WWE SmackDown Wearing Out the Reset Button

AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens: Fight! For! Ev-Er!

Everything about this matchup oozes greatness. Kevin Owens and AJ Styles are both among the best superstars on the SmackDown Live roster. So it was fitting that their feud for the United States Championship was treated like the blue brand’s main event. However, playing hot-potato with the belt stopped the story line’s momentum dead in its tracks. But things went from bad to worse when the two reportedly botched the ending to their match at BattleGround.

With the Crippler Crossface locked in on Kevin Owens, AJ Styles was surprisingly pinned to lose the championship he had just won at a house show at Madison Square Garden. Kevin Owens then became a three time United States Champion in just a few short months. Two days later, AJ Styles would win the United States Championship for a second time in three days after pinning Chris Jericho in an impromptu Triple-Threat match.

Instead of working the storyline around the original botched finished at Battleground, WWE then decided to recreate it a week later in another rematch. During the match, a dazed ref, who had taken a shot to the face earlier, awarded Styles the victory via pinfall. The only problem was that Kevin Owens’ shoulder was off the mat. This would lead to another shot at the United States Championship at SummerSlam, with Shane McMahon as special guest referee. Their feud mercifully came to an end the Tuesday after SummerSlam, when Kevin Owens was once again beaten by AJ Styles.

The Styles/ Owens feud was “too much of a good thing…”Perhaps the botch during their match at BattleGround forced WWE creative to prolong their feud well beyond its shelf life. But I refuse to believe that they couldn’t have found a quicker resolution for a feud that included 8 championship matches and 3 title changes, over the course of 3 months.