Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar opened this evening’s “Friday Night SmackDown” with a big announcement: WWE Champion Lesnar is “quitting” the blue brand to go seek revenge on “Raw.”
Lesnar walking away from the Fox show in favor of the USA one is not just for storyline, a device commonly used in the world of predetermined combat. “The Beast Incarnate” is indeed leaving Fox’s “SmackDown” roster will again wrestle for USA Network’s “Monday Night Raw,” a person with knowledge of the plans told TheWrap exclusively.
We asked our source if Lesnar was always intended to be a short-term rental of sorts for Fox’s “Friday Night SmackDown” — a big name brought over just to help launch the show’s big move to broadcast. That was not the case, the person told us.
If tonight’s episode is an indication of anything, it is that in WWE, plans must constantly change. Almost everything planned for this week’s “SmackDown” had to be changed hours before airtime, as an airplane carrying more than 175 WWE wrestlers, staffers and production professionals was grounded for more than 24 hours in Saudi Arabia.
Pay-per-view “Crown Jewel” took place in Riyadh on Thursday.
The shorthanded “Friday Night SmackDown,” which featured a heavy presence from little-brother brand “NXT,” was generally very well-received by fans on social media.
The Lesnar-to-“Raw” move makes sense for a number of reasons. First, Heyman, who is Lesnar’s mouthpiece and on-screen “advocate,” is the executive director of “Monday Night Raw.” And with the WWE Universal Championship title now part of “SmackDown” courtesy of a Bray Wyatt win at “Crown Jewel,” each of Vince McMahon’s flagship weekly wrestling series will again have one heavyweight belt on TV.
In WWE’s writing room, the (fictional) motivation behind the move is so Lesnar can seek revenge against “Raw” wrestler Rey Mysterio, who attacked the former UFC champ with a steel chair after Lesnar defeated old MMA rival Cain Velasquez at “Crown Jewel.”
As part of a “brand split,” WWE wants its wrestlers — who are independent contractors — to be regulars in only one of its “Raw,” “SmackDown” or “NXT” locker rooms. Those designations are determined by an annual draft.
“Raw” airs Mondays from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT on USA Network, which was also the former home to “SmackDown.” Previously a Tuesday-night cable series, “SmackDown” shifted to Fridays on Fox’s broadcast channel last month. That one airs from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT.
Every WWE Champion Ever, Ranked by Number of Reigns (Photos)
Pro-wrestling championship belts change hands like grapplers change ring gear these days, though it wasn't always that way. Bobby Lashley is again WWE Champion, thanks to a little outside interference from Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman at the 2022 WWE Royal Rumble.
After a Brock Lesnar F-5 K.O.-ed the referee on Saturday, Jan. 29, Reigns ran in with a devastating spear. He then demanded the WWE Championship belt from Heyman, who obliged. The title itself delivered the final blow to Brock. All Lashley had to do was muster a cover.
Scroll through our gallery to see every WWE Champion ever, ranked by their number(s) of title wins. Remember: this is a list of those who won the WWWF Championship, the WWF Championship or the WWE Championship. So don't come after us, Universal Champions, et al.
WWE
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Kofi Kingston
# of Reigns: 1
The power of positivity.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Jeff Hardy
# of Reigns: 1
The un-"Broken" half of the Hardy Boyz has had the more storied singles career.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Bray Wyatt
# of Reigns: 1
The Fiend used to go by "Husky Harris" -- we'd say this run is working out better for him.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Sgt. Slaughter
# of Reigns: 1
Camel Clutch, Cobra Clutch -- whatever "C"-animal it was, it hurt.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Dean Ambrose
# of Reigns: 1
And "The Lunatic Fringe" pulled this off while wearing jeans.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Chris Jericho
# of Reigns: 1
You're a "stupid idiot" if you didn't know this guy made "The List."
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Eddie Guerrero
# of Reigns: 1
Generally considered one of the best ever to have done it held the big-boy belt for 133 days.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Jinder Mahal
# of Reigns: 1
The "Modern-Day Maharaja" dropped the title to A.J. Styles.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: John "Bradshaw" Layfield
# of Reigns: 1
JBL has taken his heel persona from the ring to the announce table. Never without a cowboy hat, Layfield thankfully leaves his lariat clothesline at home.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: The Ultimate Warrior
# of Reigns: 1
The muscle-bound maniac who handed Hulk Hogan his first-ever "WrestleMania" loss died after suffering a heart attack three days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: "Superstar" Billy Graham
# of Reigns: 1
"Superstar" Billy Graham was a bodybuilder and buddy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yeah, blame Graham's body for Jinder Mahal's run.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Kevin Nash
# of Reigns: 1
You mean Tarzan from "Magic Mike"?!?!? Yes, yes we do.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Pedro Morales
# of Reigns: 1
History lesson: Back in the WWWF days, Morales became the first guy in wrestling history to win all three of the major men's titles -- the WWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the WWF Tag Team Championship -- in the company.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: André the Giant
# of Reigns: 1
The tales about André the Giant sometimes feel as tall as he was.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: The Iron Sheik
# of Reigns: 1
This guy is as big a hit on Twitter as he was in the ring.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Kane
# of Reigns: 1
You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but Kane, now mayor of Knox County in Tennessee, is one of the smartest Superstars in WWE history.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Rey Mysterio
# of Reigns: 1
We're not going to talk about how ridiculous the setup to his finishing move, "The 6-1-9," became. This is a happy list.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Stan Stasiak
# of Reigns: 1
Unfortunately Stasiak only held the belt for nine days.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Rob Van Dam
# of Reigns: 1
One of the most popular ECW wrestlers of all-time, RVD has brought his three initials to seemingly every pro-wrestling promotion with three initials.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Ivan Koloff
# of Reigns: 1
The "Russian Bear" was actually Canadian.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Buddy Rogers
# of Reigns: 1
Rogers was kinda-sorta the first champion in the company. It's complicated -- ask Killer Kowalski and Bruno Sammartino.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Vince McMahon
# of Reigns: 1
Hell, Mr. McMahon runs the damn company -- of course he made this list.
Rank: 32 (tie)
Wrestler: Big E
# of Reigns: 1
Big E has had a big career -- both as a singles performer and a member of The New Day.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: The Miz
# of Reigns: 2
The kid from "The Real World" made good on his over-the-top MTV promos. One of the best on the mic, Miz has been holding down the Intercontinental Championship more than any other Superstar of the past few years.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Drew McIntyre
# of Reigns: 2
Scottish Psychopath joined the WWE Champions' and two-timers club all in 2020.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Batista
# of Reigns: 2
Guardian of the Galaxy, defender of WWE Championship.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: The Big Show
# of Reigns: 2
You can't miss this two-time champ -- not even in a mega-arena.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: A.J. Styles
# of Reigns: 2
"The Phenomenal One" held the belt for 371-straight days, which is a record for a "SmackDown" wrestler.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Alberto Del Rio
# of Reigns: 2
Si! Si! Si! Si! Si! Si! Si!
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Sycho Sid
# of Reigns: 2
It was a long way down from Shawn Michaels' former bodyguard's power-bomb.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
# of Reigns: 2
If you haven't watched ESPN's "30 for 30: Nature Boy," do that. Oh, and look up Flair's ridiculous NWA runs too.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Sheamus
# of Reigns: 2
Master of the Brogue Kick, Rocksteady in the "Ninja Turtles" movies -- which is the greater accomplishment?
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Seth Rollins
# of Reigns: 2
He's BURN(ed) IT DOWN more than once.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Yokozuna
# of Reigns: 2
That belt needed a few extenders to fit around the sumo.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: CM Punk
# of Reigns: 2
Let's just say he was a little less successful in the UFC -- but maybe an AEW run?
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Randy "Macho Man" Savage
# of Reigns: 2
Before he snapped into Slim Jims, the "Macho Man" was snapping dudes in half.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Bob Backlund
# of Reigns: 2
Backlund couldn't "Make Darren Young Great Again" -- or even keep the guy employed -- but the master of the cross-face chicken wing had a pretty incredible career of his own.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Bruno Sammartino
# of Reigns: 2
Google him, kids.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Bobby Lashley
# of Reigns: 2
Lashley just looks like the guy who should be champion.
Rank: 13 (tie)
Wrestler: Mankind
# of Reigns: 3
Mick Foley nearly killed himself to raise these titles.
Rank: 13 (tie)
Wrestler: Roman Reigns
# of Reigns: 3
The Head of the Table may make the top of this list when all is said and done.
Rank: 13 (tie)
Wrestler: Shawn Michaels
# of Reigns: 3
Before he found God, the "Heartbreak Kid" found jaws with his foot, popularizing the Superkick.
Rank: 9 (tie)
Wrestler: Daniel Bryan
# of Reigns: 4
Fellow fan-favorite Superstar is now in AEW with CM Punk.
Rank: 9 (tie)
Wrestler: Edge
# of Reigns: 4
On this day, you can see clearly... that Edge is one of the best to ever lace up.
Rank: 9 (tie)
Wrestler: The Undertaker
# of Reigns: 4
The Dead Man is truly a living legend.
Rank: 9 (tie)
Wrestler: Kurt Angle
# of Reigns: 4
Top 10, it's true -- it's damn true.
Rank: 8
Wrestler: Bret "Hitman" Hart
# of Reigns: 5
The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
Rank: 5 (tie)
Wrestler: Hulk Hogan
# of Reigns: 6
Hulkamania was real. Then again, so was Gawker at one point.
Rank: 5 (tie)
Wrestler: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
# of Reigns: 6
On the Mt. Rushmore of all-time greats, and that's the bottom line.
Rank: 3 (tie)
Wrestler: The Rock
# of Reigns: 8
He may be Dwayne Johnson now, but he'll always be "The Rock" to us.
Rank: 3 (tie)
Wrestler: Triple H
# of Reigns: 8
Boss of The Authority and former DX member has two words for the other guys on this list. We can't reprint them.
Rank: 2
Wrestler: Randy Orton
# of Reigns: 10
The Viper has RKO'd a lot of dudes outta nowhere.
Rank: 1
Wrestler: John Cena
# of Reigns: 13
U Can't See Him.
1 of 55
From Buddy Rogers to Bobby Lashley, here are all the guys from the old WWWF and WWF days — and beyond
Pro-wrestling championship belts change hands like grapplers change ring gear these days, though it wasn't always that way. Bobby Lashley is again WWE Champion, thanks to a little outside interference from Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman at the 2022 WWE Royal Rumble.
After a Brock Lesnar F-5 K.O.-ed the referee on Saturday, Jan. 29, Reigns ran in with a devastating spear. He then demanded the WWE Championship belt from Heyman, who obliged. The title itself delivered the final blow to Brock. All Lashley had to do was muster a cover.
Scroll through our gallery to see every WWE Champion ever, ranked by their number(s) of title wins. Remember: this is a list of those who won the WWWF Championship, the WWF Championship or the WWE Championship. So don't come after us, Universal Champions, et al.
