The closing moments of Sami Zayn’s title match against Kevin Owens on last week’s WWE SmackDown have become a major point of discussion after an apparent breakdown in the planned finish. What was intended to be a decisive story beat involving CM Punk instead turned into an awkward sequence that required Zayn to deliver an additional Helluva Kick before the match could be completed.
The match was designed to end after Punk struck Owens with the championship belt, allowing Zayn to make the cover and secure the victory. Instead, the referee stopped at two on Zayn’s initial pin attempt, despite footage appearing to show that Owens did not visibly kick out before what would have been the three-count.
The confusion forced the participants to continue. Zayn ultimately hit Owens with a Helluva Kick and covered him again, providing the conclusive finish that did not appear to be part of the original plan.
The Planned Finish Centered on CM Punk
The reported intended sequence was straightforward: CM Punk would lay out Owens with the title belt, Zayn would immediately capitalize with a pinfall, and the bell would ring. There was reportedly no scheduled Owens kickout following the belt shot.
For more background on this topic, read WWE Crown Jewel Status Draws Internal Questions Amid Saudi Arabia Travel Concerns.
That detail matters because Punk’s interference was not simply meant to be another piece of physical chaos in a high-profile match. It was reportedly viewed internally as a vital element of the larger story being told. Punk dropping Owens with the belt was supposed to directly create Zayn’s winning opportunity, keeping Punk at the center of the conflict even as Zayn and Owens settled their own issue in the ring.
When the first cover did not result in a three-count, the match’s focus changed in real time. Rather than ending with Zayn opportunistically taking advantage of Punk’s attack, it ended with Zayn putting Owens down himself with his signature move. That may have given the finish a more conventional in-ring resolution, but it also diluted the intended importance of Punk’s involvement.
The reported plan was for Punk’s belt shot to put Owens down, Zayn to cover him, and the match to be over.
Internally, the ending was reportedly described as having been “absolutely blundered.” Multiple people backstage were said to be unhappy with how the sequence played out and with the fact that the intended idea was not executed as designed.
Why the First Pinfall Looked So Unusual
The on-screen footage has fueled much of the conversation because the initial cover does not resemble a conventional near fall. After Punk’s belt shot, Zayn covered Owens while the referee began the count. As the count approached three, Owens does not visibly appear to lift a shoulder or kick out.
Instead, Zayn appears to make an awkward effort to raise Owens’ left shoulder shortly after the referee has stopped counting. The referee then does not complete the count or signal for the bell, leaving the wrestlers to move toward an improvised conclusion.
That visual has made it difficult for viewers to determine precisely what went wrong. In most wrestling matches, a referee halting a count at two has a clear in-ring explanation: the competitor on the mat gets a shoulder up, gets a foot onto the ropes, or another wrestler interferes. None of those explanations is immediately apparent in this case.
The available information does not establish exactly why the three-count was not completed. It remains unclear whether there was a miscommunication between the referee and the performers, an issue with timing, a concern over the positioning of the cover, or another factor that caused the original finish to break down. What is clear from the reported plan is that Owens was not supposed to kick out after being hit with the belt.
An Improvised Helluva Kick Changed the Match’s Final Image
Once the expected pinfall did not happen, Zayn and Owens had to find a way to finish the match without leaving the outcome unresolved. The solution was for Zayn to hit the Helluva Kick, then score the pinfall.
Improvisation is a necessary skill in professional wrestling, particularly on live television. Performers and referees routinely have to adjust for missed cues, unexpected movements, timing changes, equipment issues, or communication problems. In this instance, however, the recovery itself became part of the criticism.
Zayn’s Helluva Kick gave the audience a definitive final maneuver and removed any uncertainty over whether Owens had been beaten. Yet it also altered the story that the planned finish was meant to tell. The original version would have emphasized the consequences of Punk’s actions. The version that aired placed the final decisive moment back on Zayn’s offense.
That distinction is especially important when a finish is designed to advance more than one rivalry at a time. Zayn defeating Owens after a Helluva Kick presents one kind of conclusion: Zayn overcame Owens directly. Zayn pinning Owens immediately after Punk’s title-belt strike presents another: Punk’s decision changed the outcome and left both men with something to address moving forward.
The reported backstage feeling was that the improvised approach, particularly the use of Zayn’s finisher, lessened the weight of Punk’s contribution to the angle.
Owens Was Not Meant to Kick Out
One of the key details surrounding the incident is that an Owens kickout was reportedly never scripted. That separates this situation from a case where a wrestler might have kicked out too early or too late during a planned dramatic near fall.
The intended finish called for Owens to remain down after the belt shot. As a result, the first pin attempt was meant to be the ending, not a setup for another exchange. The fact that the referee counted only two created a situation in which the performers had to react quickly, because stopping after that first cover would have left the match without a result.
It also explains why the eventual Helluva Kick felt abrupt. The move was reportedly not part of the scheduled closing sequence. It was used to get the match back to a clear conclusion after the original outcome had failed to register in the ring.
For Owens, the moment is notable because he was positioned to be taken out by an outside influence rather than defeated by Zayn’s established finishing offense. The modified ending changed that visual, even if it did not change the official result.
What the Finish Means for the Ongoing Story
Despite the apparent mistake, the larger WWE story involving Zayn, Owens, and Punk remains active. The planned finish itself shows how closely Punk’s actions were meant to be connected to the title match and its aftermath. Punk’s belt shot was reportedly intended to be a major narrative point, not an incidental run-in.
Raw footage has only added to the scrutiny because it allows the sequence to be replayed closely. From the available video, Owens does not visibly kick out before the referee stops. Zayn’s apparent attempt to lift Owens’ shoulder has also become a focal point, as it suggests the wrestlers may have recognized in the moment that the count had not gone as expected.
Still, the exact cause cannot be definitively determined from the broadcast alone. The final on-screen product provides evidence of an awkward finish, but not a complete explanation for why the referee did not count three after Punk’s attack. The reporting around the match establishes the original plan and the frustration over its execution, while the specific trigger for the breakdown remains uncertain.
WWE now has an unusual closing sequence attached to a match involving three of its most prominent names. Zayn received the win, Owens absorbed both the belt shot and the Helluva Kick, and Punk’s intended decisive intervention became part of a finish remembered as much for its confusion as for its storyline implications.
Whether WWE addresses the mishap on television remains to be seen. For now, the important takeaway is that the initial pinfall was supposed to end the contest. It did not, and the unplanned recovery changed the emphasis of a finish that was built around CM Punk’s role in the ongoing story.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.