WWE Promo Of The Week: Kevin Owens ‘Apologizes’ To Vince McMahon

The WWE is in its golden era of in-ring competition, but a truly impactful promo can be a rarity these days. That’s why each week, we take a look at the best promo for the most recent batch of programming.

Roman Reigns and John Cena will face off at No Mercy tomorrow night, and the WWE has done everything in its power to hype this feud up. They’ve done a great job of it, too, as Reigns has been allowed to swear and insult Cena repeatedly, and the 16-time champion has hit back just as hard. However, even this feud has been upstaged, because the biggest feud in the company is actually the battle between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon.

Next month at Hell in a Cell, Owens and Shane will square off inside the imposing structure after Vince McMahon himself scheduled the match. Owens feels like the biggest star in WWE right now after making Vince bleed out with a headbutt before viciously superkicking him and hitting the CEO with a frogsplash.

But while Vince’s involvement in Las Vegas certainly put over Owens to another level, KO has been SmackDown Live‘s biggest star ever since switching brands during the “Superstar Shakeup”. The former United States Champion has more than replaced The Miz’s presence, as he’s been a grade-A heel who has antagonized himself at every turn.

This past week on SmackDown, Owens continued to prove why he is the biggest star in the WWE right now. The company is using Cena to put Reigns over as the top guy, yet Owens feels like the biggest deal out of all the superstars. His latest promo was a great example of this.

It’s just stupid-good heel work. After not showing up to meet Shane, whose indefinite suspension has ostensibly been rescinded following Owens’s heinous attack on his father, Owens apologized to Vince. Why? He wants to suck up to Vince, stating that he respects the Chairman. Owens blamed his attack on Vince on Shane, stating that he thought of Shane during the attack. He then apologized to the audience, because he says he will destroy Shane at Hell in a Cell. KO closed things out by adding, “People like me don’t go to Hell. No, people like me go to Heaven.”

Nobody plays the delusional, conniving heel trope better than Owens. The angry pauses and hard breathing were well-placed, and this might be the best selling job of a Shane McMahon match that I’ve seen. Owens’s promos have allowed this feud to escalate perfectly after the finish at SummerSlam and the subsequent match on SmackDown.

Next: Ranking The 10 Greatest No Mercy Matches In WWE History

Styles and Shane had a legitimate four-star match at WrestleMania, and I’m willing to bet that this match at Hell in a Cell exceeds that bout. The Styles/Shane match had a solid build due to a cool limo spot, but this rivalry with Owens is on another level.