10 Ways WWE In 2017 Could Have Been COMPLETELY Different
2. Friends 'Til The End
If viewers learned one thing from the Kevin Owens '365' Network special, it was that WWE will convert the thoughts in a performer's head from lifelong dreams to day-to-day mind-f*cks. If viewers learned two, it was that Vince McMahon was not at all happy with 'KO's win over former best friend Chris Jericho.
On paper, you can't blame the mad old sh*t. As a match, it didn't remotely live up to what was hands down the best WWE segment of 2017. Playing out in a way Chris Jericho later confirmed was completely okayed by Vince himself, the 'Festival Of Friendship' had the makings of a Monday Night Raw classic before Owens cruelly put a bullet in their fragile union. Boasting inch perfect levels of light and shade, it was an exquisite payoff to lingering unease between the two that used the same package of comedy and violence that made up the bulk of their work together across the prior six months.
The angle was so good that it deserved top billing at WrestleMania. It had earned it. But that wasn't 'the plan'. Goldberg took Owens' Universal Title and contested an absolute rip-snorter with Brock Lesnar, leaving 'Y2J' and the 'Prizefighter' fighting over a United States strap that have never looked more secondary. The two may never come close to WrestleMania's show-closing pyro again.