Styles’ win wasn’t at all the surprise in the matter here, as “The Phenomenal One” has primarily gotten the better of “The Prize Fighter” in their feuds over both the US and Intercontinental Championships in their time in WWE. The fact that it took place at the live event, however, and that the change was recognized before their rematch at Battleground a few weeks later did catch more than a few people off guard. In the return bout, Owens recaptured the title, albeit apparently by accident, furthering this bizarre saga between the two that saw Chris Jericho enter the frey for a Triple Threat match on the next episode of “WWE SmackDown,” where Styles got the belt right back.

A little confusion isn’t always all bad, as Jericho and Owens got to put a stamp on the feud that had fizzled after the infamous Festival of Friendship and a match at WrestleMania 33 with which neither was thrilled, while Styles rode the wave of his United States Championship run, parlaying it into a win over Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship in late 2017 that ended up being more than a year-long run.

When an unwritten rule of wrestling is broken, oftentimes, those involved suffer some consequences, with 1996’s “Curtain Call” incident standing out as probably the most egregious example. But when the plan all along is for a title to change hands at a live event, technically, that’s not so much breaking said unwritten rule as it is thinking outside of the box, and in this case, for Styles, Owens, Jericho and others, all turned out well in the end.