The WWE Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view ended in controversy last month, and not just because Roman Reigns attacked a referee. The final moments of the Last Man Standing Match between “The Tribal Chief” and Kevin Owens saw the challenger handcuff Reigns to a metal structure at ringside. Reigns then attacked the referee just as he was about to make the 10-count, then had Paul Heyman run over with a key to unlock him as a second referee made their way out to start a new count.
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But, as many fans noticed, that second referee had to stop counting once it became apparent that Heyman was struggling with the handcuffs. Reigns was eventually freed and quickly knocked Owens out with a Guillotine, but by then the match was already tarnished.
Owens got a bit of revenge on the following SmackDown, hitting Reigns with a Stunner before Edge could make his decision about who to challenge at WrestleMania 37. It’s unclear if Reigns’ feud with KO will continue, but Owens hasn’t hesitated in bringing up the referee botch in interviews.
“It was a pretty rough night for me. I was thrown off a 12-foot platform onto a bunch of tables, I got hit by a golf cart, I jumped off a forklift that was about 10 feet in the air, I burned my arm on a light that was part of our setup, and to top it all off, I didn’t win because I think a referee got paid off or something,” Owens said on The Jake Asman Show (h/t Fightful), albeit in-character. “A lot to recover from. I’ve never been cheated by a referee that way before.”
“I had a few options on how to approach it. I could try to knock him out, but he’s a tough guy,” he added. “I figured I could go after his legs so he couldn’t stand up, but it wasn’t working that well. He went a different route and tried to throw me off high things and hit me with vehicles. Different strategies. Towards the end, I turned his own trick on him. He brought handcuffs, I handcuffed him to something and I thought I had him, I really did have him. Some screw-ups from the referees and here I am, sitting in my car without the Universal Championship.”
Do you think Owens should get one more shot at Reigns? Let us know in the comments below!
