5 Times major WWE Championship matches had confusing endings
WWE's current roster has more championships than ever, which means more often than not there are several championships on the line at each pay-per-view.
WWE's creative team has to ensure there is always enough of a story surrounding these titles to force fans to watch RAW and SmackDown the following week. This can often lead to some confusion.
WWE will sometimes overlook a story or will try to outsmart their fanbase by adding a loophole they didn't know existed. For example, a Hell in a Cell match ending via a referee's stoppage, or the timekeeper being able to overrule the main match referee.
This isn't common in WWE, but over the past few years, there have been several incidents where the WWE Universe has been left confused over the ending of a championship match.
#5. Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens - WWE NXT Championship match - NXT TakeOver: Rival 2015
Kevin Owens made quite the statement when he arrived in NXT in late 2014, attacking his long-time friend Sami Zayn, following his NXT Championship victory at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution.
This later led to Zayn agreeing to put the NXT Championship on the line against Owens at TakeOver: Rival just a few months later, after The Prizefighter continued to attack Zayn regularly on NXT.
It was just the match the WWE Universe was expecting between two men who had stood across the ring against one another many times. In the end, Owens was able to deliver a powerbomb to Zayn five times. The star was unable to recover and the match was stopped by the referee, with the Championship being awarded to Owens.
This was the first time the NXT Championship had changed hands via a referee's stoppage. It was unclear why Owens hadn't just pinned Zayn and won the match cleanly.
A referee's stoppage isn't one of the main reasons why a title can change hands in WWE either, which led to much confusion in the audience at the time. Zayn was later unable to recapture the championship in a rematch that ended in a no-contest. This means both NXT Championship matches between Owens and Zayn have failed to end in a clean victory for either man.