14 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown Superstar Shake-Up

11. Big O = Big Banter

Xavier Woods Kofi Kingston Kevin Owens
WWE.com

Kevin Owens as an honorary New Day member was bags of fun this week.

Big E is going to be out injured for a while, so in came "Big O." He told Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston that they needed backup against Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura later in the evening. Woods then insisted he squeeze into a tiny little crop top as part of his initiation, then told Owens to work on his pancake-throwing and gaming skills, as well as the trio's trademark pelvic wiggle.

Wiggle his pelvis Owens did, and well... it was certainly something.

SmackDown's opening segment was solid. Carried by Owens, Woods, and Kingston's chemistry and charisma, it began with a nice twist on Sami Zayn's Raw diatribe. 'The Underdog From The Underground' turning on his home crowd led us to expect Owens to do the same, but he didn't, instead paying tribute to Montreal before putting The New Day over huge during their KO Show appearance, leading to this new alliance.

Ideally, this will lead to Owens turning on Kofi sometime in the next few weeks, establishing him as Kingston's first WWE Title contender.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.