WWE SummerSlam 2017 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

WWE United States Championship Match

AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens

What we learned: What we learned here is that you could put AJ Styles and Kevin Owens on every pay-per-view throughout the year and they would still find a way to entertain. This wasn’t their best match but it was still better than most on this card.

While I will admit that the Shane O’ Mac ref shirt was cool, his presence in the ring is actually what took away from this match. AJ Styles and Kevin Owens are two guys that know how to go out each and every night and steal the show. They didn’t need the novelty here but it didn’t completely stop this from being a really good bout. Both were on point all night and each was able to keep the crowd going with a variety of offense. The first Styles Clash looked a little bit uncomfortable but everything else was what I expected it to be. These two went out there and worked, and when they weren’t having to do the things with Shane to keep that story moving forward, they were entertaining as always. This was a fun rivalry that had to end at some point, and the blue brand and the United States Championship benefited nicely from it.

What’s next: All signs are obviously pointing to a Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon confrontation down the line. The next scheduled pay-per-view for the crew of SmackDown Live is Hell in a Cell on Oct. 8, so that’s when it will probably go down. It will be interesting to see if this match actually takes place in the cell but it could be fun to watch. Shane usually steps it up and can take some punishment, and perhaps a stipulation will be thrown in there as well. As for the United States Championship, I don’t see Owens getting another chance at that, which means that AJ Styles will be looking for a new challenger, and there’s a number of good options out there for that.