He did have a lot of help. Not from Chris Jericho, his partner. Nor from Rusev, who had issues with Roman Reigns recently. Enzo Amore didn't do anything. Triple H made his return and screwed Roman Reigns. It then came down to Seth Rollins and Owens. Triple H teased helping Rollins, then screwed him, handing the title to Kevin Owens.
It is probably for the best that Finn Balor got injured, as for as creating excitement goes. The WWE created an exciting moment last night and now have people wondering why Triple H did what he did and what will happen to the various people involved in this drama, including Reigns, Rollins, and even Jericho. The "Demon King" gimmick had potential, but the WWE didn't handle it well. They didn't treat it dominantly enough. If Finn was around now, they probably would have had a very mediocre angle going for him.
Some might say that the reason they cannot book Demon Balor as something dominant is because they will book themselves into a corner. Why wouldn't Finn just use it all the time? Just have him explain in an interview that it takes a lot out of him or that he's afraid of what he might do when he goes into that zone. By doing something like that, the WWE provides a reason for Balor not going into his dominant side more often and makes that side look more intriguing. It's not like the WWE is afraid of dominant characters. Look at Brock Lesnar.
Back to Kevin Owens. I would say giving him the title is a good choice, beyond just creating drama. He can wrestle. He is charismatic. He has credibility. His only real negative is his look. They say Vince McMahon likes big men. They don't mean guys like Kevin Owens. It's not like Vince McMahon has never allowed a top title to go to a fat guy. Mick Foley held it a few times. But one hasn't held it in a while. Of course, this is a new era. Vince McMahon is more open to giving big pushes to men that would usually only get it if the fans complained heavily on their behalf or there was a whole bunch of backstage complaining.
Is he the centerpiece? Holding the top title does not always automatically make you the top star of a company, brand, or division. Let's face it, Finn Balor was supposed to be holding the title right now. If that was the case, I would be asking if he was the centerpiece. Is Kevin Owens the centerpiece? Is he interim centerpiece? Is it Seth Rollins, who will likely be turning face? Is it still meant to be Roman Reigns, who was dominating last night when Triple H came out and screwed him? Despite his title win, I would say there are too many other top guys ahead of Owens to say right away that he is the centerpiece. Nevertheless, he is going to be the longest-reigning Universal Champion so far. He is going to get some credibility. His son is going to have a new title belt to play with.
What about Seth Rollins? This will be his first face run since going solo. More importantly, he now officially gets separated from The Authority. That will be good for his development. Making him look like a weasel for so long just hurt his character. More importantly, he can finally drop the Pedigree as his finisher. A guy that talented should be able to come up with his own finisher, and hopefully one that isn't too dangerous.
And Roman Reigns? As I said, he was starting to look dominant in that match before Triple H cut him off. And it wasn't Rusev that screwed Reigns? A lot of fans were expecting that. What happens to that feud? Both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have a reason to want some of Triple H. Both have an argument that they were screwed out of the title. There are a couple possibilities for Roman Reigns. You can say the WWE has overbooked things, but that's what they chose to do off Finn Balor's injury. A lot of angles they had planned will have to get changed.
I am not going to leave out Big Cass. I noticed he was getting a pretty good reaction. Should the WWE accelerate his push? Should he be a WWE/Universal Champion by this time next year? No. Slow down. I remember when John Cena was getting a pretty good reaction as a midcarder and the WWE eventually gave him a big push. The fans turned on him. The WWE turned him into something that the fans hated. I can picture that happening to Cass. He is not really that great on the mic. His wrestling ability is not that amazing. Take away his gimmick, he is pretty much exposed. Start by giving Enzo & Cass the tag titles. If it wasn't for Owens winning the Universal Championship, I would say New Day should retain the tag titles against The Club, drop them to Jericho and Owens, and have them eventually drop them to Enzo & Cass. I am sure they will be holding titles one day. The wait will make the moment mean more. But as far as Cass getting a big solo push, not yet.
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