The World Heavyweight Championship is Back!

Hours prior to Monday Night Raw's beginning, it was reported that Triple H had a huge announcement as part of the episode's synopsis. My first two thoughts: the upcoming WWE Draft was involved, and I figured/hoped that he would address the World Title situation. Sure enough, Triple H did address Roman Reigns, adding that Reigns' near 1000-day reign as WWE's Undisputed Universal Champion was mentioned, as well as the fact that he hasn't defended the title as much. After stating that the WWE and their fans deserved more than that, Triple H then mentioned the Draft--saying that in the upcoming Draft, when Reigns is drafted by either Raw or SmackDown, he'll take his title and stay there.

Now, when I thought the World Title situation would be addressed, I figured that the two belts would be separated. I definitely wasn't expecting this:

The Game announced that while one brand will get Reigns and his championship, the other brand will determine a new champion of their own. Triple H added that at Night of Champions on May 27, WWE will crown a new World Heavyweight Champion. When he said those last three words, I beamed, but when Triple H unveiled the actual new belt, I absolutely lost it in a wave of elation!

It's back! The World Heavyweight Championship is BACK!!!

It's the same design, for the most part, as the Big Gold Belt, but with a few small differences--mainly the WWE logo in the centerpiece and side pieces. Even so, I was immensely happy! I had been begging for the World Heavyweight Championship to return ever since the Brand Extension returned in 2016, and it's mainly because I think that belt is the best looking one in all of wrestling, plus some of the best top title matches in WWE have involved the World Heavyweight Championship.

The World Heavyweight Championship was first instilled into WWE back on September 2, 2002, just a few months after the original Brand Extension began. The Big Gold Belt was used as the title's design, actually bringing the belt back to WWE for the first time since April of 2002, when it served as one half of the Undisputed Championship. The title began as the top prize for the Raw brand, and was awarded to Triple H, who held it for over two months before losing the title inside the Elimination Chamber to Shawn Michaels. The World Heavyweight Championship was part of Raw for two and a half years, with the 2005 Draft seeing titleholder Batista and WWE Champion John Cena switch brands, bringing the title to SmackDown.

The World Heavyweight Championship served as the blue brand's top prize for three years, and was held by Batista, Rey Mysterio, Booker T, Undertaker, and Edge, among a few others. The belt returned to Raw on June 30, 2008, when CM Punk used his Money in the Bank opportunity to pounce on Edge, though it served as the Raw title for less than a year, but that short time included John Cena holding the title twice. Edge took the title back to SmackDown in April of 2009, and it stood as a blue brand title until the Brand Extension came to an end, allowing all talent to appear on both shows. The World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship in December 2013, and as for the Big Gold Belt, it was officially retired right after the 2014 SummerSlam event.

Now, all that was said is that a new World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned at Night of Champions, but Triple H never said how. A thought I had is a tournament; either 8 or 16 men participating. Another thought I had is a wild one: maybe the champion will be crowned inside the Elimination Chamber, and after Backlash, we get qualifying matches for the chamber. It's a wild idea, but I think it would make more sense if the World Heavyweight Champion was crowned via the Chamber, because it's supposed to be a hard and winding road to becoming champion, and what's more hard and winding than the Elimination Chamber. And who should be that very man who emerges as the World Heavyweight Champion--the first to hold the title on its own since John Cena did it in 2013? None other than Cody Rhodes.

I know Cody winning that title would put all of the letters in obvious, but it makes the most sense. Let's get one thing straight: Cody should have won at WrestleMania. We all thought Cody was going to win at WrestleMania. We all expected Cody to win at WrestleMania. The #1 reason why we counted down the days until WrestleMania was to see Cody win. Literally everything in that buildup to WrestleMania pointed to Cody winning. Then...he didn't win. We all found that unacceptable. For that reason alone, Cody has to be the first holder of the new World Heavyweight Championship, because he's owed this.

I would also think that Roman Reigns would remain solely on SmackDown, leaving the WHC to serve as a Raw title, similar to 2002. In any event, the weeks following the WWE Draft should be interesting, especially with the return of the World Heavyweight Championship.