7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 22)

3. KO Reboot Continues

If WWE is truly resetting Kevin Owens to his “prizefighter” persona, then having him just outright abandon previous friendships is one way to do it.

Owens answered Alpha Academy’s open challenge Monday night, battling and defeating Chad Gable in a competitive match whose outcome was never in doubt. KO also won with the Pop-Up Powerbomb – his finisher from his NXT debut – and not the Stunner. Even his Titantron video was close to his original package rather than a giant “KO” in red and black.

It’s interesting that Owens defeated Gable, with whom he had a relationship as they tried to prove that Ezekiel actually was Elias. And this came two weeks after KO obliterated Ezekiel and sent him to the hospital.

To top it off, Owens overcame Otis attacking after the bell and laid him out with a Stunner. If WWE wanted to make KO look like a dominant figure, this was a pretty decent effort.