8 Ups And 8 Downs From WWE Battleground 2015

By Scott Carlson /

4. Owens Taps?!?!

Put aside the incredible match between Kevin Owens and John Cena. That will get its kudos later. This isn€™t even about Owens losing the match. This is solely a gripe about Owens tapping out clean. WWE has something special in Kevin Owens. Whether everyone gets it or not, the company has a brash, talented performer who can handle a microphone and back up everything in the ring, and then some. Cena clearly recognizes this, as he€™s now had three classics with Owens, giving him tons of hard-hitting offense. But for Owens €“ who is being built up as a bruising heel €“ to just tap like that a handful of matches into his WWE career is shortsighted. WWE easily could have had Owens pass out in the STF, preserving a no-tap-out distinction, making Owens even tougher in fans€™ eyes and still having Cena win cleanly (if that€™s what Vince desperately wanted). Having Owens tap, especially in a United States Championship match, was a poor decision. It€™s not severely detrimental to him, but there were other, better options available.