CM Punk successfully retained his Undisputed WWE Championship after beating Kevin Owens in hostile territory, although he had unwarranted assistance from Sami Zayn.
The match was held in the latest episode of SmackDown at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, the home country of both Owens and Zayn.
Owens won the privilege of challenging Punk when he made a surprise return from injury earlier in the month at SummerSlam.
The referee and the ring announcer had to separate the two as they wanted to tear each other apart before the bell even rang.
After two weeks of confrontations and tense arguments recalling their turbulent past, Owens and Punk started the match with a brawl, with the hometown hero getting the upper hand as he fed off the energy from the Canadian crowd.
Owens showcases aggressive offence
The match saw an aggressive Owens who was thirsty for gold, as he was looking to nab his first world championship in almost 10 years.
At one point, Owens placed Punk on the announcer’s desk and launched himself from the barricade with a Frog Splash.
He then dragged Punk’s body back to the ring and hit the champion with a Swanton Bomb, but Punk survived the onslaught.
The Best in the World managed to find his footing amid the thousands booing him, hitting Owens with an Elbow Drop, which he transitioned to an Anaconda Vice.
After back-and-forth of offence, Punk signalled that he was going for the GTS, but Owens countered the move with a Sharpshooter, a submission move made famous by fellow Canadian Bret Hart.
The Zayn factor
During the last stage of the bout, the referee was accidentally knocked out.
Owens hit Punk with a Stunner and went for the pin, realising that there was no official to declare his victory.
Punk retaliated with a GTS and went out of the ring to drag the referee back.
However, Zayn appeared and shoved Punk face-first in the ring post and pushed him back to the ring.
An unaware Owens then hit a dazed Punk with a Stunner, but it was not enough for the three-count.
Zayn then handed the belt to Owens to use as a weapon, but The Prize Fighter was reluctant and returned the championship to his friend.
“Not this time, not like this,” Owens told Zayn.
The move irritated Zayn, and he clocked Owens in the head with the belt.
Punk then capitalised off the attack and hit the challenger with a GTS to retain the WWE Championship.
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