WWE Clash of Champions 2016: Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins full match preview

WWE Universal Championship Match

Kevin Owens (c) vs Seth Rollins

Does Seth Rollins have what it takes to dethrone the longest reigning Universal Champion of all-time?

The Road to Clash of Champions 2016

Finn Balor defeated Seth Rollins last month at SummerSlam 2016 to become the first ever WWE Universal Champion. But on the very next day it was revealed that Balor suffered an injury during the match and required shoulder surgery that would put him on the shelf for at least 6 months. The Universal Championship was immediately vacated.

One week later a new Universal Champion was crowned after a Fatal 4-Way elimination match between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Big Cass. The ending of this match shocked the wrestling world when Triple H returned, betrayed Seth Rollins, and literally handed the Universal Championship over to Kevin Owens.

One week later both Mick Foley and Seth Rollins were grilling Stephanie McMahon for answers but she denied having any knowledge of Triple H’s plans or motivations. Foley cautiously decided to believe Stephanie, but Seth wasn’t buying it for one second. Seth was flabbergasted that Stephanie and Triple H would stab him in the back after he carried the company on his back in 2015 and even blew out every ligament in his knee while doing so.

Stephanie decided to suspend Rollins for his inappropriate outburst, but Mick Foley intervened and not only overruled her suspension, but actually granted Seth a Universal Championship match against Kevin Owens at Clash of Champions.

The following week on Raw, Rollins and Owens ran into each other backstage. Rollins said that he knew Triple H wouldn’t dare show his face again, so Seth would get his revenge by simply defeating Owens for the championship at Clash of Champions. Owens ripped into Seth, bringing up the fact that Seth spent his whole career relying on others (Roman Reigns, J&J Security, Kane, Triple H, Jon Stewart, etc) to do his dirty work for him, and that Seth has accomplished nothing in 2016 without those guys backing him up. Owens had now replaced Rollins as the man on Monday nights, and that’s just how it was going to be.

Seth let those words get to him, and he decided to interfere in Kevin’s main event match later that night even though Foley warned Seth of devastating consequences if he got involved in KO’s match.

So what did those consequences turn out to be? All Foley could do was book Seth in a one-on-one match against Rusev, who had also interfered in that same match. The match had no stakes and didn’t present any actual punishment to Rollins, so it looks like Seth made the right move in calling Foley’s bluff from the week before.

After Seth and Rusev fought to a no-contest, Rollins found Stephanie McMahon backstage and demanded to know why she gave up everything they had together for Kevin Owens. He said she would regret backing the wrong horse and that he would be her worst nightmare as champion because she would have no ability to control or manipulate him.

Stephanie once again denied having any role in Triple H’s betrayal of Rollins, but she did say that Seth’s failures were indeed the reason why the WWE Championship was now stuck on SmackDown Live, and she did believe that Kevin Owens deserved to replace Seth as the man to lead the new era of Raw.

What’s at stake?

The WWE Universal Championship will be on the line when Seth Rollins challenges Kevin Owens at Clash of Champions 2016. A substantial portion of this story is focused on the drama between Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and Mick Foley, so it’s expected that some or all of those people will play a role in the outcome of this match.

Will Triple H show his face around Seth Rollins this soon and help Kevin Owens retain, or will KO be forced to find a different shortcut on his path towards extending the longest Universal Championship reign in history?

And will Stephanie McMahon continue to play things down the middle, or will she ultimately prove that Mick Foley has been a fool for trusting her this entire time?

Tune into Clash of Champions 2016 and keep it here on Cageside Seats to see which man walks out with the gold!