Kevin Owens Open WWE NXT Title Challenge On Smackdown

History will be made as Kevin Owens makes his Smackdown television debut this Thursday night when he defends the NXT Champion in an open challenge. It's also the first time the NXT Title will be on the line on a show that isn't NXT, so that makes it seem pretty special. Owens has yet to have a match on Raw. It's a bit of a surprise that his first televised match would be on Smackdown, but WWE is doing this as a way for him to show John Cena that he's capable of having open challenges too. With Cena likely not on Smackdown because he rarely is, Owens will get a chance to be in the spotlight. The presence of Owens on Raw and Smackdown is great for the NXT brand. There are likely a lot of people watching those shows that may have no idea about NXT just because they might not watch it on WWE Network or they may not have access to it. After seeing Owens out there with the NXT Title looking dominant, beating John Cena and doing some of the best promos in WWE, perhaps those reluctant fans would be willing to tune in to see who else is in NXT along with Owens. There's a chance that it could be Samoa Joe that answers the challenge since we found out that he's also on the main roster. Perhaps somebody like Neville would be a better choice since he's a former NXT Champion. If they didn't go with somebody that has a NXT background then maybe it can be a midcard face like Dolph Ziggler although it would feel weird to see him going for NXT gold. That's why Neville seems like the best choice. While we know that Owens is going to be on the main roster full time going forward since he just signed a new WWE deal, that doesn't mean he has to drop the NXT Title as soon as this week. It would be a bad idea to have him lose before the rematch with Cena on June 14. We will have the Smackdown taping results posted on Wednesday, so check back with us to see who Owens faces and then watch it on Thursday night Smackdown.