Kevin Owens WWE Universal Champion
Roman Reigns United States Champion
Sasha Banks Raw Women's Champion
The New Day Raw Tag Team Champions
AJ Styles WWE Champion
Dolph Ziggler Intercontinental Champion
Becky Lynch Smackdown Women's Champion
Slater & Rhyno Smackdown Tag Team Champions
Shinsuke Nakamura NXT Champion
Asuka NXT Women's Champion
The Revival NXT Tag Team Champions
Roman Reigns United States Champion
Sasha Banks Raw Women's Champion
The New Day Raw Tag Team Champions
AJ Styles WWE Champion
Dolph Ziggler Intercontinental Champion
Becky Lynch Smackdown Women's Champion
Slater & Rhyno Smackdown Tag Team Champions
Shinsuke Nakamura NXT Champion
Asuka NXT Women's Champion
The Revival NXT Tag Team Champions
Above are all the champions in the WWE at the moment, save for the Cruiserweight Champion for the sake of balance. Upon looking at it, I am going to ask just one question:
Are the current NXT Championships more presitigious than the other brands?
When I watch NXT, I see a show that actually cares for it's Champions and Championships. The Championships on NXT are not passed around very easily and when they are moved onto the next person, it feels like a massive deal. Remember when Shinsuke Nakamura beat Samoa Joe for his NXT Championship? That was an utterly fantastic match that crowned Nakamura as the man who was going to move NXT forward. The same can be said of Asuka who defeated Bayley for the NXT Women's Championship at NXT Dallas nearly 200 days ago. One thing is infinietly true of Nakamura and Asuka, they seem to carry the Championships with pride and a poise that I don't think we see on any of the other shows. Like I said, when someone wins a Championship on NXT, it is because they are the best that there is on offer. Can we truly say the same about some of the other Champions?
I think a big part of this is the Brand Extension. Since then, they have introduced 3 new Championship in the name of parity. In fact, what they seem to have done is reduce the prestige that holding a Championship has. Kevin Owens, as much as I love what he is doing, is not the best wrestler on Raw. I don't believe that Sasha is the best Women's wrestler on Raw either. In fact, the only Raw Champions with any measure of credibility is The New Day, who have held their Championships for over 400 days. The Raw Championships, in particular, have been bounced arounf like a hot potato and it has damaged the credibility of the belts right off the bat.
On Smackdown, I think a more brighter picture is being painted. I do firmly believe that AJ Styles is adding prestige to the WWE Championship. He is a terrific wrestler and a great personality. The WWE have done a great job of making him seem like a true Champion and it has paid off. That said, he is let down by the likes of Dolph Ziggler, Slater and Rhyno, and Becky Lynch. Lynch hasn't been seen for a while, Ziggler recently just won the Championship and Slater & Rhyno was a joke gone too far (albeit to good effect).
But through it all, NXT has constantly provided excellent Champions that have gone on to make their reigns memorable in their own way. These are the same people who are now staples of the main WWE brands and show no signs of slowing down.
So do you agree? Are the Championships on NXT more prestigious than the main brands?