12 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 5)
6. Welcome Back
There wasn't much to Rowan vs. Kevin Owens (shout-outs to the big man's Behemoth shirt, though). It barely got going before KO got sick of Daniel Bryan jaw-jacking him from the announce table, so the former Universal Champion went after his Fastlane opponent after getting knocked to the floor. Rowan intervened, and soon it was two-on-one, with the referee calling for the DQ as the WWE Champion struck.
A prolonged beatdown followed, with Rowan and Bryan destroying Owens ahead of the pay-per-view. Cue: Mustafa Ali's music. Not seen for the best part of a month, the ex-205 Live man stormed the ring, getting the better of the heels with his quick, high-octane offence, then sharing a tense moment with Owens as the scene drew to a close.
Ali's return to house show action this weekend made his SD comeback easy to telegraph, but it was well-executed regardless, and it's going to be interesting to see where he fits in. Kofi Kingston effectively took his spot in the WWE Championship scene. KO has been used as a piece to draw sympathy for Kingston, making the hunt even more crowded, though this return angle suggests WWE haven't forgotten about Mustafa's claim to the belt after his previous pinfalls on Bryan.
An interesting, unpredictable top title scene, populated by wrestlers the fans actually want to invest in? Sign us up.