Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins Announced for WWE Clash of Champions 2016

WWE Raw general manager Mick Foley announced Monday night that Kevin Owens will put the WWE Universal Championship on the line at Clash of Champions on Sept. 25.

WWE shared a replay of the opening segment on Twitter:

It will be Owens' first title defense after he won the belt on the Aug. 29 edition of Raw.

Owens did a great job of becoming an even bigger heel. He called out the crowd in Kansas City, Missouri, which immediately made him public enemy No. 1. Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod was impressed by the champion's work on the microphone:

Raw's open set in motion the process of turning Rollins into a good guy for the first time since he turned on Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns and broke up The Shield in June 2014.

Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon had initially suspended Rollins after he attacked Owens during Owens' championship coronation ceremony. Foley intervened and instead matched up the two wrestlers at the next pay-per-view.

The big question is whether Foley or McMahon is working with Triple H. The King of Kings made his return to WWE programming last week, interfering in the Fatal 4-Way elimination match and helping Owens in the Universal Championship:

WWE would seemingly want fans to think Triple H and McMahon are scheming behind the scenes. The fact that she suspended Rollins so quickly would play into that. But it could be a case of misdirection, with Foley the actual villain in power on Raw. Triple H's grand plan could be revealed at Clash of Champions.

Independent of the storyline, Owens and Rollins should put on a great match at the PPV. At the very least, it represents a refreshing change for Raw. The two wrestlers aren't strangers to the main event, but this will be the first time they're going head-to-head in a singles feud.