Roman Reigns, the Universal Championship and More from the Galactic Mailbag

WWE is trying its best to offer more alternative programming as the brand extension soldiers on. Thus far, the more glaring changes have featured more squash matches, smaller wrestlers in the main event, (potentially) more championships and, of course, Dolph Ziggler.

Dolph War

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@ThisIsNasty Is Dolph's push going to result in a title reign come summer slam?

— Bow⚾️ (@thealecbowman) July 28, 2016"

I'd be surprised if Ziggler defeated Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam. Ziggler's ship came and sailed away, and while SmackDown is attempting to integrate fresh faces in the main event picture, this seems like more of a rehash.

I do like the changes in Ziggler's character since becoming a No. 1 contender, however, as he has adopted a saltier, "me against the world" persona. Ziggler is also beginning to demonstrate heel tendencies. In his match against Bray Wyatt this past Tuesday on SmackDown, Ziggler removed the turnbuckle padding.

If Ziggler were to defeat Ambrose, it would almost have to be as a heel so that he gets a proper fresh start. It's been a while since Ziggler portrayed a heel, but when he did, it lasted for years.

Still, it's always been a tough sell for Ziggler to play the villain, given his crowd-pleasing wrestling style and limitations on the mic. Ziggler has been in the veteran role for far too long to be taken seriously as a world champion in this incarnation. Becoming an investable top star will take wholesale changes in character and, quite possibly, appearance.

Mr. Universe

The Universal Championship is the most WWE-centric name for a title I think I've ever heard. Even Daniel Bryan, in somewhat of an honest moment, poked fun at the ridiculousness of the name during the Talking Smack post-show.

Expect the Universal Championship to be bigger and shinier than the WWE World Heavyweight Championship just to drive the point home. Who knows, maybe WWE will bring back the spinner belt!

Is it a cheesy name? Yes. But as a world title, I don't mind it, because it gets the point across that this belt is a big deal.

The fact that the Universal Championship will be on Raw keeps it from being relegated to a secondary championship. Based on roster depth and star power, Raw is still the A-show, which will benefit the prestige of the Universal Championship. The same cannot be said about the countless other championships that WWE will roll out over the coming months.

Roman in the Midcard

It feels like there isn't a specific time frame for Roman Reigns' current demotion.

Reigns is in a position where he will now have to create his own opportunities in terms of proving that he is main event material. He seems to have lost all trust from the front office for failing the wellness policy violation. If Reigns wanted a way around it, perhaps he should have just worked a lighter schedule.

This is a blessing in disguise, as we no longer have to hear those foolish "Reigns is being stuffed down our throats" claims from lonely wrestling fanatics.

By confronting Rusev, Reigns received more support than is typical for a live audience which was a byproduct of Rusev being a more traditional, anti-American heel. The juxtaposition of Rusev and Reigns will also make Reigns come off as more of a natural babyface, because he has fallen out of favor with the office and no longer seems like a corporate choice.

All Reigns has to do is compete in ROH, and he'll be universally embraced by the all-too-predictable, almost Pavlovian Internet Wrestling Community.

I think the Rusev-Reigns feuds should be interesting, and people shouldn't just assume that Reigns is going to become United States champion. I think the most likely outcome for a Reigns-Rusev match at SummerSlam will either be a disqualification or a Reigns loss.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.