The Kevin Owens era on Monday Night Raw has begun as the former Intercontinental champion won the WWE Universal title last night, becoming the second champion to hold the belt after Finn Balor.
The match was turned to an elimination match from a fatal 4-way with Big Cass the first one eliminated by Owens. Then Triple H made a surprise return and helped Seth Rollins eliminate Roman Reigns before turning on Rollins and giving Owens the opportunity to pin him after Triple H delivered the Pedigree on his former protégé.
The fans went absolutely crazy when the three-count hit the mat as Owens, first confused by what happened, celebrated with the new red title.
Owens joined WWE in 2014, but spent a year down in NXT where he positioned himself as one of the most popular – and hated – Superstars in Orlando. He won the NXT title at NXT Takeover: Rival in February 2015 and held the title until July 4, when he lost it to Finn Balor at the WWE Network event in Tokyo, Japan.
The 32-year-old moved to the main roster in May, two months prior to losing the NXT title and confronted John Cena on his first night on Raw. His first match on the main roster was a clean pin on Cena. He then went on to win the Intercontinental title from Ryback at Night of Champions, a title he held twice so far.
