Power Ranking WWE's 10 Top Performers For September 2016

Kevin Owens holds the Universal Championship, the top title on Raw. No matter how many times I say or write that sentence it never quite sinks in. And now that it's a fact, it's the most obvious choice in the world to see him with that belt. It's not that he never had the talent or the charisma to be the top guy, it's just that no one expected WWE to ever reward Owens with the #1 prize due to his atypical look and style.

Eventually the glass ceiling could no longer withstand such a massive amount of talent and KO pop-up powerbombed his way through it all the way to the most important belt on the flagship show. His alignment with Triple H blurs the lines between kayfabe and reality because Owens genuinely credits Hunter with giving him his chance in NXT.

Kevin Owens is one of the best talkers in the business, has good matches with everyone he steps in the ring with and is a god-level heel. The fans are starving for a chance to cheer KO as a blue collar hero but WWE is rightfully holding off on pulling that trigger because he's one of the few men on the roster able to draw any real heat. He enters every show with the fans solidly behind him and brilliantly manages to shift them against him within a few moments. Owens has a genius wrestling IQ and it's made him the Universal champion.

Seeing him as the centrepiece of Raw is rewarding and entertaining, and hopefully the blame for the free-falling ratings aren't placed at his feet and recognised for what they are: the symptom of a new brand split, the return of NFL football and a naturally declining audience where the hardcores far outweigh the casual fans.

The most interesting thing about the upcoming Raw PPV Clash of Champions will be the main event between Owens and Seth Rollins and seeing which wrestler wins the support of the fans. With both men performing at such a high level it could go either way.