The late swerve to the ending of Monday's "Raw" main event dramatically altered the direction of where the WWE's flagship show, and its new Universal championship, are headed.
Culminating with Triple H's surprise return to assist Kevin Owens in the Fatal 4-Way elimination title match, the WWE successfully spun the bad luck of inaugural champion Finn Balor's shoulder injury at SummerSlam into a buzzworthy set of "Raw" episodes that followed.
That must-see trend will only continue into next week's show, with fans excited to find the answer to the natural follow-up question: Where do we go from here?
Let's take a closer look at the fallout for the principal participants in the WWE Universal championship title picture:
Kevin Owens
A former indie star, Owens has acted like he belonged from his first day on the main roster in May 2015, making it easy to forget just how meteoric his rise within the company has been in two short years.
From powerbombing then-champion Sami Zayn onto the ring apron on his first night in NXT to going over John Cena cleanly in his first month on "Raw," there are elements to Owens' career arc that make the timing of him winning the Universal championship a logical one.
That's why, even though he fell into the belt in an opportunistic manner, both in storyline and real life, Owens wearing the company's most prestigious title is still a safer play for WWE than giving Balor the belt in the first place.
As decorated worldwide as Balor was before being hired by WWE, he is smaller, less charismatic on the microphone and less proven on the brightest stage than Owens. While both represent this "new era" WWE is ambitiously trying to project, Owens' style and presentation is more classic and versatile.
Giving Owens the title is also an easier play for WWE based on its heavy reliance upon booking storylines involving The Authority's control on the company's marquee title (often to their own detriment). While it might seem like Owens' lone wolf mentality doesn't mesh with the idea of being controlled by the machine, credit WWE for indirectly planting seeds for this move in the past.
During an episode of "Raw" last November, Triple H made the rounds backstage to various competitors of the WWE championship tournament, following Seth Rollins' knee injury. He pitched the idea of working with The Authority to double-cross Roman Reigns. Owens looked particularly interested in what Triple H had to say, which is consistent with his character's opportunistic nature as a heel.
In fact, there was a video package featuring a quote from Rollins this past Monday that might have summed it up perfectly.
"People call me an opportunist ... like it's an insult," Rollins said. "It's not an insult."
The quote could just as easily have been attributed to Owens, whose persona is even more believable as a diabolic and unrepentant heel than Rollins, which is why giving Owens the title was the WWE's best move.
Will Owens' title reign end up being transitional like Sheamus' was last fall, or as unexpectedly epic as what Rollins accomplished all of last year? It's difficult to predict, but bet against Owens at your own risk.
With his quick wit, deceptively agile style and meatball-shaped body, previously thought to be a deterrent from ever reaching the mountain top, Owens has all the tools to be a memorable champion with an opportunity to find out how great he can be.
Seth Rollins
When it comes to booking pro wrestling, there's an old adage that there's more money in putting the title on the heel and forcing a top babyface to chase it. In that regard, Owens is the best pure heel that the company has, with legitimate old-school qualities to his swagger.
So who's the biggest money babyface currently on the Raw roster who makes the most sense to pair him against?
Unfortunately for WWE, it still isn't Reigns, at least not outside of the family-friendly confines of house shows. His brand hasn't properly recovered from the company's stubborn insistence on booking him as the second coming of John Cena, and in a manner that's the opposite of organic.
The answer is Rollins, whose character has no choice but to turn babyface after the manner in which he was double-crossed by Triple H and The Authority on Monday.
It's far from a leap to predict an Owens-Rollins feud would make for great television, not just for the in-ring payoff at pay-per-views, but the microphone work of both during the buildup. It would also be just as fun to watch whether Rollins can get over as a good-guy singles wrestler the same way he did as a heel.
Considering Rollins' talent and his deserving distinction as the No. 1 pick in July's brand-split draft, there's no reason to suggest he can't. Following his recovery from a devastating knee injury last November, documented by WWE Network cameras for its "WWE 24" series, Rollins was met with cheers during his May 23 return on "Raw" from a Baltimore crowd that appeared ready to hail him as a returning babyface.
When you take into account everything Rollins has done for The Authority, both in storyline and in real life, as a fighting champion who carried the ball almost single-handedly at times in 2015, building sympathy from the crowd for his current demise shouldn't be a factor. Today's generation of fans is smart enough to know a transcendent talent when they see one.
Roman Reigns
WWE is at its best when storylines blend perfectly with the real-life struggles and tension going on behind the scenes. It's because of this that, for now, Reigns needs to stay as far away from the Universal title picture as possible.
There will come a day when Reigns' current demise will feel like a thing of the past, and his incredible talent and look will overshadow the crowd's reaction to his booking. But for now, the irony of him being constantly double-crossed on-screen by the McMahon family, only to be seemingly given royal treatment by them behind the scenes, is a level of disbelief most fans aren't willing to suspend.
By all accounts, WWE doesn't appear ready to admit defeat and truly allow Reigns' character to blossom naturally as a heel. Because of that, more seasoning on the second tier as a babyface is needed, just as much as time is, in order to win over cynically hardened fans one match at a time.
The best remedy for Reigns is a return to his feud with United States champion Rusev, which essentially hit pause when the two fought to a no-contest at SummerSlam in an ill-conceived comedown match before the main event.
Reigns and Rusev are money together in the ring, and the presence of Lana has allowed Reigns to exercise his comedic muscles that still need some work. Placing the U.S. title around his waist in a memorable feud is the best kind of rehab assignment available to Reigns, and a strong precursor to future opportunities against the likes of Owens and Brock Lesnar down the road.