4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 23)

3. A Missed Opportunity

Kevin Owens Apollo Crews
WWE.com

Why is Kevin Owens being used for one-off title shots?

KO vs. Apollo Crews could've been a full-blown feud instead of this throwaway stuff. The meat of the match, whilst fine, didn't do Owens any favours. He dominated 70% of it, got distracted by Sami Zayn and then lost via roll-up. Big whoop. Then, there's the Sami issue.

Here's another 'why'. Why is Kevin's feud with Zayn still going on after Owens beat him at WrestleMania? They're always entertaining together, but that should've been the end of it. WWE's intentions were clearly pure on SmackDown (they wanted to give Crews a title defence and make Commander Azeez look useful), and yet this felt like a waste.

Apollo maybe should've pasted a lower-card guy like Murphy or Slapjack, then built up his inevitable rematch with Big E for next week. Sacrificing Owens, distraction-based finish or not, was totally unnecessary. It was also avoidable.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.