Was Styles Vs Owens Battleground Finish Botched?
Sloppy finish fuels speculating that match's ending was unplanned.
The ending of Battleground's United States Championship bout between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens may have been unplanned, according to some reports (via Cageside Seats).
Many fans were left confused in the match's immediate aftermath, following the use of an oddly-placed ref bump that seemed ultimately to have little effect on the outcome of the match.
And whilst it was initially speculated that WWE planned the title change at the last-minute, new footage of the ending points towards something unusually sloppy for ring workers as accomplished as AJ and KO.
Although the referee counts three and then duly signals that Owens was the winner, those in attendance reported that the Phenomenal One was "visibly upset" after the cameras cut away, and spent the next few minutes remonstrating with the official.
AJ only won the US belt himself a matter of days ago by defeating Owens at a house show, and though WWE is no stranger to short-term title reigns, it seems strange that they would put the championship back on its former holder so soon.
The company itself has acknowledged the "controversy" of its finish, and fans have been promised some form of recrimination on tonight's SmackDown.