5 Reasons why Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 36

Night 1 of WrestleMania 36 was definitely a very interesting affair, with a variety of matches and moments emanating from the WWE Performance Center and a "Boneyard". And while AJ Styles and The Undertaker's cinematic brawl headlined the show, the best moment might belong to Kevin Owens.

He defeated Seth Rollins in a pretty good match, despite it being interrupted once by disqualification. It might be regarded as one of the top two in-ring bouts of the entirety of Night 1.

This seemingly concludes the long and complex rivalry between Owens and Rollins, which included a host of other names. The likes of AOP, Murphy and Samoa Joe, among others, had a presence in this feud. But in the end, it boiled down to the two former Universal Champions.

A win for Seth Rollins would have extended his streak of winning at every single WrestleMania he has been a part of, but it wasn't to be. Here are five reasons why Kevin Owens defeated the 'Monday Night Messiah' at WrestleMania 36.

#5 Making the fans happy

WrestleMania is happening under very dire circumstances and this compromised version of the Show of Shows is an attempt to bring smiles on people's faces as one of the only forms of "live" entertainment available right now. With some of the matches on Night 1 producing unsatisfying results, WWE needed a big babyface victory to increase the feel-good factor of the PPV.

WrestleMania is a show which is generally heavy on satisfying babyface victories. And within the ring, there was nothing more satisfying than Kevin Owens jumping off the WrestleMania logo onto Seth Rollins through the announce table and finishing him off with a Stunner. The WWE Universe sure is thrilled with KO's victory over Rollins, thanks to the conclusive finish to the match.

#4 The Performance Center factor

Out of every match on both nights of WrestleMania 36, the one whose story benefitted the most from the move to the Performance Center was Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins. Sure, the likes of Edge, Randy Orton, and The Undertaker cut incredible promos with no crowd, but the Performance Center was used to further this issue.

Owens noted that he would defeat Rollins at the one place where he proved his doubters wrong, the site of his WWE tryout which obviously resulted in him being signed. It became a crucial piece of the story once the team element of it died down.

With no outside distractions left, the focus was completely on the action between these two bitter rivals. Who knows, had WrestleMania remained at Raymond James Stadium and circumstances were normal, Seth Rollins may have used some shenanigans to come out victorious.

But the Performance Center element hit close to home for Kevin Owens, willing him on to overcome the biggest thorn in his side over the past five months.

#3 A possible WWE title feud in KO's future

After losing his Universal Championship to Goldberg, Kevin Owens has not been around the world title scene much. He did challenge for the WWE Championship during last year's 'Road to WrestleMania', even being considered for a WWE title match at the Show of Shows before Kofi Kingston caught fire.

But now, the path seems pretty clear for him to rise up to that level once again. Owens has gained significant momentum in beating Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, with their match serving as a possible unofficial number one contender's match.

WWE might want the 3-time United States Champion to possibly be the first challenger for Drew McIntyre, who could win the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar tomorrow. Owens could also be a fantastic opponent for the Beast if he were to retain his prize.

That would be excellent, with Lesnar willing to sell for a lot of his talented babyface opponents. Whether it is Lesnar or McIntyre who leaves WrestleMania as the WWE Champion, Kevin Owens could be the one to challenge for the title next.

#2 Resetting Rollins

The Monday Night Messiah might be on his own now.

After turning heel in December, Seth Rollins immediately started a group. The Authors of Pain joined him, with Murphy coming into the picture a month or so later. And then, the 'Monday Night Messiah' was born, with his disciples helping keep out the likes of Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe.

But ever since WWE was forced to have shows take place at the Performance Center, Rollins has been going at it alone. Rezar suffered a bicep tear, keeping him out for a few months. Akam, by default, has been sidelined as well. Murphy was also not cleared to appear on the shows.

This might end up meaning that the Messiah's disciples are no longer in commission and Rollins is back to being on his own. The Beastslayer has constantly had back-up whenever he would be a heel, so this seems different for him.

A defeat to Kevin Owens could be a way for Rollins to return to square one, without anyone by his side. It will be interesting to see what he does next.

#1 Kevin Owens gets his WrestleMania moment

This one is pretty obvious. The primary focus of the final leg of the issue between Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens was that the latter has not received his WrestleMania moment, with the former being a WrestleMania moment machine. That seemed to telegraph the moment of vindication that KO would receive.

Rollins intentionally got himself disqualified to ruin Owens' potential moment before the match was restarted under No DQ rules. From there, the stage was set for Kevin Owens to finally get his 'Mania moment. And what a way it was for him to get it.

Jumping from the giant WrestleMania logo onto Rollins through the announce table was incredible. KO then hit the definitive Stunner with authority to secure the win and his WrestleMania moment.

After years of disappointing 'Mania experiences, Kevin Owens finally lived up to the 'KO Mania' moniker and seized his moment. And even though it came later than initially hoped, it was one to savor. Because isn't that what it's all about?