10 Surprising Things We Learned From 'WWE 365: Kevin Owens'

3. Good Money After Bad

Kevin Owens Vince McMahon
WWE

Kevin Owens and AJ Styles may have assembled the most disappointing feud of 2017, but most of the blame can thankfully fall on Shane McMahon's unrealistically broad shoulders.

The two never had the contest they were potentially capable of, mostly because every match was used (and abused) as a vehicle for another match until the arc reached its final destination - Shane McMahon leaping from the top of the Hell In A Cell structure.

In a staggering editorial decision, the screen flashed up with tweets from fans reacting angrily to the finish of their Battleground clash, as if the performers themselves somehow devised endings and angle advancement. It was a bizarre sight on an in-house promotional tool, for sure. It's hard to imagine the company going to similar efforts on a Triple H puff-piece should they elect to follow 'The Game' after Sunday's Survivor Series display.

The tweets weren't incorrect, of course. Owens and AJ traded and devalued the belt in increasingly weak efforts up to and including a SummerSlam match that positioned 'Shane-O-Mac' as the man in the middle. Predictably, Vince was more than satisfied with that one, but then he would be - that was the moment Shane was able to start building his own story from the dying embers of the Styles/Owens debacle.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett