Chris Jericho shocked the WWE world when he regained the United States title from kevin owens at WWE Payback last weekend. Knowing however that Y2J was taking a break, the chances of him keeping the championship idle carried pretty low probabilities.
Something was bound to happen at the May 2 edition of WWE SmackDown, including losing the title to his former best friend, Kevin Owens. On cue, such happened on the show’s main event which turned pretty physical as expected.
Chris Jericho injury
As anticipated, the US title was the focus of the show.
Aside from the incoming Jericho and Kevin Owens, AJ Styles had vested interest in the belt. The “Phenomenal One” earned that right when he won a no. 1 contender’s match before the WWE Payback pay-per-view.
A Triple Threat match would have been grand, but the creative team felt the intense personal rivalry between Y2J and “KO” was more than enough to settle the score. Owens won the match after hitting his patented “Pop-up Powerbomb” on Jericho. But the action didn’t stop there.
Owens continued his assault on Jericho, capping it by lodging a steel chair on Y2K and ramming it into the steel post. Visibly in pain, it was a savage send-off for the WWE star who will start touring with his band “Fozzy” on May 5.
The injury is likely scripted and added color to justify his hiatus. With Jericho out of commission, the attention now shifts to Kevin Owens and AJ Styles.
Styles vs. Owens should be epic
Seeing how both Owens and Styles are among the rising WWE stars, the feud will be something to look forward to. Both are pretty good in portraying their roles with Styles apparently turning face and Owens continuing his heel-like persona.
Much of that should go down on the May 9 edition of WWE SmackDown with Owens bragging about his latest win. On Cue, expect Styles to come out and interrupt to stake his claim to the United States title formally. The chances are that this will be the main card for WWE Backlash which happens on May 21, 2017, at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
The following weeks will be used to build on that match, both likely to be booked by general manager Daniel Bryan against other stars. Both are likely to be preserved until WWE Backlash, pitted against different opponents in upcoming shows. Mind games are to be expected, meaning both will try to get their hands on one another – a scene that is common in building the main event WWE matches.
