
The new titleholder will be crowned at Night of Champions at Saudi Arabia on May 27, although who will compete for the gold – and how they will be selected – is yet to be announced.
WWE’s Chief Content Officer Triple H, whose real name is Paul Levesque, appeared on Monday night’s episode of Raw to make the huge announcement and give fans their first peek at the prize.
Its design has a lot in common with the so-called Big Gold Belt, which was introduced to WWE in 2002 with Triple H being awarded the title while Randy Orton was the final champion in 2013.
The key difference is a giant WWE logo included in the middle, which keeps it consistent with the recent vision for the top titles in the company to ensure there’s no doubt where the belt has come from.
‘This will be a champion you can be proud of,’ Triple H told fans on Monday night.
He added: ‘This will be a champion you can respect, that you can admire. This will be a champion that will defend this championship anywhere, any place, any time, all over the world.’
Speaking in character, he took a dig at Reigns and his contract which allows him to make limited title defences, while he also claimed the new champion will ‘earn your acknowledgment’ rather than insist on it.
‘This champion will not have to demand your acknowledgment,’ he teased. ‘This champion will earn your acknowledgment, and will earn the title of World Heavyweight Champion.’
WWE Night of Champions airs on May 27 via the WWE Network.
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First appear at WWE unveils new World Heavyweight Championship title belt to be decided at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia
