Grading the Reign of Every Current WWE and AEW Champion

There are a whole heap of champions currently competing in WWE and All Elite Wrestling, with some obviously meaning more than others.

With both rosters continuing to expand, having a healthy amount of titles to challenge for is imperative, along with making them feel important and protecting the people who hold them.

With the world and tag team belts unified at the moment, WWE has eight active championships between Raw and SmackDown. AEW boasts eight titles as well, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering how much its talent pool has grown since the promotion's inception.

As a result, it can be difficult for certain champs to stand out and for their reign to be memorable. It's entirely dependent on the booking and whether they're made to look credible.

This list will attempt to grade every titleholder in WWE and AEW based on how they've been presented thus far, their level of popularity with the audience, number of successful title defenses and their overall in-ring and mic work.

NXT and Ring of Honor champions are not included.

AEW All-Atlantic Champion PAC: B

AEW's announcement in early June that an All-Atlantic champion would be crowned at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view was met with a mixed response from fans due to the company already having plenty of titles available.

However, the concept of the champion defending across all continents was unique enough to warrant its creation. PAC was also the perfect person to be that traveling titleholder out of the gate and defend it in a number of international independent promotions.

His championship matches were exclusive to Dark early on, but he's thankfully had more of a presence on Dynamite and Rampage as of late and has had fun matches with both Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta with the gold up for grabs.

Although his rivalry with Best Friends has run its course, his series of matches with them has given him direction. And PAC may not be champ for much longer depending on the outcome of his upcoming clash with Cassidy on Wednesday's Dynamite.

24/7 Champion Dana Brooke: F

Triple H has made many drastic changes to WWE since taking over its creative direction, but, shockingly, doing away with the 24/7 Championship has not been among them.

On the bright side, the title has barely had a presence on Raw in recent months and has been relegated to Main Event and live events instead. It's currently held by Dana Brooke, who is in the middle of her 13th reign.

The 24/7 title had some value in its first few months when R-Truth and Drake Maverick were having a fun feud over it, but it has long been a pointless prop. And being in Brooke's possession hasn't made it any more of a priority.

Considering most fans presumably aren't aware the championship is still in existence, it's safe to say Brooke's reign has been a failure. The sooner WWE can retire it, the better.

AEW World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Death Triangle: C-

The tournament to determine the first-ever AEW world six-man tag team champions was a focal point on AEW programming in the weeks preceding All Out, culminating in an excellent encounter between The Elite and Adam Page with The Dark Order at the event.

Unfortunately, the real-life events that transpired immediately after the show caused the belts to be put on the back burner from the get-go. The Elite were stripped of the titles within days due to being suspended, which led to Death Triangle beating Best Friends for the vacant championship.

Death Triangle have been a tremendous trio since they joined forces two-and-a-half years ago, but they haven't had a chance to show that at all since they became champs. Their sole title defense came in an impromptu bout against The Dark Order last Friday on Rampage, and there wasn't anything overly special about the outing.

Beyond that, the titles haven't been featured whatsoever on Dynamite and have hardly been mentioned. For a company with so many talented trios, it's astounding they aren't held in higher regard right now.

With all of that said, there's still time for their presence to improve.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Damage CTRL: D

WWE had the chance to quietly deactivate the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship after Sasha Banks and Naomi relinquished it in the spring, but Triple H was, apparently, adamant about bringing the belts back into the fold.

Nothing we've seen so far would make you think the titles will be booked any better in the new regime than they were previously.

In fact, the entire tournament to crown new champs was rendered irrelevant when Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah lost the belts to Damage CTRL within weeks of winning them.

Of course, WWE can't be blamed for Aliyah's untimely injuries, but it isn't as if Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky have had a stellar run with the titles, either.

In fact, the group has lost a majority of their matches in singles competition over the last month, including Bayley. They haven't had any title defenses and no teams are waiting in the wings to challenge them.

They've been prominently positioned on Raw, but nothing else about the belts feels important. They're merely accessories for Damage CTRL at this point as they look to hold all the gold.

AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill: B+

Jade Cargill is the ultimate blueprint for how an undefeated, dominant champion should be booked.

She hasn't suffered a single loss since wrestling her first match for AEW in March 2021. On the first Dynamite of 2022, she became the inaugural AEW TBS champion by beating Ruby Soho in the finals.

Most of her matches this year have been for the belt and she's emerged victorious in every single one of them. Tay Conti, Anna Jay, Willow Nightingale, Madison Rayne and Athena have all been dispatched by Cargill.

The 30-year-old has had more title defenses than almost every other current champion in AEW combined, though the matches themselves have been brief.

The biggest knock against her reign is that she's lacked a formidable rival. Athena was easily her biggest threat, and Kris Statlander was shaping up to be a worthy challenger before going down with an injury.

The Cargill experiment has gradually grown stale now that her character has plateaued, but there can be no doubt she's still one of the biggest homegrown stars AEW has created so far.

SmackDown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey: TBD

After falling short against Liv Morgan twice previously, Ronda Rousey exacted her revenge in the form of a SmackDown Women's Championship victory at Extreme Rules on Saturday.

With the win, the former UFC fighter is now a two-time SmackDown women's champ. She captured the title for the first time at WrestleMania Backlash in May and held it for less than two months before dropping it to Morgan via a surprise Money in the Bank cash-in.

The Baddest Woman on the Planet has totally transformed as a character since that fateful night, so this reign should be infinitely better than the first. She's finally found her footing as a heel, which will add more intrigue to her matches going forward.

It's too early to grade her run, but the potential is there for it to be great. Finding credible competition for Rousey to defend against may be the toughest test.

AEW Interim Women's World Champion Toni Storm: B

In light of Thunder Rosa getting hurt days before All Out, Toni Storm wasted no time in seizing the spotlight and taking charge of the AEW women's division.

And she beat three of the promotion's finest at All Out to become the AEW interim women's world champion.

To be fair, all signs pointed to her dethroning Rosa for the title at the event anyway. The injury to La Mera Mera simply prevented Storm from pinning her directly.

The women's division has always been AEW's biggest Achilles heel, but Storm has attempted to elevate it to the next level to the best of her ability. Having a regular presence on the program every week has helped enormously, in addition to winning most of her matches.

In the month she's held the gold, the 26-year-old has already had two title defenses: one in a Four-Way at Grand Slam and another against Serena Deeb a week later. A title unification bout with Rosa is inevitable.

As solid of a reign as she's had so far, Storm would benefit from getting more mic time to talk about what the title means to her and why she is the ideal person to be leading the division. She's a top talent and should be treated as such.

Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair: A-

It's quite amazing how brilliantly Bianca Belair has been booked over the last two years and how she's managed to maintain momentum this entire time, even when she wasn't a champion.

Her story arc with Becky Lynch was wisely completed at WrestleMania 38 when she beat her to clinch her first Raw Women's Championship. With Big Time Becks out injured, The EST of WWE has been far and away the most popular female on the show.

The 33-year-old's reign has been highlighted by three terrific matches: her rematch with Lynch at SummerSlam, the Triple Threat with Big Time Becks and Asuka at Hell in a Cell, and the ladder match with Bayley at Extreme Rules.

Despite Belair overcoming every obstacle that's been thrown her way on TV, she hasn't grown stagnant whatsoever. She carries herself as a star and has only been pinned once in 2022.

She's had a wonderful reign in the last six months, but what lies ahead for her will be what matters most. Having beaten Bayley and Lynch decisively, she's now looking for her next big rival.

AEW Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa: C

Thunder Rosa has been sidelined with an injury since shortly before All Out in September, though that isn't what has earned her a mediocre grade as AEW women's world champion. How she was handled while she was active is entirely to blame instead.

She was arguably the hottest female wrestler on the roster leading up to her title win at St. Patrick's Slam edition of Dynamite. Out of nowhere, that momentum came to an abrupt halt once her reign got underway, and she received next to no focus on Dynamite and Rampage.

There were weeks when Rosa wasn't featured or acknowledged at all.

La Mera Mera had a handful of title defenses against the likes of Nyla Rose, Toni Storm and Jamie Hayter. Although the quality of the matches improved with every defense, none of them had a story and the audience was left with zero reason to care.

One can only hope Rosa will get more opportunities once her reign resumes, but it could (and likely will be) short-lived if Storm beats her to become the unified champ.

United States Champion Seth Rollins: N/A

Seth Rollins is in a similar spot to Ronda Rousey in that he is also fresh off capturing championship gold and can't be accurately graded just yet. However, there's no reason to believe he won't be an excellent titleholder based on the exceptional year he's had.

The Visionary is one of the few people who deserve to be at world title status right now but can't be due to Roman Reigns holding both belts for the time being. The United States Championship is a perfectly acceptable consolation prize, though, and now he can be positioned as Raw's top champion.

The way his win was executed was fantastic, with Brock Lesnar laying out Lashley and Rollins picking up the scraps. He also has a challenger already waiting in the wings in Mustafa Ali after attacking him last week.

There are plenty of fresh faces Rollins can defend against and have outstanding matches with. Expect him to be one of WWE's more compelling champions before long.

AEW TNT Champion Wardlow: D+

It's criminal how Wardlow went from one of AEW's hottest prospects to an absolute afterthought in the span of five months.

His hot feud with MJF was a recurring highlight on Dynamite in the weeks preceding Double or Nothing, but his ultimate win over the heel oddly marked the peak of his popularity through no fault of his own.

Winning the AEW TNT Championship should have been the next step in the 34-year-old's ascent to the top, but it's been nothing but a curse for him since then. He's had five title defenses but only three of them have aired on Dynamite.

His feud with Jay Lethal and company didn't accomplish much, and he's been left off Dynamite more often than not. He still receives favorable crowd reactions, but they're not nearly as strong as they once were.

Wardlow has teased an alliance with Samoa Joe recently, but that likely isn't going to be what gets him back on track. He needs a stable feud, or at least opponents who are more established than Tony Nese and Ryan Nemeth.

The TNT title continues to hinder whoever holds it.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther: A

Much like with the United States title, it's clear Triple H has made a conscious effort to restore prestige to the Intercontinental Championship since becoming WWE's new head of creative.

Gunther was the perfect fit for that belt as soon as he won it in June. He steamrolled through Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura in entertaining matches before facing his toughest opposition to date: Sheamus.

The two contested a classic at Clash at the Castle in September and made the championship feel more coveted than it has been in years.

The Ring General's phenomenal performance earned him another opportunity on the season premiere of SmackDown, another gem of a bout that concluded with him stealing the win from The Celtic Warrior and retaining the title.

Triple H knows exactly what he has with Gunther and is presenting him accordingly. He's exceeded all expectations on the main roster, and the title should remain on his waist for a long time to come.

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed: A-

In their brief run as AEW world tag team champions, The Acclaimed have proved to be one of the most over acts in the whole promotion.

They had been organically over since the start, but they've taken it to an all-new level since turning babyface. Billy Gunn has also been an integral part of their shtick, and they are beyond beloved as a trio.

They won the tag titles at Grand Slam on September 21, and for how magical of a moment as it was, The Acclaimed were long overdue for a title run. They've already defended their titles once against Private Party and The Butcher and The Blade, but their focus has largely been on their promos, which have had fans eating out of their hands.

AEW doesn't have to do much different with them because of what they've done all along with their pre-match raps, and it worked.

Other than FTR, no one team makes sense to dethrone them, which should allow AEW to build up some challengers in the meantime and let The Acclaimed enjoy a lengthy reign.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos: A-

WWE typically refers to The Usos as one of the greatest tag teams in the company's history, and they make more and more of a case for that claim every time they step in the ring.

They find themselves with the same grade as The Acclaimed, but their run on top of the tag team division far exceeds their AEW counterparts. They have been the reigning tag champs since Money in the Bank 2021 and have since unified the Raw and SmackDown titles.

It's often emphasized, but The Bloodline cannot be beaten, and The Usos have been a big part of that success. Their title defenses against The Mysterios, The Street Profits and The New Day will stand out from this run once it's over, along with all of the awesome character work.

Keeping them from getting an automatic A is how many times they eat pinfalls in tag team and singles competition. Not a soul will take them seriously if they continue to lose so frequently, so that should be addressed before they can move forward with anything else.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley: B

Not only is Jon Moxley the correct choice to be AEW world champion right now, he's also the locker room leader the company needs.

Had things gone according to plan originally, Moxley would have been off AEW TV for several weeks. However, he stuck around on short notice and became world champ for a record-setting third time.

His letter grade may appear to be lower than what it should be, but it must be noted Moxley won the prestigious prize only three weeks ago and hasn't done much in that time on Dynamite. He's wrestled two non-title matches, but neither of them were eventful.

Currently, he's in the process of furthering this feud with Adam Page, who he'll defend against at Full Gear. MJF can also cash in his casino chip at any time, giving fans the impression Moxley could end up being a filler champion.

Either way, he constantly gives it his all and can have a top-notch reign, regardless of when it ends.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns: A

Roman Reigns' run as undisputed WWE universal champion will go down as one of the greatest of all time. Therefore, an "A" rating is well-deserved for all he has accomplished in the last two years.

Some will argue The Tribal Chief peaked early when he had his feud with Jey Uso over the title. His matches with his cousin along with Edge, Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro and others were above average, and every storyline he had stood out from the last.

There have been several points where fans have been convinced a title change was coming, only for Reigns to retain in the end via nefarious means. He's also done the best promo work of his career and has kept things interesting by bringing in new members every so often.

Fans aren't fond of the part-time schedule he's had since WrestleMania Backlash and not having him around as often has hurt the product. Likewise, he's more of an attraction than ever and brings a big-fight feel to all of his contests.

Splitting the titles again would be ideal and hopefully isn't far off, but the historic run Reigns finds himself on right now should be acknowledged and appreciated for as long as it lasts.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.