have an interim championship
I think they do this in boxing and other combat sports. Basically, the interim champion is the champion when the real champion isn’t around. By the time the real champion comes around, they fight, and whoever wins will be the undisputed champion. It sounds complicated, but it really is.
If Kurt wants a full-time champion on Monday nights, he can have some top stars beat each other up to become the interim Universal Champion. Say Finn Balor becomes the interim Champion. He is now the de facto number one contender for when Lesnar inevitably comes out of whatever cave he lives in. In the meantime, Balor can also defend his interim championship, like he would the real championship. Should someone beat him, they become the new interim champion and the new number one contender. Whoever is interim champion when Brock returns fights him to determine the undisputed Universal champion..
Unfortunately this could be confusing for some people (especially the kids and the older people) and it only really works if Brock Lesnar is not around, but given that there are contract disputes about his next title defense and we don’t even know when that will be, this could be a long-term solution worth looking at.
