WWE SmackDown: Kevin Owens Is The Main Attraction

We have heard Kevin Owens refer to himself as a show stealer on many occasions before. He has sometimes lived up to that hype while other times not so much. Tuesday night on WWE SmackDown, though, there is no question about it: Owens stole the show.

No matter what you think of Vince McMahon’s decisions backstage, there is no doubt that nobody understands the Mr. McMahon character more than Vince McMahon himself. While Mr. McMahon character can be very hit-or-miss in comedy segments, the character rarely ever fails in a dramatic segment, and there was no exception to that rule last night.

Kevin Owens and Vince McMahon delivered a great segment together on WWE SmackDown Live, doing their best sell job for the upcoming Hell in a Cell match between Owens and Mr. McMahon’s son, Shane McMahon on October 8th. The Chairman of the Board thought he got the upper-hand on the Prizefighter by talking him out of a lawsuit and instead forcing him to wrestle Shane at Hell in a Cell, but Owens hoodwinked the owner by getting his word, if provoked, he could beat a McMahon senseless.

Any reasonable spectator could see that McMahon never provoked Owens, although heels should never be reasonable. It will be interesting to see how the manipulative Owens can slither his way through the obstacle that faces him and turn the narrative in a way that, from his perspective at least, McMahon provoked him.

Even at 72 years old, McMahon is still willing to take a beating when it is good for business. Most 72 year old people are enjoying their retirement by watching The Price is Right. Meanwhile, McMahon is working around the clock, nigh on 365 days out of the year, and allowing a wrestler to bust him open with a headbutt and crush him with a 266 pound frog splash from the top rope in order to get an upcoming match and wrestler over.

More from SmackDown

• Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline
• Potential Challengers for Roman Reigns before WrestleMania
• WWE SmackDown Predictions: AJ Styles Will Help Randy Orton
• WWE SmackDown Predictions: Street Profits Will Dethrone Judgment Day
• SmackDown reminded us of how pointless the brand split is

Owens’ WWE career thus far has been a mixed-bag with some ups and some downs. He got to feud with John Cena right off the bat and pin Cena in their first match, but because management was dubious about Owens (and wanted to protect Cena), Cena ended up winning the second match and then the rubber match.

Even though he won the US and IC title several of times and had a number of good-to-great matches, Owens never reached the level he was at when he was feuding with Cena.

The consensus among wrestling fans was that WWE was dropping the ball with Owens, someone they believe could be an excellent anti-establishment type wrestler and fill the void WWE has missed since CM Punk departed from the company.

Because of a Finn Balor injury, WWE put the Universal Title on Kevin Owens as a backup plan last year. Despite the endless amount of potential, Owens’ title reign felt exactly like what it was – a backup plan. There were multiple problems with his reign.

The first being WWE did not build him up well beforehand. The second being WWE never made him look like a force as champion. The third being he was booked as a lucky coward. The fourth being Triple H that attacking Roman Reigns and turning on Seth Rollins was the only reason he was champion in the first place. The fifth being his bro-mance with Chris Jericho, though highly entertaining, had a goofy undertone that was more suitable for the mid-card. The last being Goldberg taking the title off him as if he did not even belong in the same ring.

Since his uninspiring title reign, Owens has kind of been treading water. He has stayed above water enough not to sink, but he has exactly lit the world on fire either. Due to how WWE booked him, it did not seem as if they had high hopes or plans for him in the immediate future.

That all changed a month or so ago, because no matter what you think of Shane McMahon, WWE views him as a top draw and very important part of the company, which means it is an honor to wrestle him. Remember, Shane was supposed to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania this year until plans were changed.

Additionally, Vince McMahon does not allow every nameless wrestler to knock him around.  It is the ultimate honor to be able to do it.  Only the top-tier wrestlers, the Stone Colds, Rocks, Undertakers, HHHs, HBKs, etc were able to do it back in the day. The last wrestlers to do it have been Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns — three people McMahon thinks very highly of, so it is safe to say WWE has big plans for Owens.

As the India tour comes to an end, it is expected that Shinsuke Nakamura will take the title off the Jinder Mahal soon.  After that feud comes to an end, Nakamura is going to need a foil and that person very may well be Kevin Owens. The sky could be the limit with those two in the ring together, too.

Whether you’ve seen Owens’ work in the indies, NXT, or WWE — there had to be some point in time where you discovered he can do it pretty much all. He can talk people into the building and then deliver a great match. He could do it sometimes as an ice cold wrestler, with no coherent creative direction for his character.  With the company behind him, he could surely develop into a must-see specimen.

Next: WWE SmackDown Power Rankings

Last night, WWE allowed Kevin Owens the opportunity to make Smackdown the Kevin Owens show. As usual, Owens seized the opportunity. If WWE wants more home run moments, the company should keep feeding him opportunities to watch him knock it out of the park.