The Undisputed WWE Championship picture has been heating up on SmackDown recently, and last week Sami Zayn defended his title against Kevin Owens in the main event. Ultimately Sami retained after CM Punk interfered and hit Owens with the Undisputed WWE Championship, but the finish really got people talking.
As Sami Zayn pinned KO after Punk hit him with the title, the referee stopped counting even though Kevin Owens didn’t kick out. The match then continued as Sami hit KO with the Helluva Kick then pinned him to officially retain the title.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that internally there was big controversy regarding the finish for the match. According to the report referee Ryan Tran took the heat for the finish, and he said he got confused. It was also noted that within the company Ryan Tran is very credible, and he swore that the issues with the finish were all his fault.
The plan for the original finish was for CM Punk to hit Owens with the belt and then Sami pins Owens to retain the belt. Evidently Ryan Tran didn’t think that was the finish, but the rule is that referees are supposed to count the pin as a shoot.