Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins: What's Next After WWE Clash of Champions 2016?

Sunday night's WWE Clash of Champions 2016 featured a fantastic main event in which Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins battled over the WWE Universal Championship.

Owens emerged with his title intact, leaving fans asking what's next for both Raw stars.

Rollins hasn't had the most impressive pay-per-view record since returning to the ring earlier this year, stacking up losses to the likes of Dean Ambrose, Finn Balor and now Owens. His latest shortcoming at Clash of Champions knocked him yet another step down the totem pole on the Raw roster.

But it should be noted that Rollins was on the verge of victory at various points throughout the bout and likely would have won had it not been for interference from Owens' ally Chris Jericho. By distracting the referee long enough, Owens was able to capitalize and beat Rollins with a surprise pop-up powerbomb.

This marked the first time in history that the WWE universal title had been defended, and Owens barely managed to maintain his possession of the prize. With Clash of Champions in the books, it's possible he'll look ahead to facing a fresh challenger, but don't think you've seen the last of him and Owens squaring off.

The Architect surely has unfinished business with his archrival coming out of the controversial conclusion to their championship clash, so look for him to go for the gold yet again at Hell in a Cell next month.

Credit: WWE.com

Traditionally, Hell in a Cell has been built around the culmination of ruthless rivalries. The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar as well as Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt settled their scores inside the steel structure last year, and Rollins and Owens appear to be following in their footsteps.

Rollins has gone to "hell" once before, that being his marquee match with Dean Ambrose at the 2014 installment. He had his hand raised on that evening, giving him his first and only Hell in a Cell win to date.

Meanwhile, Owens has never competed in such a stipulation in the one year he has been with WWE. That could change come Oct. 30, however, if he and Rollins continue along the collision course they have been on for weeks.

Granted, Jericho's costing Rollins the title on Sunday night resulted in a rather lame finish, but it did set up a logical rematch for the pending pay-per-view. Hell in a Cell prevents unwelcome Superstars from getting involved, so Rollins would finally have his chance to give Owens his comeuppance in a one-on-one situation.

Their feud so far has largely focused on the authority figures on Raw and virtually everyone else but them two, which must be fixed going forward. If WWE wants to get the most out of this program, they should showcase Rollins and Owens like the top-tier talent they are as Hell in a Cell approaches.

Perhaps the biggest questions coming out of the event concern Triple H's current status. After his betrayal of his protege Rollins on the Aug. 29 edition of Raw, the WWE Universe has neither seen nor heard from him on the flagship show.

That should have been one of the first things answered on the subsequent show, but even a month later, we know nothing more now than we did then. The chances of his resurfacing on Raw tonight are slim, but he should be back sooner than later to further that story with Seth.

Simultaneously, it is imperative that Rollins slowly transform into the breakout babyface he is certainly capable of being. Lately, fans have been hesitant to get behind him merely because he hasn't seemingly changed much since his days as a hated heel.

Now that he has been outnumbered on two separate occasions, fans might begin to rally behind him in his chase for the championship. Owens is a fantastic foil for him, considering he will do whatever it takes to ensure he puts food on his family's table.

Their in-ring encounter at Clash of Champions was every bit as exciting as it had the potential to be, but with Hell in a Cell right around the corner, the best has yet to come between the former NXT upstarts.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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