CM Punk, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn appear to be on a collision course for a major Undisputed WWE Championship match following this past Friday Night SmackDown.
On the August 21 episode in Toronto, Canada, Punk put the title on the line against Owens. The match ended with interference from Zayn, who hit the ring after the referee was knocked out.
Zayn initially tried to help Owens, handing him the Undisputed WWE Championship to use on Punk. Owens refused, drawing the ire of his former best friend. Zayn then cracked Owens with the belt himself, allowing Punk to hit the GTS and retain.
Things didn’t end with the match. Zayn laid out both Punk and Owens with repeated title shots and accused the current champion of stealing the championship that once belonged to him.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the way the segment played out suggests WWE could be building toward a Triple Threat between the three.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s got to be a three. I mean, just when that was over, it just felt like they’re doing a three-way.”
Zayn has plenty of storyline motivation to keep coming after Punk. He captured the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions by beating Cody Rhodes and Gunther but dropped the title to Punk just nine days later.
Owens, meanwhile, earned his shot at Punk at SummerSlam, returning to win a Fatal Four-Way over Zayn, Gunther, and Finn Bálor.