The new face of Raw will be decided Sunday, Aug. 21, at SummerSlam, when Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins compete to become the inaugural WWE Universal Champion.

 

The historic matchup — Bálor’s debut on WWE pay-per-view — was made official on July 25, the same night that Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon revealed plans to introduce the Universal Title. According to Raw management, the newly sanctioned championship will eventually outstrip SmackDown Live’s WWE Championship in importance.

 

Rollins, who was selected No. 1 overall in the WWE Brand Extension Draft, was entered into contention by Stephanie. The announcement came less than 24 hours after The Architect failed to win the WWE Championship from Dean Ambrose at WWE Battleground, though it was Roman Reigns — the other participant in the championship Triple Threat Match — that lost the deciding fall, not Rollins.