In 2021, WWE transitioned from the WWE ThunderDome era, and they re-introduced fans back to live shows in July. There were several champions that WWE had on their roster who held down the fort during uncertain times. Holding a championship on WWE programming is always a special thing to do as it shows that WWE has faith in a wrestler.RELATED: 5 Best WWE SmackDown Matches Of 2021 (& 5 Worst)Inevitably, not every championship reign on SmackDown was great. Some champions barely made an impact with a championship as they barely made a championship defense. Whereas, other champions were allowed to flourish, and show their qualities as fighting champions. Nonetheless, SmackDown produced a wide range of new champions being crowned in different circumstances, and some reigns were better than others. SmackDown has been better than Raw for large portions of 2021. WWE Women's Tag Team Champions are omitted from this list as champions shift between brands.

12 Shinsuke Nakamura - Intercontinental Championship

You would have thought that WWE would have learned from Shinsuke Nakamura's failure of his first Intercontinental Championship reign but the same issue is happening again in 2021. Nakamura beat Apollo Crews to become a two-time Intercontinental Champion in August.

The King of Strong Style won the title as King Nakamura, and he's only defended the championship once. He beat Crews in a rematch on an episode of SmackDown, and he has done little with the championship since, which sums up the state of WWE's booking of mid-card championships.

11 The Dirty Dawgs - SmackDown Tag Team Championship

The talented tag team of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode kickstarted 2021 with a bang by capturing the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. However, The Dirty Dawgs' reign was forgettable despite holding the gold for 128 days.

Their first title defense didn't occur for three months after they won the titles that don't do the championship any favors. They were omitted from the WrestleMania 37 card and they defended their titles on a special edition of WrestleMania SmackDown instead. The father-son duo of Rey and Dominik Mysterio brought their championship reign to a halt at WrestleMania Backlash.

10 The Street Profits - SmackDown Tag Team Championship

It doesn't do championships any favors, when wrestlers trade titles, instead of doing the honorable thing by losing the championship in a match. The Street Profits were the Raw Tag Team Champions but they became SmackDown Tag Team Champions with The New Day taking their titles.

The Street Profits did a remarkable job as Raw Tag Team Champions but their SmackDown Tag Team Championship run was underwhelming. They only defended the titles once in 2021, and it came to an end by The Dirty Dawgs on the January 8, 2021 edition of SmackDown.

9 Charlotte Flair - SmackDown Women's Championship

Charlotte Flair's haul of Women's Championship reigns is growing year after year. The Queen moved over to SmackDown from Raw as a result of the draft, and she was the reigning Raw Women's Champion. However, she traded her Raw Women's Championship with Becky Lynch, who took the Raw Women's Title, and Charlotte was once again the SmackDown Women's Champion.

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Flair has been SmackDown Women's Champion for two months in her record-extending sixth reign as SmackDown Women's Champion. At the time of writing, she is due to defend the title against Toni Storm on an episode of SmackDown on Christmas Eve, and it's interesting to see if her reign will continue or not.

8 Becky Lynch - SmackDown Women's Championship

Becky Lynch sent shockwaves through the wrestling world when she made an unexpected return to WWE at SummerSlam. The Man received a huge pop, and she stunned Bianca Belair in 26 seconds to become SmackDown Women's Champion for the fourth time in her career.

Lynch turned heel once again, and she only defended the SmackDown Women's Championship twice but in competitive matches. Her successful title defense against Belair and Sasha Banks in a triple threat match at Crown Jewel was one of the best matches of the year.

7 Apollo Crews - Intercontinental Championship

Throughout his WWE career, Apollo Crews has got lost in the shuffle but managed to resurface. Crews' heel turn got off to a flying start as he ended Big E's Intercontinental Championship reign at WrestleMania 37.

This should have been the start of something special for Crews but his Intercontinental Title reign fell flat rather rapidly. He had Commander Azeez by his side. Apollo retained the Intercontinental Championship against Kevin Owens in June. That was the final time, that he would retain the gold and he didn't defend the championship for two months until King Nakamura brought his lackluster Intercontinental Championship reign to an end.

6 The Mysterios - SmackDown Tag Team Championship

It's a shame that The Mysterios didn't make history as the first father-son duo to win a tag team championship in WWE at WrestleMania 37 but that happened at WrestleMania Backlash. They ended The Dirty Dawgs' underwhelming run as SmackDown Tag Team Champions with Dominik becoming the youngest SmackDown Tag Team Champion at the age of 24.

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The Mysterios only held the SmackDown Tag Team Championship for 63 days but they had an intriguing rivalry with The Usos. The pair strung some enticing matches together, and The Mysterios time as champions were ended by The Usos on the kickoff show at Money in the Bank.

5 Sasha Banks - SmackDown Women's Championship

Sasha Banks' SmackDown Women's Championship win over Bayley in late 2020 was a historic one as she became a Grand Slam Champion. The Boss excelled as SmackDown Women's Champion, and it was well documented that Banks traditionally loses a championship in her first title defense.

Nevertheless, Banks only defended the gold thrice in 2021 as she dipped into the tag team division with Bianca Belair. Banks defeated Carmella at the Royal Rumble, and she beat Nia Jax in one-on-one action to remain as SmackDown Women's Champion. Ultimately, Belair ended her reign in the main event of Night One at WrestleMania 37 in an incredible contest.

4 The Usos - SmackDown Tag Team Championship

There's no doubt that The Usos are one of the most coveted tag teams of their generation. The Usos kickstarted the fifth run as SmackDown Tag Team Champions at The Mysterios expense.

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The Usos have no margin for error as they are a part of The Bloodline with their cousin and Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The Usos have battled past the likes of The Mysterios and The Street Profits in competitive SmackDown Tag Team Championship matches. They are still SmackDown Tag Team Champions at the time of asking, and it remains to be seen as to when their run will end.

3 Bianca Belair - SmackDown Women's Championship

Bianca Belair's run as SmackDown Women's Champion was a breath of fresh air. The EST of WWE won the 2021 women's Royal Rumble match, and she defeated Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37. It was the first time that two black women headlined WrestleMania, and Belair could not hide her emotion before the match.

Belair's rivalry with Bayley over the SmackDown Women's Championship was brilliant. Sadly, it curtailed prematurely as Bayley got injured but Belair prevailed in their Hell in a Cell match. Belair saw off Carmella in further Women's Championship bouts but Becky Lynch surprisingly ended her SmackDown Women's Championship run in 26 seconds at SummerSlam.

2 Big E - Intercontinental Championship

Big E was left to his lonesome in the fall of 2020 with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston of The New Day heading to Raw. This allowed Big E to flourish, and he quickly beat Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship towards the end of 2020.

This was Big E's second run as Intercontinental Champion and he had more charisma this time around. Big E feuded with Apollo Crews for the majority of his Intercontinental Title run. Big E lost the Intercontinental Championship to Apollo at WrestleMania 37, but this was the catalyst to Big E going on to becoming WWE Champion on Raw.

1 Roman Reigns - Universal Championship

Of course, Roman Reigns' Universal Championship reign is the best title run on SmackDown in 2021. The Head of the Table is on course to become the first man since CM Punk in 2012 to hold a world championship on the main roster for a calendar year.

Reigns has been a fighting champion, and the list of wrestlers he has beaten is endless. Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, Edge, Cesaro, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Finn Balor, Brock Lesnar, and even Sami Zayn have all fallen by the wayside in Universal Championship matches. The Tribal Chief has shown why SmackDown has succeeded in 2021, and it's because of his incredible work as Universal Champion.