WWE SmackDown 5 Takeaways: A Clash of High Stakes on the Horizon

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1. Marquee Tag Team Match Raises the Stakes For Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

The hottest angle on SmackDown over the past couple months has been Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn butting heads with SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon.  The duo has done everything to get under Shane O’Mac’s skin, and it has worked time and time again.

But lately, Shane has threatened to fire both of them for their actions in recent weeks, namely helping cost Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.  Shane’s threats were intensified last night following a match between Zayn and Randy Orton in the main event where Owens was handcuffed to the ring ropes.

KO got loose via bolt-cutters, but Orton still picked up the win over Zayn before being attacked by Owens and Zayn after the match.  But after a match was made earlier in the night for Clash of Champions pitting Owens and Zayn against Orton and a partner of his choosing, that partner would show himself and help Orton thwart off the heelish duo.

Shinsuke Nakamura hit the ring and he, alongside Orton, took out both KO and Zayn.  Nakamura will be Orton’s partner, but after all of this went down, Shane O’Mac told Daniel Bryan backstage that he would be the special guest referee in the match and if Owens and Zayn lose, they will be fired from not only SmackDown, but the entire WWE.

Next: When Should Randy Orton Turn Heel?

The stakes couldn’t be any higher for SmackDown’s top heel duo at Clash of Champions and with all the different pieces in place for the match, it has all the makings of being a memorable one.