WWE SmackDown Grades: Kevin Owens Crashes The Party

The Feb. 26 edition of WWE SmackDown was one of the most unpredictable and wild shows SmackDown has had in a while from start to finish with major creative plans changing.

Last night’s WWE SmackDown saw a development in the WWE Championship picture that nobody saw coming along with the return of a legendary tag team, just to mention a couple moments throughout the show.

The Fastlane pay-per-view has been drastically changed and subsequently, so has WrestleMania in all likelihood.  With that being said, let’s take a look at a few grades from the Feb. 26 edition of WWE SmackDown.

5. Opening Segment

The meteoric rise of Kofi Kingston over the past few weeks has been something to behold.  The 11-year WWE veteran has carved out a stellar legacy up to this point, but he has never been in the position he’s in now, a serious WWE Championship contender.

Kofi’s performance in a gauntlet match on the SmackDown before Elimination Chamber got the ball rolling and after yet again pinning Daniel Bryan last week, Kofi earned the opportunity to challenge Bryan for the WWE Championship at Fastlane.  Last night was all about the contract signing between Bryan and Kingston that was moderated by Shane and Stephanie McMahon.

They showed a brief video package documenting some of Kofi’s history in the WWE before introducing him to a huge reaction from the WWE universe in attendance.  Kofi then gave a passionate speech about how it has taken 11 years, but he’s finally in this position and he will win the WWE Championship.  However, things began to take a shocking turn of events once Mr. McMahon entered the equation.

The Chairman said he appreciates all that Kofi has done over the past 11 years, but his job is to give the WWE universe the best possible matchups.  He then said he was replacing Kofi in the match at Fastlane with none other than the returning Kevin Owens, who came out and signed the contract for the match at Fastlane.  This was a big surprise to see Owens back already given the rumors that he would be facing Bryan for the title at WrestleMania.

This was a very good segment that saw the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for Kofi, who might be in line for a career-changing WrestleMania moment.

Final Grade: A