Last night’s edition of Monday Night Raw was special. What made it even more special was the fact that the creative plans for the rest of 2016 were not supposed to happen this way. The original plans for the WWE Draft and brand extension were for Finn Balor to become the WWE Universal Champion on Raw and carry the brand on WWE television for the foreseeable future.
Finn Balor did become the first WWE Universal Champion, but he was forced to relinquish the title less than twenty-four hours into his reign, which forced WWE officials to think of a new plan to follow, and decide on a new champion for Raw. Thus, WWE set up the Fatal Four Way match between Big Cass, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins for last night’s edition of Raw.
It was an interesting situation for the WWE fans because all four men could have won the match. Reigns was rumored to be the frontrunner to win. Most people expected Rollins to win if Reigns didn’t . Owens was the hopeful choice, but not many believed WWE would go through with him winning WWE’s top prize, and Big Cass was the wildcard in the match. Raw needed a Universal champion, so the match entered the history books and delivered one of the best matches of the year without a shred of doubt.
As you can see in the video above, WWE officials went through with the decision, and Kevin Owens became the WWE Universal Champion last night on Monday Night Raw. Obviously, the powers that be were looking to push someone new. Balor was new, but his injury forced plans to change. WWE had the choice to put the WWE World title on Reigns or Rollins again as the safe choice. Big Cass would have been a risky move, but Kevin Owens deserved the chance to become a WWE World Champion.
The crowd in Houston had no problem telling Owens that as Raw came to a close last night despite the fact that he’s supposed to be a heel. Overall, it seems the vast majority of the WWE Universe is pleased with the decision to put one of WWE’s top prizes on Khim. However, no matter what anyone feels about Kevin Owens as WWE Universal Champion, they want to know what will happen next considering the return of Triple H to WWE programming is just as major a plot point as Owens’ title victory.
Now, the WWE Universe is wondering about how The Game fits into the authority angle on Raw between himself, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, and his wife, Stephanie McMahon. Not only is that going to need to be settled, but he robbed Roman Reigns of winning the title, and completely betrayed Seth Rollins after having him as his protege for over two years. There are so many questions surrounding Triple H’s actions, which are all going to lead to huge feuds and bigger developments of Raw’s storylines.
One of the biggest questions about The Game’s actions on Raw last night is about his relationship with Kevin Owens. Aside from NXT, there isn’t anything tying those two characters together, which is making a lot of people wonder if Triple H ensuring that Owens walked out the WWE Universal Champion was more of a taking it away from Rollins than it was giving it to Owens.
It was rumored several months ago that Seth Rollins vs. Triple H was being planned for this year’s WWE Summerslam . Rollins was still due back from his knee surgery, and The Game was on his sabbatical from WWE television after losing the WWE title to Reigns at Wrestlemania 32 . Obviously, that match didn’t happen. But, Rollins vs. Triple H is much more likely to become a reality based on last night’s events.
However, WWE is going to want to build that match for WWE Survivor Series or a bigger PPV like WWE Royal Rumble . Raw has its first exclusive PPV coming in September called WWE Clash of Champions . Before WWE can pull the trigger on Rollins vs. Triple H, WWE has the new title reign of Kevin Owens to book, and there are already plans in place for his first title defense.
Only a few hours after Raw, it was reportedthat WWE is planning for Kevin Owens to have his first title defense at WWE Clash of Championsagainst Seth Rollins. There were rumors that Owens was going to challenge Finn Balor the WWE Universal title at that event, but he was unlikely to win the championship. Suddenly, he finds himself defending the same title and it’s unlikely that Rollins is going to walk out of WWE Clash of Championsas the WWE Universal Champion.
Frankly, there won’t be nearly enough information about Kevin Owens’ title reign until next week when WWE reveals the kind of champion he will be, and what the purpose of the dynamic with Triple H means for Owens. If The Game has taken Owens under his wing, WWE may book him as a more cowardly champion rather than a fighting champion who will take on all comers.
Right now, Triple H is the key to Raw’s main event scene. He’s going to have Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins coming after him, and The Game’s actions may have begun a face turn for Rollins that will eventually lead to their confrontation at a major WWE PPV. In the meantime, the “Kevin Owens Show” is now leading Raw into the new era, which is full of possibilities and intrige.
[Image via WWE.com]