From the WWE Rumor Mill: Update on Styles-Owens finish from Battleground

What’s the story?

There was a lot of speculation following the United States Championship match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens at Battleground and there has been an update regarding the controversial finish.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the general belief regarding the Battleground match was that Styles was supposed to win.

In case you didn’t know...

The feud between Styles and Owens began back in May when Styles challenged Owens for the United States Championship at Backlash. Owens retained via count-out, but Styles captured the championship at a Madison Square Garden Live Event.

Owen regained the title at Battleground in controversial circumstances but lost the title to Styles in a triple threat match two days later on SmackDown Live. On the latest episode of SmackDown Live, Styles retained the championship against Owens despite the latter’s not being pinned to the mat.

The heart of the matter

As stated previously, the consensus was that Styles was supposed to kick out of the pinfall spot that ended the match at WWE Battleground 2017. When the match was over, Styles was reportedly unhappy regarding the finish which may indicate he was unhappy with the decision.

There was another claim that the match decision changed midway, but the fact that the title was put back on Styles on the post-Battleground edition of SmackDown lends credibility to the idea that Styles was never meant to lose the championship.

What’s next?

Styles and Owens are scheduled to face each other at SummerSlam in another match for the United States Championship with Shane McMahon serving as the Special Guest Referee.

Many fans feel like this feud has been riddled with dusty finishes and this match at the Barclay Center may see another dusty finish to set up a program between Owens and McMahon.

Author’s take

It’s a shame that Owens and Styles didn’t get to have the match of the night that many fans wanted at Battleground, but they’ll probably get thechance to have a great match at SummerSlam.

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