Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens had a relationship that even some married couples would be envious of. That meant they were there for each other during title defences, putting themselves in harm's way to ensure that their best friend in the world retained.
But as we saw a few weeks ago, that all changed.
When Jericho said that Owens would face Goldberg for the Universal title, that ultimately resulted in Owens setting up his (now former) best friend and then beating him down so badly that he was kept off of television until Fastlane.
Jericho's return caused the distraction that ultimately cost Kevin Owens his WWE Universal championship to Goldberg. The weeks that followed were heated exchanges as to who cost who what, and why they did it.
Before Fastlane began, Owens stated that Jericho ‘didn't even matter', which was hurtful, considering how often Y2J took spears, Superman punches and pedigrees in an effort to ensure that his ‘brother' didn't lose his championship.
This clearly changed after Owens betrayed Jericho.
Now, all bets are off and the former best friends have turned into bitter rivals, so here are five potential finishes for the United States championship match at WrestleMania 33 between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.
#5 Chris Jericho retains via disqualification
We could be faced with a scenario where Owens is so irate at what happened to him at the hands of Jericho that he completely loses sight of why he is in there.
While we might assume that since he is the prizefighter, and will do an insane amount of work in the ring to capture another championship, that may very well not be the case.
During the last few months, he was very proud of holding the WWE Universal championship. Now that it is gone, lost in a manner he didn't anticipate, Owens may be more bent on retribution than anything else.
Also read: WWE News: Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens for United States Championship at WrestleMania 33
It is already clear that everything Jericho did for him was because of Jericho's need to belong, while Owens just needed to have him around to ensure that he retained the Universal championship.
In the end, it could very well be a short match where Owens has the bell ring and simply goes at Jericho with everything from a steel chair to the announce table at ringside.
#4 Kevin Owens wins, captures the title
When Jericho showed up at Fastlane, it was as though the former Universal champion had seen a ghost. The distraction cost Owens his title and opened up a whole new and different side to him.
This could be exactly where the prizefighter side of Owens rears his head, and his motivation is to not only capture a championship, it is doing so at the expense of the person that contributed his title loss. It could also very well be Jericho's time to let go of the title.
It would be a sensible and fitting end if Owens does something reflective of his heel nature, using underhanded tactics to capture the United States championship.
Jericho losing to Owens not only is nothing to be ashamed of but also makes sense as his run with the company may soon come to an end due to upcoming commitments with his band Fozzy.
What we should anticipate is a match that will be built up with a great deal of animosity, and Jericho possibly losing focus on the ultimate goal and making a costly error that allows Owens to walk away as the champion.
#3 Kevin Owens wins via disqualification
It seems a little dry for a potential booking, but really, how else could you justify Jericho holding on to his title? As it stands, a disqualification win over the former WWE and World champion would be the surest way to have Jericho retain.
For Jericho, it is personal, especially when we consider the outpouring of adoration that he showed his ‘best friend' and ‘brother' Kevin Owens. It was a little over the top, but that was the intent. It was to be so over the top in order to show how much Jericho cared for their friendship.
Doing everything he can to simply beat up and beat down Owens rather than win the match would say a lot about how committed he is to showing that Owens was wrong to hurt someone that put themselves in harm's way for him more times than not.
Jericho would have to feel angry. He would have to feel somewhat foolish to know that for all he sacrificed, Owens did indeed take it for granted. Despite a championship being on the line, in the mind of Chris Jericho, it is all about retribution, even if that costs him a win.
#2 Chris Jericho loses, deemed incapacitated, Owens wins the title
An interesting way to end their match would be to use similar booking to what happened in NXT.
As fans of NXT know, regarding the war that raged between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, Owens came out and congratulated his best friend and new NXT champion, and then gave him a beating that put him on the shelf.
Owens would be so irate at Jericho indirectly costing him the Universal championship, that he would want to hurt the United States champion.
Much like Zayn, Jericho could just want to get his hands on Owens for causing their friendship to dissolve. In both instances, Owens was the one that ultimately ended the friendship. It is conceivable that we get a finish where Owens beats down Jericho so badly that the referees have to step in and end the match.
Jericho would then be deemed unable to compete and Owens would be named the new United States champion.
#1 Double disqualification, double count out, Jericho retains
The phrase good friends, better enemies, seems to be quite fitting in wrestling. As we've highlighted in the past, a number of solid friendships have resulted in some of the greatest betrayals.
While in hindsight, fans could see the mounting tension between the friends, the feuds boiled over with not only bodies being laid out, but bones being broken and blood spilt.
Similarly, there was tension in the past between Owens and Jericho, when Owens was feuding with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins was feuding with Jericho. It was all about how their friendship was being put to the test, as others contributed to the tension.
This could once again be the case between Jericho and Owens. The match may begin calmly enough, but as it progresses, it could completely get out of control.
This time around, it could be a case of Owens and Jericho taking their fight outside the ring and not only the ringside area but into the crowd as well, as the focus on the championship would then become secondary.
It has the potential of being a brutal match that produces no clear winner.
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