The championship was established for Raw after WWE Champion Dean Ambrose was drafted to SmackDown in the 2016 WWE Draft. Finn Bálor subsequently became the inaugural Universal Champion at SummerSlam on August 21. The original red Universal Championship design was heavily criticized. Jason Powell of Pro Wrestling Dot Net referred to it as “a title belt that no one likes”. Adam Silverstein of CBS Sports described it as “ugly” while the live SummerSlam audience in Brooklyn, New York gave derisive chants, including “This belt sucks” an assessment with which New England Sports Network reporters agreed. WWE employees responded in the aftermath of the title’s debut. Seth Rollins chastised the SummerSlam crowd’s reaction, writing on Twitter: “More important than a title’s appearance is what it represents for the men fighting over it. You really let me down tonight, Brooklyn”.
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