The outcome of SmackDown on August 21 has placed CM Punk, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn at the center of the WWE title scene. Punk managed to retain the WWE Championship against Owens, but the match ended marked by Zayn's intervention and a sequence that left several storylines open.
After the referee was knocked out, Sami threw the belt into the ring for Owens to use, although he refused to take advantage of that opportunity. The argument between the two friends quickly escalated and ended with Zayn hitting Owens with the championship belt, allowing Punk to hit the GTS and secure the victory when the referee recovered.
The situation did not end with the three count. After the match, Zayn attacked Punk and Owens with repeated belt shots, sending a clear message to both men and positioning himself directly around the title. Owens has reasons to demand a new opportunity after being harmed by Zayn's intervention; Sami continues to argue that he deserves the title rematch he considers pending; and Punk is left with two rivals questioning his position as champion. This scenario has fueled theories about a possible triple threat match.
Dave Meltzer addressed the segment on Wrestling Observer Radio and considered that the way WWE structured the ending suggests that the three could end up facing each other in the same match. "Yes, it was a pretty good match. It gives a lot of the feeling that, as Sami hit Punk and Owens with the belt over and over again after the match, it seems pretty clear that they are preparing a triple threat soon," Meltzer commented. For the journalist, the post-attack was the main signal that WWE wants to keep the three involved around the championship.
Meltzer also related this possibility to the claim that Zayn has maintained in recent weeks. The Canadian has insisted that he never received the rematch he believes he earned, so his conflict with Punk does not depend solely on what happened on the last SmackDown. "Yes, it has to be three. As soon as that ended, the feeling was that they are preparing a triple threat match," he added. For now, WWE has not officially confirmed the match, and Meltzer only interpreted the direction of the story based on what was shown on television.
The company can still choose to take the confrontation directly to a match between CM Punk, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn or extend the rivalries before making it official. However, the combination of a controversial defeat for Owens, Zayn's pending aspirations, and the attack on both rivals has left the champion surrounded by threats. After SmackDown, the possibility of a triple threat for the WWE Championship is, at least, the most obvious reading of what happened.
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