I think we can all agree that SummerSlam 2016 was a memorable event, packed with eventful moments and shocks.
One of the most anticipated matches was the crowning of the brand new Universal Championship, which was between Seth Rollins and Finn Bálor.
For me personally, it made sense for Rollins to become the champion, not only to boost his ‘first NXT champion/first draft pick’ boast, but because I felt it was wrong to award Bálor the top title so early in his WWE career.
My feelings were irrelevant, however, as ‘The Demon King’ (have the commentators said that before?) pinned ‘The Architect of The Shield’ following a fantastic bout.
Unfortunately it was announced the very next day that Bálor had suffered a shoulder injury, and had in fact popped his own shoulder back into the socket during the match, and continued the contest. What a trooper. For any kind of injury, people can check Personal Injury Law Firm based in Houston
Then came the news that we were all dreading, which confirmed Finn to be injured for several months, and that he would have to relinquish his newly won Universal Title.
WWE must be banging their heads against a brick wall with the amount of champions who have had to ‘give up’ their titles due to injuries, most notably of recent years, Edge and Daniel Bryan, who both ended up having to give up more than just their titles.
But here comes the tricky part, crowning a new champion.
Now the obvious choice would surely be Seth Rollins, right? Maybe not. There must be a reason that WWE decided to crown Bálor champion instead of Rollins, and I would suspect that it was them wanting to kick off the new era with a brand new champion, one that has never held that main strap before.
They’re now backed into a corner, and have to decide on one of several superstars, which was narrowed down on RAW due to a series of match which lead to a Fatal Four Way match which will take place on the 29th August edition of RAW.
The participants of the match are Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns & Big Cass.
Let’s take a look at the possibility of these guys winning the Universal Title.
Roman Reigns
I’m really against Reigns being in this match, and not because I’m one of those Roman haters (seriously they need to get over that), but because they were making such progress reinventing him.
I felt fans were really getting behind him against Rusev, and nobody would have begrudged him a United States title victory either. For the ‘haters’ of Roman, it felt like they were gaining back respect for him by working his way back up, but to be back up in the title picture so soon in my opinion is far too soon. I would have liked to see him battle his way through some of the upper midcard heels before eventually returning to the top tier, which he ultimately deserves to be.
Could he win the title? It’s possible, but it would feel like we were rewinding to when he was champion before, and nothing will have changed, which it desperately needed to.
Kevin Owens
It’s no secret I’m not a fan of Kevin Owens, I find him terribly overrated, but I can’t help but think he’s someone WWE would consider putting the title on. The company have been very generous in giving Owens title reigns (NXT, Intercontinental), and he’s obviously someone the fans respond well to, but Universal Champion? That could possibly give him the rub he needs to be back at the top of the pile, and it would certainly feed his appetite (pun intended) for success.
I realise I am in the minority of fans that dislike Owens, and a title victory wouldn’t receive many grumbles, but rather much admiration.
Big Cass
It seems very unlikely, not just because Cass is a newcomer to the main roster, but because it would be ridiculous to halt the unbelievable momentum that him and Enzo Amore have going.
Enzo & Cass are arguably the most entertaining thing on Raw, and my personal prediction is to see them challenge The Club for the Tag Team Titles after having defeated The New Day.
Simple thoughts for this one, it’s great to see him up there being given opportunities, but this is certainly the wrong time to be capitalising on their popularity with a singles run.
Seth Rollins
When you consider the other 3 superstars in the Fatal Four Way, you have to turn your head to Rollins, the man who was forced to give up the title so long ago, and only briefly retained it before Dean Ambrose cashed in.
As a champion, Seth fits the bill with mic skills, personality, presence and character, but it just depends on which direction WWE are wanting to take their new era of Raw, and they don’t want to be in danger of putting out ‘the same old show’ with Seth Rollins as the headliner. I do think he is the best man for the job, to bring a sense of purpose, prestige and importance to the Universal Title, which after the initial reaction is much needed.
Rollins has redesigned, rebuilt and now all he needs is to reclaim.
Who do YOU think should be the next Universal Champion?
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