WWE Universal Championship Match TONIGHT

[rocketking]

Poll says it all. Who ya got?

Keep in mind the question is "who WILL be"... but feel free to use this thread to discuss "who SHOULD be" and all that jazz.

[wigsf3]

I think the company will put the strap back on Roman Reigns.
My reasoning is this: Finn was going to be a baby face champion and Roman is a baby face too (well, he's supposed to be). Finn's planned programs could transfer over to him.

Who should be... vacant! Not a fan of brand-specific titles.

[Christian Small]

I'm going with Owens. He'd be a fresh guy as champ and the removes were he was meant to work with Balor for the next couple of months so why not put the title on him? They were apparently ready to put him in the main event anyways. I also see Reigns losing due to Rusev interfering. The bigger problem I see is what exactly is the next title program because regardless of who leaves as champ what the hell do you do? Go back to Reigns/Rollins already and then what? I think you could at least buy yourself a month doing Zayn/Owns for the title, that's a feud that fits the Hell in a Cell as well so blow it off then and hopefully your next challenger is ready by then.

[rinaldo]

Rollins. Then he'll feud with Owens with Jericho getting jealous, leading Y2J and Owens into a feud of their own.

[TolerancEJ]

I think WWE will throw a swerve and go with Kevin Owens. WWE is always trying to grab new eyes to Raw. If/when news of Owens begins to spread going through Twitter and the sites, it has a strong possibility to draw intrigue from fans that might be taking a break from wrestling.

[Gee Hall]

Hoping Vacant retains.

[top10reviewz]

Owens any day, any time

[rocketking]

I voted Seth Rollins because I think if they wanted the strap on Roman Reigns, they would have done it for Summerslam. Also, and I don't mean this as a reflection on Rollins as a performer, but I think putting the belt on Rollins is the closest thing to a "holding pattern" that they can do. Anything else is a huge statement one way or another, and I don't know if they're willing to make a huge statement tonight.

I could see it going to Reigns if they just want a babyface to "plug in" to whatever the upcoming planned programs were for Balor. I could see Owens if they want to make a big splash. And I could see Cass if Vince is having a bad day and nobody can talk him out of it.

I don't really see "other" or "still vacant" happening, just wanted to include them in case somebody can make a strong argument for either.

EDIT: Another reason to NOT go with Reigns: this whole anti-Reigns deal started basically because he's "not Daniel Bryan". Unless you're going all out with a heel turn, it will be 10 steps backward in his babyface character to make him "not Finn Balor" too. Even if the smarks aren't the true representation of the majority, they (ok... WE) are outspoken, obnoxious and take this stuff way too seriously.

[kalgoroth]

I put Rollins for the following:

OWENS - As much as I like to think that Vince can see past his weight I really don't think Owens is ever going to fit his vision of top championship material. I think he sees he is money in a title program from a pure entertainment POV but he maybe goofs around a bit too much for Vince to take him seriously enough to actually put the belt on him.

REIGNS - Surely too early for him to be out of the doghouse just yet. Yes he is the only credible 'babyface' in terms of stature as a former champ but Vince isn't deaf and will likely think that putting the newly-minted belt on him may end up hurting it's own credibility in the long run, perhaps giving the impression that it was ultimately created just for him even if that's not true.

BIG CASS - I agree that this is not as far-fetched as you would assume. Vince is clearly high on the guy, he fits the 'mould' and its not like there isnt previous for a big guy being given the belt way before he's ready (see: Diesel). And what he lacks in his own mic skills (though he is already more competent than the likes of Titus O Neill) he can make up for by simply having Enzo as his hype-man. However, the fact he only won his qualifier by countout I think speaks volumes.

ROLLINS - This is an interesting one as though I selected him due to the fact he has already proven himself a decent and popular champ and would therefore give the belt some cred I do wonder if all this talk of him being dangerous has actually seeped through to Vince and if there may be some heat from the fact he inadvertently took out the guy they originally wanted to go with. Plus it's the 'obvious' choice, which we all know is often the one least likely to actually be picked. But on the other hand they are likely wanting to play it safe with the new belt to ensure its rep isn't too damaged by the fact the first champ had to relinquish it less than 24 hours after winning it. Hence why ultimately I went with him.

[rocketking]

Forgot about the second part of my own question... Who should be champion after tonight? Brock Lesnar.

But limiting myself to the guys actually in the match, I think it should go to Owens. He's the one pick that feels like neither a "fail safe" option (like Cena's win after Daniel Bryan had to vacate) nor a bad idea. Assuming you want at least a 2-3 month reign here to protect the title, Owens is the right combination of bad ass monster and chicken shit heel that he can beat or otherwise escape with the strap against pretty much anybody you can throw at him.

[john casey]

Remember during the late 2000's (I Believe) that The Champion was either Cena, Orton or Triple H for a long period of time. I don't want them to go down the same route with Rollins and Reigns sharing The Title therefore I would like to see Owens with it.

[kalgoroth]

Sometimes it feels great to be wrong

Could have done without HHH's involvement though.

[rocketking]

I would be terrible on Review-a-Raw, because I will have very few complete thoughts on this match until I see the follow up. As of this morning, there are only two burning questions on my mind:

Does Seth Rollins still owe Kevin Owens a favor?

Will Triple H take the buckle bomb?

[Christian Small]

Fully agree that I would have liked Owens winning without Triple H but it looks like they might be turning Rollins face and so we'll have Owens/Rollins as the title program. Plus they wanted a top babyface and they'd have it with Rollins, he should have come back as a face anyways.

[rinaldo]

Kevin Owens is champ. All hail the champ. his son is probably having seizures right now.