Kevin Owens Officially Vowed To Throw Shane McMahon Off The Hell In A Cell On Sunday
Hello and welcome back to the weekly SmackDown (is BACK) recap! SmackDown continues to be back, but not alllll the way back. We’re reserving that title for when Jinder Mahal is out of the WWE Championship picture. Let’s get into the go home show to Hell in a Cell!
Jinder and Shinsuke kicked us off with a horrible segment, per usual, where the Singh Bros were the only shining stars (wink wink). They have their own theme, now, which is neat! I just continue to be frustrated with the company each and every time they make Shinsuke Nakamura cut a promo, because he DOESN’T. NEED. TO. He’s absolutely electric and eccentric and says all he needs to with his expressions. There is no need to hang him out to dry with American catchphrases like the “sticks and stones” one, and takes away some of the cool mystique about his character.
So, just about everything about this was weird. Carmella, Mrs. Money in the Bank, teaming up with Natalya, who’s the current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, was weird. Natalya tapping Charlotte out CLEAN was weird. Becky Lynch getting time on television was weird. I’m glad that last one came true, because I love Becky and think she’s one of the more underutilized members of the company, but it all just felt off.
Hey, Mike Kanellis is back! Maria’s out pregnant, so she won’t be around for the foreseeable future, and I can’t imagine Vince loves that. Dave Meltzer kinda called it when the Kanellis family debuted and he said “Vince usually hates these gimmicks. I don’t know what they’re doing here but Mike will be a jobber shortly.”
I think he’s talented enough to workshop this gimmick into a winning one while Maria’s not around, but now it’ll just come down to whether or not they give him the freedom to do so. I dug what they did with Ziggler after the match, and I really go in depth as to why it worked on From The Top Rope this week, but it was night and day from where I was originally standing on this feud.
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Another week, another FANTASTIC Usos/New Day segment. These guys are creeping into the Top 5 Feuds of the Year talk for me, and their match this Sunday at Hell in a Cell has Match of the Year written all over it. I cannot say enough good things about every aspect of this rivalry, and I think a HiaC match is a proper payoff. Where they go after that, I have no idea, but I’m just gonna be excited for Sunday and worry about the rest later.
Not to be outdone, the actual feud of the year KNOCKED another segment out of the park. Shane McMahon told Kevin Owens to get his ass out to the ring for a face-to-face, and Owens “had been in Denver long enough” to oblige. Even when he’s doing the “cheap heat” thing, it doesn’t feel cheap! They fought up to the concourse, Shane got his old pothead ass powerbombed through the merch table, and Kevin Owens made some SERIOUS threats…one of which was a vow to throw Shane off the cell on Sunday.
What better way to boost Kevin Owens into the upper echelon of stars in WWE history than to make Kevin a man of his word on Sunday? There’s no better way. Have KO back up every word he said, and have him demolish Shane and become an unstoppable monster heel that nobody can beat until WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, when the only man who knows how to beat Owens at his best steps up to the plate…Sami Zayn.
Alright now I’m getting into my geeky indie fantasy booking, but tell me this video package doesn’t make you so fuckin’ hype for Sunday?!
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I’m sorry if this blog felt a bit rushed, it was. It’s been a super hectic 48 hours. What’s NOT rushed is our two hour podcast on this week in wrestling that released today. It includes an interview with Jim Ross and it’s a really fun show. Please give it a shot!