7 Questions We're Asking After WWE Payback 2017

WWE definitely deserves some credit for not delivering one of the most telegraphed match results in recent history. It's no secret that Chris Jericho is just days away from an upcoming sabbatical to embark on another tour with his band Fozzy, possibly missing the remainder of 2017. Conventional wisdom would have him going out on his back and keeping Owens strong for his upcoming run on SmackDown.

When the Superstar Shakeup occurred and KO switched brands with the United States title in tow, GM Daniel Bryan made it known that whoever won between the two at Payback would be bringing the championship to Tuesdays. That removed any remaining intrigue from the bout, especially once AJ Styles was named the #1 contender and he and Owens kickstarted a program together.

With Chris Jericho leaving Payback victorious the commentary team mentioned that he would now be heading to the blue brand as US champ. Does this mean that he's going over to work a brief angle with Styles, drop the belt and then leave for his tour, while KO heads back to Raw? Or will both men now be members of the SmackDown roster?

Since Jericho was already on his way out the door it wouldn't be a loss that Raw didn't plan for, but I'm not sure how it makes sense to keep Owens on SmackDown when the management stipulated - albeit with a vague clumsiness - that they brought over the United States champion rather than Kevin Owens specifically.

KO had already began establishing himself on SD, making enemies out of pretty much the entire locker room, so undoing that after a couple of weeks would be either a commendable swerve or an alarming lack of forethought.

We'll have to wait and see what the answer is.