Kevin Owens Returns at SummerSlam, Sets Up WWE Title Match vs. CM Punk After Fatal 4-Way Win

Kevin Owens is now the No. 1 contender to face CM Punk in an Undisputed WWE Championship match after his victory over Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Gunther in a surprise Fatal 4-Way contest at SummerSlam on Sunday night.

Zayn and Balor had been due to go head-to-head, but SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis revealed before the match that he had added Gunther to the match.

Aldis then announced a fourth competitor, with Owens appearing to a huge pop from the fans at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

A neck injury had kept Owens from performing for over a year. He certainly returned in style, though.

KO and Zayn embraced before the match, but immediately started fighting each other when the bell rang.

Ultimately, however, Owens delivered a Stunner to his longtime friend before pinning him to claim the win.

Punk retained the undisputed WWE title over Cody Rhodes in the main event of Night 1 of SummerSlam, with his future opponent still to be decided.

Zayn entered SummerSlam after a whirlwind month, starting with shockingly beating Rhodes and Gunther in a Triple Threat match to win the Undisputed WWE Championship for the first time at Night of Champions.

Sami's time as champion didn't last long, though, as he was slated to put the title on the line against Rhodes on the July 6 episode of Raw in Chicago.

Rhodes was attacked by Gunther at the start of the show and ruled unfit to compete, but Zayn was forced to defend the title anyway. He did so against Punk, who made his surprise return to WWE programming after being on hiatus for a few months.

With his hometown crowd behind him, The Best in the World beat Zayn for the championship, thus ending Sami's reign after only nine days.

Zayn had a chance to get back in the title picture for SummerSlam when he and Gunther faced Punk and Rhodes in a tag team match at Saturday Night's Main Event. Had Zayn and Gunther won, they would have been added to Punk vs. Rhodes to make it a Fatal 4-Way.

However, Aldis hit Gunther with the title belt during the match as payback for The Ring General previously attacking him, allowing Punk and Rhodes to get the win.

A furious Zayn demanded that he be added to the Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam anyway, but Raw general manager and acting SmackDown GM Adam Pearce refused and instead told him he would be in a No. 1 contender's match.

Zayn's SummerSlam opponent was determined through a Fatal 4-Way, which saw Balor beat Damian Priest, Trick Williams and Royce Keys.

But in the end it became a Fatal 4-Way after all, with Owens emerging victorious.