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          Kevin Owens gives Chris Jericho proper sendoff with title win, destructive beatdown

          Chris Jericho felt a little bit of deja vu as Kevin Owens laid a beat-down on his former best friend that was very much along the lines of their clash at the 'Festival of Friendship.' Courtesy of WWE

          Forty-eight hours earlier, Chris Jericho had celebrated his latest and, arguably, most surprising title win.

          Few discerning fans believed Jericho would walk away from Payback as the United States champion -- not with his opponent, Kevin Owens, set to become one of SmackDown Live's top stars, and not with Jericho preparing to tour with his band, "Fozzy," on Friday.

          But lo and behold, Jericho won a thrilling match that outshined their performance four weeks earlier at WrestleMania 33, setting up one last go-around for Jericho and Owens on Tuesday night on SmackDown.

          Perhaps Payback was an homage to Jericho, one of the WWE's most successful and entertaining performers for nearly two decades. A final chance to shine in the squared circle, at least for some time. His entertainment value, and seemingly overall value to the company, has never been more apparent than the past year and a half with notable in-ring machinations involving AJ Styles and Owens.

          However, when a hasty rematch was put on the card Tuesday night at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, the feeling surfaced again that Jericho would lose his belt. This time, while the sentiments came true, little did we know the level of brutality that would ensue.

          Early on in the match, Owens failed to convert a cannon ball and pop-up powerbomb on Jericho. Soon afterward, Jericho gained momentum by eluding another powerbomb attempt, which he converted into a walls of Jericho. Owens, as has been his signature escape move lately, barely got his right hand on the rope to avoid the tapout.

          "This is awesome" chants sang throughout the match as Owens rebounded at his barbaric best. Outside the ring, he nailed Jericho with a superkick and subsequent DDT, followed by another superkick a few moments later in the ring.

          Eventually, Owens wore down his opponent, and a final powerbomb won him the match and the championship. The will to win from both men, and the disgust the former best friends had toward each other never wavered Tuesday, not for a minute.

          Jericho's second run with the United State title lasted only two days, and according to our intrepid stats & info team, this reign as champion was the second-shortest of any United States title-holder in the past 10 years.

          Afterward, a fallen Jericho lay in the ring, motionless, while medics rushed down the ramp. Still fuming, Owens continued his malicious attack with yet another powerbomb, while screaming at Jericho that he was never his best friend. Finally, Owens squeezed Jericho's head through a steel chair and flung him into the ring post, while officials pleaded with Owens to end the barrage.

          Brutal as it was, it was everything it needed to be. The circumstances and allowed WWE creative to tease Jericho's demise several times over before ending in this thorough destruction. As Jericho finally takes some time away, Owens will ride into his battle with AJ Styles with momentum.

          Choices, choices: Where do you stand, Becky Lynch?

          Of all the people to have gotten lost in the superstar shakeup, you might not have expected one of the worst-hit performers to be Becky Lynch. But as a matter of fact, she's been a non-factor and almost non-existent since WrestleMania 33.

          But Tuesday, she was back and had to make a difficult decision: help the short-handed team of Charlotte Flair and Naomi, or join the pack of the jealous others in the "Welcoming Committee" who have been valiantly trying to show The Queen she is not the ruler of SmackDown's women's division, four-time champion or not.

          Before a scheduled tag-team match, Flair was assaulted by the trio of Carmella, Natalya and Tamina Snuka. The actual match began as a 2-on-1 handicap affair, as SmackDown women's champion Naomi was left without the support of Flair, her tentative partner for the evening. Despite being undermanned for much of the match, Naomi held her own for a while until underhanded tactics from Carmella gave her team the upper hand.

          Predictably, Flair made her triumphant return, limping down the ramp and into the ring. When she was finally tagged in, she put all of her pent-up anger to good use, delivering a backbreaker to Natalya, followed by a boot to her head.

          Not to be outdone, Naomi's incredible athleticism was on display, highlighted by a sweet springboard crossbody and huge kick to Carmella's temple. Naomi then connected with a Rear View, but James Ellsworth distracted the referee and allowed Carmella to regroup and get the pin by holding Naomi's tights.

          An entertaining match, yes, but things really picked up in the aftermath, when Tamina joined in for a postmatch beatdown.

          As the fans chatted for Lynch, her music hit and she made her way to the ring. But who would she side with? The Committee or her longtime friend and enemy, Charlotte (and Naomi)? You could see the ruse playing out; after a few high fives to the less-established team, Becky feigned a hug toward Ellsworth and threw him into his stunned teammates. The melee went on for a while longer with Carmella, Natalya and Tamina standing tall at the end.

          But this sequence of events raises some questions and concerns:

          • Charlotte Flair was the sympathetic character here; is this the beginning of a face turn? Or is the WWE creative happy with her playing a Styles-esque role confident hero for the time being?

          • If the face card is in the offing, wouldn't that lessen the tension between Flair and Naomi when they resume their battle for the title, assuming Naomi still has it?

          • By siding with Flair and Naomi, who does Lynch realistically feud with? Sparring with someone from The Welcoming Committee seems like a step back for Lynch, though perhaps these trios will continue to spar for some time.

          While the idea of SmackDown pushing the members of the Welcoming Committee in this land of opportunity is another welcome step toward building depth on the roster, it's hard to imagine any of them can parlay their current status into something along the lines of what Alexa Bliss did this past year. But for the sake of the women's division, we sure hope one of them will step up and provide the show will a greater quality of villain.

          Hits and Misses

          • Is Sami Zayn not the most post popular jobber in recent memory? From Braun Strowman to Baron Corbin and now Jinder Mahal, Zayn has been little more than a stepping stone for these much larger men. It's too bad, because Zayn has a Daniel Bryan-like vibe about him, and any success like he had when he first came up would no doubt resonate with the WWE universe.

          • There was no sign of Randy Orton on Tuesday, which is probably for the best given the negative reaction to his "House of Horrors" debacle against Bray Wyatt at Payback. The WWE championship seems more inconsequential by the day, and right now, it's difficult to say whether the upcoming Orton-Mahal feud will change that feeling.

          • While Sin Cara was more of an afterthought in the superstar shake-up, his match against Dolph Ziggler was outstanding from start to finish. The energy and high-flying maneuvers by the former Lucha Dragon member was impressive. Maybe he can pair up with Zayn and give SmackDown another worthy tag team with aerial potential on par with American Alpha and The Usos?

          • Say what you want about Breezango, but their "Law & Order" spoof in a police station was comic relief at its finest. The "Fashion Files" ran down a list of "crimes" and perpetrators in fashion and otherwise by other WWE performers. Among the citations? Jeywalking and Jimmywalking. Not to be outdone was the bulletin board in the background with mugs of past offenders such as Classy Freddie Blassie, The Big Boss Man, The Ascension (with a post-it note, "smelly," over their mug) and even Mr. McMahon. The entire segment was weirdly ridiculous -- but in a good way.

          • A shout-out to The Rock, who Tuesday celebrated his 45th birthday. Not surprisingly, the Rock started off his day with a workout, but not before a visit from his adorable 1-year-old daughter, Jasmine.

          Quote of the night

          "There's no crying on SmackDown. There's nothing to be sad about. You're a good-looking successful guy. You can sing, right? You've got a nice hairy chest. Man, there's no need to cry. Things are good, Life is good, right? Besides, you know what happens when you cry on Chris Jericho's new show? You know what happens when tears are putting out of your face? You know what happens, Aiden English? You just made the list." -- Jericho in a backstage interview when English, who had just gotten smoked by Tye Dillinger, walked by, sobbing.