The confusing finish to the Undisputed WWE Championship match between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens on the September 18 episode of SmackDown has caused major controversy behind the scenes at WWE.
Zayn retained the title in Corpus Christi, Texas, but only after a mistake involving referee Ryan Tran. CM Punk struck Owens with the title belt, allowing Zayn to go for the pin. Tran started the count but stopped short of three, even though Owens still had both shoulders on the mat.
Zayn and Owens realized what had happened and quickly improvised a new finish. A Helluva Kick finally gave Zayn the win.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter now reports that the incident sparked considerable discussion within the company. According to the report, Tran took full responsibility and said he simply got confused during the closing stretch of the match.
Meltzer said, “Internally, there was big controversy, both for the obvious reason of what happened to Tran, but other different suspicions that went around. Tran took the heat for the finish, and he said he got confused.”
According to Meltzer, Tran is well regarded within WWE, which is why people backstage accepted his explanation.
Meltzer added, “It’s noted that within the company, Tran is considered very credible and he did swear it was all his fault.”
Before Meltzer’s update, WrestleVotes had reported that the original plan called for the match to end right after Punk hit Owens with the title belt.