6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (18 Oct - Results & Review)
3. The KO Stuff
The best wrestling villains do everything to justify nasty behaviour.
Kevin Owens explained via pre-tape that he doesn't feel valued by WWE or the fans anymore. Going the disappointed route with him is smart, because it lets Owens justify his actions and blame everyone from Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton to audiences themselves for causing him to snap. More of this simple and straightforward character work, please.
Being honest, this writer thought Randy angling for a match with Kev at Crown Jewel was a little too soon considering their history as friends and what happened, but that can also be explained away as Orton having a temper. Such hot-headedness is hardly out of character for one of WWE's longstanding firebrands. There's something to work with here, definitely.
Triple H knows what he's doing with Owens. 'The Game' is aware that casting Kevin as someone flat out disillusioned with WWE life will get people talking, and he knows he has big matches like KO vs. Randy and a rematch with Cody in reserve. This is all heating up rather nicely.