WWE SmackDown 5 Best Segments: Main Event Stands Out

Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin (If Corbin wins, he gets added to the WWE Title match at Fastlane)

Finally, a match with some tangible stakes. McMahon booked this match along with Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler after Zayn and Owens attacked Corbin and Ziggler before those two competed for the final spot in the WWE Title match at Fastlane. Of course, that made Owens and Zayn look like complete morons–though not as dumb as A.J. Styles looked last week.

Did they think that Shane was going to just let them ruin a match without any consequence? They look even worse when you consider that WWE based the entire storyline on McMahon booking the Quebecers “unfairly”. In-storyline, what did Owens and Zayn expect Shane to do? Also, why would Zayn or Owens worry about chronic chokers Corbin and Ziggler earning a spot in the title match? That’s like a female tennis player worrying about facing Anna Kournikova in a singles match.

Nonetheless, these two had a decent match. The stipulation, flimsy as it was, added some juice to the bout. The nearfalls were a little more compelling and the story of Owens using his veteran savvy and relative quickness to combat Corbin’s size and strength was also fun.

Unfortunately, the match still felt a little pointless (Zayn and Ziggler had this problem too). WWE could put 100 men in the WWE title match at Fastlane and most fans would still struggle to buy into Styles losing the title. Still, the creative team tried to make this match mean something, and the workrate was fine, so it stands out on this episode.