What next for Kevin Owens
Right now the biggest trending topic in WWE is ‘Kevin Owens headbutts Vince McMahon’, even five days after the fact. Not bad for a show that has spent the last nine months falling farther and farther behind Raw in the quality stakes. That said, while Raw has seen a huge improvement based on star names doing star name things, Smackdown Live has always had little moments of pure glory.
Whether it be The Miz on Talking Smack, Alexa Bliss interacting with Daniel Bryan or AJ Styles putting Shane McMahon through a window, the Smackdown Live writers can get the world talking and this has certainly done so in a way not seen since the one night only return of Chris Jericho.
So what does this mean for Kevin Owens himself? Well, let’s just recap his last year so that we know where he’s coming from.
Kevin Owens, this time last year, was given the Universal Championship, with Finn Balor unable to perform. The expected feud had been Balor vs Owens, with Balor playing the role that was eventually filled by Roman Reigns. This title reign was, in short, awful, though in no way was this the fault of Owens himself. Being a last minute replacement for such an uplifting champion as Balor was always going to be difficult but when it comes to booking, it was just bad.
That said, Owens himself presented us with possibly the best storyline of all storylines last season. The JeriKO partnership was a beautiful exercise in weaponised predictability. We all knew what was coming. For over six months we all knew what was coming. It hurt so much when it finally did. Owens and Jericho presented a masterclass in putting someone over, even while Owens himself was losing credibility left, right and centre.
There’s clearly something there and it’s something that we can all see. This man is everything a pro wrestler should be.
And so, after presenting Owens with big draw matches against Rollins, Reigns, Goldberg and Jericho, the future looked bright. WWE rolled out the red carpet and did everything possible to put Owens on the map. The next step? A shift over to Smackdown Live, where Owens would be taking over as the top heel on the brand — a much coveted and valued spot.
Owens was there to take the US title to new heights, and did so admirably. His feud with AJ Styles, though it did drag on, was a tremendous feud, reliable and varied despite the repetitive nature of it. Even though Jinder Mahal ended up with the top heel spot, Owens still captured the hearts of fans. He drew the eye as only a true future legend could. And now, in what seemed a tepid feud at first, Owens has lined up against Shane McMahon.
It was the headbutt heard around the world, a headbutt that will elevate Owens to the next level as an incoming top draw. Owens would have been lost in the shuffle on Raw amongst the Samoa Joes and the Strowmans and the Lesnars but on Smackdown he is one good feud away from being the number one guy.
Unfortunately, that is not the feud against Shane McMahon.
We know now that Owens will compete in Hell in a Cell for the second year in a row, this time against Shane McMahon. We know that Owens is dragging Sami Zayn’s name higher and higher with his. In addition, it is heavily rumoured that we will see Team Shane vs Team Kevin at Survivor Series in a departure from last year’s format. This means a continued feud which could see Owens briefly given the reigns at Smackdown, should he win. But what about after that?
When it comes to Wrestlemania, almost six months away, there are a lot of time for things to change. Triple H’s name is most mentioned at this point as a potential opponent for Owens based on storylines as they are now. I can see this happening. I can definitely see Owens vs a WWE championship holding Nakamura at some point, given that they have a developed chemistry. I believe that this is most likely to happen at the Royal Rumble.
But what about after Survivor Series, and onwards? Well, if you want Kevin Owens’ stock to keep rising, give him a big name to feud with and there is a huge name available who has no storyline right now. What about Randy Orton?
You could easily write a storyline based purely on Randy Orton’s paternal instinct. He infamously broke character to comfort Shane McMahon’s children at Survivor Series and this could easily be what brings Orton on to Shane’s team at Survivor Series, or even gets Orton involved straight after Hell in a Cell. Orton has close links to Triple H as well, which could still lead to the Wrestlemania match. They could of course still put Orton against Owens at Wrestlemania itself.
What do you think is next for Kevin Owens? Is it a longer McMahon feud? Orton? Nakamura? Triple H? Feel free to @ me anytime.
— Tom Colohue
