AJ Styles defended his United States Championship against Kevin Owens tonight to kick off this week’s episode of SmackDown. Kevin Owens controlled the majority of the match, but the match turned when Kevin Owens accidentally punched referee Mike Chioda in the face. Owens then quickly went for the Pop-Up Powerbomb on Styles but AJ reversed it into a roll-up for the victory. Owens’ shoulders were clearly off the mat but Chioda didn’t realize it due to being punched in the face.
SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon and SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan had a conversation with Mike Chioda backstage. They pointed out that he made a huge mistake and Chioda owned up to it. Owens then stormed in and interrupted the conversation and started shouting at Chioda. Owens went to grab Chioda but Shane McMahon got in his face.
Shane said that Owens will indeed get another shot at the United States Championship because of the referee’s mistake. Owens wasn’t satisfied and continued to shout at Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon. Owens demanded a competent referee for the match and Daniel Bryan suggested Shane McMahon. Shane agreed to it and Owens got even more pissed off. Owens said that Shane McMahon was even more incompetent than the referees on SmackDown.
WWE stars Bayley and Kevin Owens took to Twitter over the weekend to praise talents in both New Japan and UK based company PROGRESS.
NJPW star Juice Robinson has had an absolutely incredible breakout year in Japan, his performances as part of the ongoing G1 Climax tournament have seen him receive praise from all corners of the wrestling industry, including Kevin Owens:
Extra Talent-Ed are the newest team to debut in the UK based PROGRESS promotion. The duo of Aaron Solow and Ricky Starks faced #CCK in a losing effort but received rave reviews from the fans in attendance. WWE RAW star Bayley is Aaron Solow’s partner and she wrote the following:
Tonight on SmackDown, Chris Jericho made his surprise return to WWE. He confronted Kevin Owens and stated that he was in line for a rematch for the United States Championship. AJ Styles came down to the ring and said that he was entitled to a shot at the title before Jericho because he just lost it two days ago at WWE Battleground. Owens denied both of them the opportunity and claimed that the United States Championship will not be defended in front of the people of Richmond, Virginia. SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon then came down to the entrance ramp and informed Kevin Owens that he will be defending his US Title tonight in a Triple Threat match against both AJ Styles and Chris Jericho.
During the SmackDown main-event, Kevin Owens hit Jericho with a Superkick and then planted him with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens went for the cover but Jericho somehow was able to kick out at two. Owens then climbed up to the top rope and connected with a massive Frog Splash. Owens once again went for the cover but AJ Styles sprinted into the ring and threw Owens to the outside. Styles then quickly covered Jericho and stole the victory to become the new United States Champion.
After the match, Kevin Owens lost his mind and destroyed the announce table ringside. Owens then grabbed a microphone as Styles celebrated with the United States Championship on the entrance ramp. Owens told everyone in the crowd to shut up and ranted that it wasn’t fair that Shane McMahon made him defend the United States Championship tonight in a Triple Threat match. SmackDown went off the air with Owens demanding that he get his rematch for the US Title against AJ Styles next week on SmackDown.
United States Champion Kevin Owens kicked off this week’s episode of SmackDown. Owens defeated AJ Styles at WWE Battleground via a roll-up. The crowd booed Owens as he stood in the ring. Owens was back to wearing a suit and tie to the ring. Owens held up the title and said that it just feels right. Owens referred to Styles as a “thief” and stated that he was happy to have his title back. The crowd started to chant “AJ Styles!” as Owens vowed to defend the title with the pride and the honor it deserves.
Owens announced that he was reinstating the Kevin Owens United States Championship Open Challenge and that it will begin next week. The crowd booed and Owens said that “there is no way I would ever defend my title in front of a bunch of hicks in Richmond, Virginia”.
AJ Styles interrupted and made his way to the ring to a great reaction from the crowd. Owens said that Styles better be out here to congratulate him and admit that Owens is the better man. Styles stated that he was in the ring to get his rematch for the United States Championship. Owens said that he literally just said that Owens would not defend his title tonight in Richmond, Virginia.
Chris Jericho then appeared and the crowd went nuts. Jericho had the List of Jericho in his hands and joined Owens and Styles in the ring. Owens started freaking out and Jericho told him to be quiet several times. Jericho said that after a few months of rehabbing from Kevin Owens’ attack, he is back. Jericho stated that he was back to get his rematch for the United States Championship tonight.
AJ Styles welcomed Jericho back but stated that he was next in line for a shot at Owens’ United States Championship. Jericho then added AJ Styles to the list for trying to cut in front of him for a shot at the US Title. Kevin Owens started walking away and Jericho called him a “stupid idiot” while he was on the entrance ramp.
SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon then joined Owens on the entrance ramp and Owens rolled his eyes. Shane said that both AJ Styles and Chris Jericho will get their opportunity tonight. Shane McMahon announced that the United States Championship will be defended in a Triple Threat match tonight. It will be Kevin Owens (c) vs AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho.
If you couldn’t figure out what the heck happened at the end of the Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles match at Battleground, you are not alone. Something appeared to go wrong at the end of the match, though nobody is quite sure what.
AJ Styles Heavily Favoured to Win
Fans who follow betting odds were the first to notice something awry had occurred. AJ Styles went into the match a -4950 favourite. Such heavily favoured betting odds normally means that a Superstar has been booked to win. All other favoured wrestlers won their matches at Battleground.
Wrestling historian, Dave Meltzer, has speculated that the finish of the match was changed last minute to have Owens win the title. How this plays into the botched finish however, is anyone’s guess.
The ref was knocked out, then AJ and Owens exchanged submissions but neither tapped out. Then Owens countered into a pinning submission and a groggy ref counted the 3. The referee never missed a submission or a pin attempt, so why was he knocked out?
Some believe AJ was supposed to have his shoulder up during the pin, and just didn’t do that.
Kevin Owens recently sat down with local southern New Jersey media outlet, “At the Shore”, and spoke on a variety of subjects.
In true Owens style, he stayed in character for the majority of the interview, even when the reporter asks him non-kayfabe questions.
Kevin Owens Interview Highlights
When asked how much he enjoys working with AJ Styles:
“Yeah, I don’t enjoy it at all actually. I’d rather never having to work with him again. He has my title, and I have to go after and it looks like we’re nowhere near done. Unfortunately, I have to step in the ring with him several more times. It’s part of what we do.”
On WWE House Shows:
“When I was a kid and went to shows, my favorites were Live Events,” Owens says. “You really see a performer’s personality on Live Events than on TV. I know sometimes people think Raw or SmackDown or the pay per views are the shows to go to. Whenever WWE is in town it’s a great time. But Live Events are special. If you’ve never been to one I highly recommend it.”
On who he would like to face in the main event of WrestleMania:
“I feel like Sami Zayn. It would be such a great chapter to add to our story. We’ve been at each other’s throats and by each other’s sides simultaneously the last 15 years. It would be great to do something with him.
And also Finn Balor, who is my best friend. We got to the WWE the exact same time and didn’t know each other before hand. We had a bit of contact here and there before because we knew we both would spend time there. We bonded over that. Once we got to Orlando we’ve became very close quickly and getting to main event with him would be incredible. It would be another incredible chapter to our story. We both kind of dove in to uncharted territories, him from Japan and me from other places. We both did well for ourselves. To get to achieve that was very special.”
When asked to say one nice thing about Sami Zayn:
“Hmmm … well … I will say this. He’s really intent on changing the world for the better, and I do respect that about him. Pretty soon he’s going to be a big part in bringing help to those who need it. I respect that. But he gets in my way in the ring and I have to deal with him accordingly.”
It seems as though former WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens was the victim of an online hoax claiming that his nudes have been leaked. Fans (who believes the rumors) took to Twitter to react to the news:
Upon landing from his flight to Birmingham, Owens took to Twitter to respond to the rumors and called people who believed them ‘pathetic,’ but did joke that he is now considering getting a nipple ring:
– In the video below, check out Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle arrive for tonight’s episode of RAW in which he is set to reveal a big secret that has had WWE fans scratching their heads for the past few weeks. Angle is set to make a ‘big announcement’ alongside a loved one tonight, that could possibly taint his Hall Of Fame career:
– As we’ve previously reported, the WWE has cancelled Talking Smack as a weekly program on the WWE Network. The news has seemed to sadden a lot within the WWE Universe, however, former United States Champion Kevin Owens is not one of those sympathizers. “KO” took to Twitter to express his approval for the WWE’s move to no longer give Renee Young and SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan’s ‘nonsense’ a platform:
– After a recent house show win alongside partner and friend Nia Jax, RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss took to Instagram to celebrate her and Jax’s victory. In the post “Little Miss Bliss” used the hashtag ‘#TeamRude’ making some WWE fans wonder if a tag team between the pair is on the horizon:
A fan recently taunted Kevin Owens at a WWE Live event as he made his way to the ring and asked Owens “where his belt was?”. Owens lost his United States Championship at a WWE Live event at Madison Square Garden a little over a week ago. Owens responded to the fan and stated “it is not a belt, it’s a title dumbass”. The use of the term “belt” is banned in WWE.
Jeff Hardy brings back an old look
Since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 33, Jeff Hardy hasn’t worn face paint. During a recent WWE Live event in Virginia, Hardy came down to the ring with face paint on.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWjFsOggKZx/
Corey Graves discusses working security for Deftones
WWE uploaded a clip from the most recent episode of Superstar Ink of Corey Graves discussing the time he worked security for a Deftones performance. Graves and his friend were invited to party with the Deftones after the concert but they couldn’t go because his friend had to work the next morning.
Former WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens took to Twitter to finally address his loss to the ‘Phenomenal’ AJ Styles.
Styles won the United States title in a House show bout at New York’s Madison Square Garden, although this is certainly not the first time that a major title has changed hands at a non-televised event it is extremely rare.
Owens ‘blacked out’ his Twitter account after the loss and has remained silent until now. KO had not commented on social media since July 5th but he has now outlined his plans to regain his title and once again become the Face of America:
Smackdown Live! will air from the AT&T Centre in San Antonio tonight. No matches have been announced for the show (Edit: Tye Dillinger vs. Jinder Mahal, and Xavier Woods vs. Jey Uso have now been made official), but several storylines should continue to develop.
Tonight’s show will be the first televised event for the brand since AJ Styles won the US championship in Madison Square Garden on July 7th.
Smackdown Preview
WWE posted the following regarding a future rematch between Styles and Owens:
“There is no doubt that Owens will return to Team Blue thirsty for retribution, but will we see a rematch between Styles and The New Face of America this week on the blue brand? Or will we have to wait until the July 23 pay-per-view? ”
It seems likely we get an answer to that question tonight.
Other storylines likely to be followed up on tonight:
Baron Corbin attacked Shinsuke Nakamura in the back last week. Perhaps this will set up a match between the two at Battleground.
Last week Daniel Bryan fined James Ellsworth $10,000 and suspended him 30 days. Now Carmella must go it alone without Ellsworth’s help.
Last week Tamina came out to help Lana, after the Ravishing Russian lost yet another title match to Naomi. What could be building there? There have been no women’s matches announced for Battleground yet.
New Day won a Rap battle with the Usos last week. It is now official the two teams will meet again for the titles at Battleground. New Day defeated the Usos at MITB via count-out.
Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton meet in a Punjabi Prison match in 2 weeks for the WWE championship. Last week Jinder attacked Orton after his match with Aiden English (which Aiden won via DQ).
In 2 weeks Rusev will meet John Cena in a flag match at Battleground. Cena’s return spiked a big rating for Smackdown last week.
Matches Announced for Battleground So Far:
John Cena vs. Rusev – Flag Match
Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Randy Orton – Punjabi Prison Match for the WWE Championship
The Usos (c) vs. New Day – Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match
Kevin Owens posted some cool photos on Twitter yesterday of his parents purchasing his newly released Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story DVD. Owens’ parents purchased the DVD at the same store his father used to rent wrestling videos for him when he was a child. Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story has been a massive success so far and is completely sold out on Amazon.
New clip from Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story
WWE has posted a new clip from the upcoming Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story on their YouTube channel. In the clip, Owens credits his family for his success and being in WWE today. Owens also discussed his doubters and how he has proven them all wrong in his 15 year journey to WWE.
WWE films a child actor to play a young Bray Wyatt
According to PWInsider, WWE recently filmed material with a child actor to play a young Bray Wyatt. There is no news yet on what this footage will be used for, but Wyatt is currently in a feud with Seth Rollins and the two will face each other at the Great Balls of Fire PPV. On this past week’s episode of RAW, Wyatt cut a promo on Seth Rollins after his victory over Curt Hawkins. Wyatt claimed that he was inside Rollins’ mind and that if Rollins doesn’t give in to his true self he will “burn”.
Former Ring Of Honor (ROH) and Impact Wrestling stars Mike Bennett (who now goes by Mike Kanellis in WWE) and Maria Kanellis have made their ways to the WWE. The pair made their debut in a brief segment at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV) earlier this month shortly before the main event. Mike Bennett recently joined former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’d Pod Of Awesomeness, to talk about he and Maria’s arrival in WWE.
During the interview, Mike explained how WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens helped him sign with the company. Bennett say she contacted Paul Heyman about a potential WWE run, who connected him with Triple H. Hunter told Bennett that someone would be in touch with him shortly, however, he never heard anything back for weeks. In that time Bennett was leaning towards signing back with Impact, until Owens caught wind of that decision and decided to call Mike up and convince him to wait things out:
“What are you guys doing? I heard you guys were resigning with TNA, I don’t think you should do that. That is a stupid idea. You should come here.”
Owens convinced Bennett to wait about a week before making a decision, and in that time, William Regal called Mike and Maria up and offered them a spot right up on the main roster.
The Rock posted the following video of a fan stopping in traffic to get a selfie with him. The video has since gone viral and was featured on SportsCenter today.
WWE SuperCard was updated today and 2K issued the following:
2K today announced availability of Update 4 to WWE SuperCard – Season 3, the latest iteration of 2K’s popular WWE collectible card-battling game. Today’s free update, released today for iOS and Android devices, features dozens of new cards – including a Hall of Fame pack – that enable players to kick their nostalgia into high gear.
Today’s update includes:
New Cards:
A brand new Hall of Fame pack featuring over 20 cards, including Ultimate Warrior, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Ric Flair, and spanning the Hardened, Elite, Ultimate and WrestleMania 33 tiers;
Seven new Throwback cards in the WrestleMania 33 tier, added as part of the existing Throwback+ pack;
Seven new Fusion cards for WrestleMania 33;
New Achievements and Rewards: Achievements are now tied in with the Ladder system and reward players for completing specific objectives;
New Attitudes and Credits Pack: New Attitudes and a new Credits Pack are available via the in-game store, as well as the BP Store.
Additional improvements include new deck types and enhancements to Team Battleground (TBG) mode, as well as several gameplay optimizations.
2K also posted a couple of promos on the WWE2K YouTube channel for the game featuring “anonymous” SuperCard players.
Kevin Owens dedicated his match on Smackdown Live last night to the AIW promotion’s co-owner Chris Bryan. Bryan passed away on Monday evening.
Owens posted a memorial to his longtime friend who he first met in 2013. Here are some excerpts from the tribute:
“It usually takes me a while to warm up to people, but I remember liking John and Chris right away. I knew nothing of them personally but their love and passion for wrestling was palpable and it made me want to work for them more often immediately.”
“Chris left us way too soon, but seeing the outpouring of love for him from people all over the world linked in some way to wrestling, be it as fans, performers or something else, has been amazing.”
“Good bye, Chris…We love you, buddy. Rest well and tell Dusty I said hi.”
You can find the whole tribute via the Twitter link below:
Live reports from Money in the Bank last night are stating that WWE U.S champion, Kevin Owens, required help to the back after last night’s main event. Fans in attendance are stating that Owens appeared to be favouring his leg.
While Owens did land on a ladder awkwardly at one point during the match, he does not seem to begin favouring his leg afterwards. At this point, the extent or causes of his injury is not known.
Possible Kevin Owens Injury
Owens’ possible injury was a topic of conversation on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, with Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez. So far, WWE has not responded to questions regarding the potential injury.
As is the case with most injuries, Owens will probably be reevaluated Tuesday at Smackdown.
Goldberg posted a photo on Instagram that noted that he recently filmed a DirecTV commercial. Goldberg looks jacked in the picture and teased the possibility of returning to wrestling in the hashtags on the post. Goldberg hasn’t wrestled in WWE since his quick loss to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 33.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVC6n4xFrjJ/
Kevin Owens remembers Dusty Rhodes
“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes passed away two years ago today. Kevin Owens took to Twitter and posted the following:
Kevin Owens was recently interviewed by NOLA.com to promote Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown that is being held at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Owens discussed WrestleMania 34 taking place in New Orleans and his WrestleMania dream match. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Owens on attending WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans:
“It was a show I’ll remember for a very long time because I was watching it and thinking, ‘Next year I need to be backstage, and in a couple of years, I need to be performing,'” Owens said. “And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Those three years have been pretty incredible.”
His favorite WrestleMania match:
“Undertaker-Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania 25 is untouchable. I think it’s the greatest wrestling match of all-time. I haven’t seen anything better since, and I watch a lot of wrestling. It’s absolutely perfect. I was in awe, it was so good”
His dream WrestleMania opponent:
“If you say past, it’s Shawn Michaels hands down. If you say present, Sami Zayn and I have had such a rich history, I feel like a one-on-one match at WrestleMania would be so perfect. But there’s also Finn Balor. He’s my best friend. He’s probably the one guy if I could sit across from in the ring at WrestleMania, that would make my career. Finn and I got to WWE at the same time, and we dived into an unknown territory. We gravitated toward each other very quickly. He’s like a brother to me now.”
You can check out the entire interview by clicking here.
– It was confirmed on last night’s (Tues. June 6, 2017) episode of SmackDown Live that former WWE Champion John Cena will be making his WWE return on the July 4th episode from Phoenix, Arizona. Cena has been busy promoting his new film “The Wall” and hasn’t been seen since his WrestleMania 33 win over The Miz and Maryse alongside fiancee Nikki Bella.
– Prior to yesterday’s episode of SmackDown Live, United States Champion Kevin Owens took to Twitter to reveal that “The Thumb Of America” was broken, but stated that it won’t be causing him to miss any ring time. Owens went on to face Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event of SmackDown Live, which he lost after taking a running knee to the face:
AJ Styles challenges Kevin Owens for the US title this Sunday at Backlash. As both have over a decade of experience, and competed all over the world, I thought it might be interesting to review their history against one another.
Kevin Steen vs. AJ Styles Outside WWE
Kevin Owens (then Kevin Steen) and AJ Styles competed against each other on the independent scene in 2005-06. Their main battles were in PWG, but they also met for a local Quebec City promotion, Elite Wrestling Revolution.
AJ Styles & Kevin Steen defeated Christopher Daniels & Excess – January 8th 2005, Quebec City, Quebec – EWR
Kevin Steen defeated AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels & El Generico – March 12th 205- PWG
AJ Styles defeated Kevin Steen – 2-of-3 falls, May 8th 2005, EWR
Kevin Steen defeated AJ Styles – Steen wins PWG title from AJ- August 5th 2005- PWG
AJ Styles defeated Kevin Steen – 2nd round BOLA 2005 – September 4th 2005
Kevin Steen defends PWG title successfully against AJ Styles, and Chris Bosh (not the basketball player) – PWG – October 14th 2005
Joey Ryan defeated Kevin Steen, AJ Styles, and Chris Bosh- PWG – February 4th 2006
The two would meet twice in 2014 as well, for 2CW and Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore:
AJ Styles defeated Kevin Steen – March 14th 2014- 2CW
AJ Styles defeating Kevin Steen – June 7th 2014- House of Hardcore V
Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles in WWE
Kevin Owens and AJ Styles got reacquainted with each other on AJ Styles’ first night in WWE. Owens was responsible for eliminating AJ from the 2016 Royal Rumble, the night AJ debuted in WWE.
WWE match history (house shows not included):
Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles – Smackdown March 14th 2016
Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles – Raw March 21st 2016
AJ Styles defeated Cesaro, Jericho, and Owens – Fatal 4-way – Raw April 4th 2016
AJ Styles & Cesaro defeated Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens – Raw May 23rd 2016
Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles – MITB Qualifier – Raw November 20th 2016
Kevin Owens, Jinder Mahal, & Corbin defeated Styles, Orton & Zayn – Smackdown May 9th 2017
WWE’s Superstar Shake-up was a few weeks ago and a bunch of talent switched brands. The change has certainly benefited some Superstars as they have been able to hit the reset button and were given new opportunities. For other Superstars, the brand switch has either done nothing for them or made matters even worse. Below is the list of every Superstar that switched brands after WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up and what they have done on their new show so far.
From SmackDown to RAW:
Bray Wyatt: Bray Wyatt was having a hell of a run on SmackDown until everything fell off the rails. He captured the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, only to lose it rather quickly to Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 33. It took years for WWE to put a title on Bray Wyatt. They pulled the plug on his title run really quick and he is now feuding with Finn Balor on RAW. The change of brands may help Wyatt in the long run, but right now it is hard to take Wyatt seriously after the match at Wrestlemania 33 and the terrible House of Horrors match at WWE Payback.
The Miz & Maryse: The Miz had an excellent run on SmackDown. He was the Intercontinental Champion and had a terrific feud with Dolph Ziggler. There is no reason that he shouldn’t be able to continue that success on RAW as he is currently the #1 contender for the IC Title. The only down side of Miz joining RAW is that he will no longer be a guest on Talking Smack. His insane rants towards Renee Young and Daniel Bryan will be missed.
Dean Ambrose: Ambrose is currently the Intercontinental Champion, but absolutely needed a fresh start. Even though he is continuing his feud with The Miz from SmackDown, Ambrose was already more entertaining on this past week’s RAW than he was for the last month on SmackDown. Time will tell if Ambrose will grow stale again, but for now he has benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up.
Alexa Bliss: Alexa Bliss was terrific on SmackDown and has carried that over to RAW. She is the best female talent on RAW when it comes to promos. She also has great in-ring ability and always gets a reaction from the crowd. Alexa Bliss has already become RAW Women’s Champion and is the first female Superstar to hold both the Smackdown and RAW Women’s Championships.
Apollo Crews: Shockingly, Apollo Crews has actually benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up. It is hard to believe that becoming a part of the “Titus Brand” is an upgrade, but it actually is. Crews was doing absolutely nothing on SmackDown. At the very least, Crews is becoming a weekly part of RAW. Crews struggles with promos, so the idea of having Titus O’Neil manage him actually helps him.
Kalisto: Kalisto went from getting beatdown by Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown to getting destroyed by Braun Strowman on RAW. To be fair, Kalisto actually did defeat Strowman in a Dumpster Match, he also happened to get stuffed in the dumpster and shoved of the entrance ramp after the match.
Heath Slater, Rhyno & Curt Hawkins: Heath Slater and Rhyno were the first SmackDown Tag Team Champions. After losing the titles, they faded away into obscurity. Since joining RAW, they have essentially done nothing besides backstage segments. Tune in on Monday nights to see if Rhyno is eating cheese and crackers. Curt Hawkins was getting his ass kicked on SmackDown and the exact same thing is happening on RAW. I guess that is an improvement for Hawkins given that more people watch RAW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGDC-DtppTY
From RAW to SmackDown:
Kevin Owens: Kevin Owens was the Universal Champion for a long time on RAW. However, it wasn’t the best version of Kevin Owens. He relied on Chris Jericho to win matches and consistently looked weak. Once Owens dropped the Universal Championship to Goldberg, he actually became more entertaining. Things really picked up when he turned on Jericho at the Festival of Friendship. Since joining SmackDown, Owens has been declaring himself the “Face of America”. He is back to being ruthless in the ring, while also showing off his impressive promo skills. I think the Superstar Shake-Up has benefited Kevin Owens. The United States Championship may be less important than the Universal Championship, but Owens is much more entertaining in his current role.
The Colons: Formerly The Shining Stars, The Colons have absolutely benefited from the Superstar Shake-Up. Even though SmackDown barely features their tag team division, The Shining Stars was just an awful gimmick and anything would be an upgrade from that.
Sami Zayn: Everyone was hoping for Sami Zayn to join SmackDown while he was on RAW. He was seemingly always coming up short on RAW and SmackDown felt like the perfect show for him. Zayn is gifted in the ring and people believed that he would shine on SmackDown. Unfortunately, that has not been the case at all so far. Zayn’s move to SmackDown has made no difference at all in how he is booked. He is back to losing matches and wrestling people much bigger than him. The Superstar Shake-Up has done nothing for Zayn so far as he seems to be stuck in the same role.
Charlotte Flair: Charlotte Flair is probably the best female wrestler on WWE’s roster. Her athleticism is insane and she can put on a terrific match with anyone. However, Charlotte’s character got old on RAW. Her promos eventually sounded robotic and the WWE Universe was starting to get tired of it. Since joining SmackDown, Charlotte has gone from a heel to a fan favorite. The crowd erupted when she made her way to the ring after being attacked backstage on this past week’s episode of SmackDown.
Jinder Mahal: Without a doubt, Jinder Mahal has been the Superstar that has benefited the most from the Superstar Shake-Up. It didn’t look like that would be the case after his SmackDown debut where he lost to Mojo Rawley. Mahal also took a beer to the face courtesy of Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski. Mahal went on to win a Six-Pack Challenge to become the #1 contender for Randy Orton’s WWE Championship. He even stole Orton’s title and beat him down at WWE Payback. Mahal had an unsuccessful run with WWE and was released from the company. He made his WWE return last year and it looked like it was going to be more of the same. That clearly is not the case and he now has the chance to make a major name for himself heading into his WWE Championship match at WWE Backlash.
New Day, Rusev & Lana: New Day have yet to make their SmackDown debut due to Kofi Kingston being injured. New Day has been boring to me for a long time, hopefully the change of brands brings something fresh to their act. Rusev also hasn’t been on SmackDown yet as he is out with an injury. However, he has demanded a title shot at Money in the Bank. Time will tell if he gets his wish. Finally, Lana hasn’t made her SmackDown debut yet but she will be introducing a new gimmick as seen in the video below.
Discussion: Now that we are a few weeks into it, what are your thoughts on the Superstar Shake-Up so far? Which Superstar do you think has benefited from it the most?
Last night Kevin Owens gave Chris Jericho a DDT on the floor that seemed to be the catalyst for Jericho’s injury angle. Jericho will be touring with his band soon, and an angle was needed to write him off television.
Normally when Kevin Owens injures someone he gives them the powerbomb on the ring apron outside. This begs the question, why change things up here and use a DDT on the floor to explain Jericho’s impending absence?
31 Years Ago Today: Jake Roberts DDTs Ricky Steamboat
It was 31 years ago today that a famous angle played out between Ricky Steamboat and Jake “the Snake” Roberts. Jake gave Ricky the DDT on the floor, resulting in a long stay on the injured list for Steamboat.
Jericho has been known to throw out homages to his favourite wrestlers and moments in wrestling before, and it is possible that’s what he has done here.
** The match was taped on May 3rd 1986, but wouldn’t air until later in June that year.
Kevin Owens was a guest on Talking Smack last night with Renee Young and Shane McMahon. SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon was clearly bothered by Kevin Owens’ attack on Chris Jericho at the end of SmackDown, but understood that Owens was trying to make a statement. Renee Young also thought Owens went too far. Owens claimed that he had to put an end to Jericho and if Jericho was smart, he wouldn’t come back to SmackDown.
WWE has released a new promo for the New Day’s upcoming SmackDown debut. New Day will make their return to WWE TV once Kofi Kingston has fully recovered from his ankle injury.
After SmackDown went off the air, AJ Styles, Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Dolph Ziggler, Jinder Mahal & Erick Rowan. Below are some photos and videos of what went down after SmackDown:
Kevin Owens defeated Chris Jericho in the main event on SmackDown to recapture the United States Championship. After the match, Kevin Owens brutally attacked Jericho and placed his head between a chair. Owens then slammed the chair into the ring post. WWE has uploaded a new video of Kevin Owens ripping Jericho’s name plate of the United States Championship.