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WWE SmackDown: Why Shane McMahon Will Win Feud With Kevin Owens

By Kevin Parvizi

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Last week’s segment on WWE SmackDown Live between Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens was easily one of the most entertaining blow-ups on television this year, and I’m actually excited to see how this rivalry develops.

The WWE has always made it clear that the McMahon family presides over the wrestlers in storylines in terms of importance, and this was clear when Shane McMahon involved himself in WWE SmackDown Live’s top feud. Shane was upset with how Kevin Owens took shortcuts and carried himself in his feud with AJ Styles over the United States Championship, even making himself a referee for their big match at SummerSlam.

After Owens escalated things, the two met face-to-face in the ring last week on SmackDown Live, with Owens insulting Shane’s family and children, stating that Shane’s family would have been better off if he died in a helicopter crash. That crash, by the way, actually happened.

From the get-go, Owens has antagonized himself on “The Blue Brand”, incessantly mocking Shane’s proclamations that SmackDown Live is “The Land of Opportunity. Owens has established himself as a heel on the level of The Miz with his promo and character work, as he is genuinely detestable. That isn’t exactly easy to do for a guy who looks like an “Everyman” and is one of the best wrestlers on the planet.

Speaking of “best wrestlers on the planet”, AJ Styles already had a feud with Shane at WrestleMania, in which Styles won in a real wrestling match. Most of Shane’s matches are “hardcore” matches or have stipulations that allow him to shine in dare devilish spots, such as his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. His match with Styles was much different from the usual M.O., and Styles mercifully scored a victory.

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However, I don’t think Owens will win his feud with McMahon, and it will be interesting to see if he also gets a one-off match with Shane like Styles did (he could move to Raw after this storyline is completed).

Vince McMahon will appear on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live to address Owens face-to-face, because Owens is intent on running amok on SmackDown with the intention of turning the show into “The Kevin Owens Show”.

We all know how Vince will take to that. Additionally, Vince will address Shane McMahon’s indefinite suspension for brawling with Owens, and we will likely get a formal announcement of a Hell in a Cell match between the two.

Although Shane lost to The Undertaker at WrestleMania in a Hell in a Cell match, the bout was far more competitive than it should have been. Since Shane hasn’t won in a while, I have this feeling the WWE will give him a big rivalry win over Owens, who is one of the company’s biggest stars as a former Universal Champion.

If Shane loses all of his feuds, it will be difficult for some fans to take programs involving him seriously, even if it is already difficult to watch a non-wrestler booked strongly in the ring with some of the world’s most prodigious talents.

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The Hell in a Cell stipulation favors Shane, but what also increases the likelihood of him winning is the fact that Owens might not need to win this feud. Yes, he is coming off of a rivalry loss to Styles, but he won the United States Championship multiple times during the back-and-forth program.

Secondly, having a great match with Shane, cutting promos with Vince, and getting all this screen-time is doing far more to validate Owens’s place in the company than an admittedly meaningless rivalry win over Shane would. In short, if anyone can afford to lose to the SmackDown commissioner, then it would be Owens.