Backstage segments throughout the evening showed Raw General Manager Mick Foley and Commissioner Stephanie McMahon courting favor with both Universal champ Kevin Owens and #1 contender Seth Rollins.
Both men dismissed them, and were generally well executed pieces of business, but they proved the focus of the brand’s main event scene wasn’t in the ring.
Once we got in the ring, while the announce team of Michael Cole, Corey Graves & Byron Saxton discussed why Triple H switched his allegiance from Rollins to Owens, things started about as you’d expect. The champ rolled out of the ring for heat, and eventually was caught and taken to task for it by Seth.
Eventually, the Architect tweaked his recently surgically repaired knee, and Owens targeted it. The former WWE World champ fought back, and got the upperhand several times, but he was always cut off by the methodical, trash-talking Prizefighter.
With his @WWE #UniversalChampionship on the line, @FightOwensFight is looking to PUNISH @WWERollins in every possible way! #WWEClash pic.twitter.com/yGif0nP886
— WWE (@WWE) September 26, 2016
Both men connected with Frog Splashes, and a crowd-pleasing moment outside the ring became a pivotal one when KO delivered crotch chops to the referee and a prone Rollins. The hesitation allowed Seth to roll off the announce table, and the senton the champ delivered came up empty.
A distraction by Chris Jericho initially backfired, as Seth told Kevin to “Suck It” himself and hit a Pedigree. But Y2J put his “best friend”’s foot on the ropes to save his title run.
More schmoz-ery as a ref bump lead to a second Pedigree that clearly would have resulted in a win for the former Shield member, but there was no one there to count it.
JeriKO put the boots to Rollins, but the recently turned Quad Cities native fought out of it. While his nemeses were down, he tried to revive the ref. McMahon strode down the ramp with a new official, but of course Seth was met in the ring by KO, who delivered a Pop-Up Powerbomb.
The best friends celebrated together, while Rollins fumed. And we all still don’t know what the Game backed a new horse.
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