Opinion: Why Kevin Owens should walk away as Universal Champion at the end of WWE Summerslam
The WWE Universe is just a week away from the one of the biggest WWE pay-per-views of the year, SummerSlam.
The 31st edition of the event will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on August 19, 2018--The main event of the show in all probability is going to the Universal Championship Match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
Elsewhere on the card, we have Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women's Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler for the IC Title, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy for the US Title, Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship and the WWE Championship match between the current Champion AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.
Regardless, a match which is being touted by both fans and experts alike as perhaps the dark horse at SummerSlam, is one between a certain "Prizefighter" and a "Monster Among Men".
That's right! One of the most interesting and intriguing matches on the card will be the showdown between Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman, where if Strowman loses in any manner including getting disqualified or by being counted out he loses the Money In The Bank Contract to Owens.
This match comes at a very important juncture in Kevin Owens's WWE career. The year 2018 hasn't been kind to the man formerly known as Kevin Steen as he failed to win a single pay-per-view match this year in spite of being one of the best in the business today.
The recent booking of KO has been less than desirable, to say the least, as he has been basically served as a punching bag for babyfaces like Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley and now Braun Strowman--with the latter having humiliated the Montreal-native on multiple occasions.
It's rather intriguing to note that certain sections of fans and experts in the professional wrestling community believe that Strowman shouldn't have been booked to win the Money In The Bank contract. They noted that considering how dominant a Superstar Strowman has been lately, he doesn't need a Money In The Bank contract to capture a world title in the WWE.
It's in fact quite simple to imagine this monstrous being--who has run through every challenge thrown his way--dethroning a world champion in the WWE...even if that champion's name happens to be Brock Lesnar!
However, a burning question which now arises is that the WWE, in the process of making Strowman look strong, may be diminishing the brand value of one of its top heels--Kevin Owens.
A logical answer to the aforementioned question would be to safeguard Owens' brand value--particularly given how big of a star he is for the organization in this day and age.
There is no denying the fact that Strowman deserves a title run after the hard work and dedication that he has put in over the past two years. He has undoubtedly been the MVP for the company and has gotten over with the WWE Universe in a huge way.
However, once Strowman becomes a world champion--likely winning the Universal title on the RAW brand--there won't be any credible opponents left for him to face. Bear in mind, that Strowman is currently one of the most over babyfaces on the roster, and would probably need a great heel to feud with after he captures the Universal title.
As of this time, the WWE has to somehow get the MITB Contract off of Strowman and give to Owens as the latter is in desperate need of a meaningful win. The finish will obviously have to be replete with an outside interference, so as to protect Strowman's brand value.
An angle that makes the most sense, is for "The Modern Day Maharajah" Jinder Mahal to interfere in Strowman vs. Owens--helping KO win the match and with it the MITB contract at SummerSlam.
Kevin Owens is undoubtedly one of the best Universal Champions ever, and he deserves another run with the Big Red Belt. Ever since losing the Universal Championship to Goldberg, Owens hasn't received his official rematch yet. Additionally, his MITB cash-in will not only serve as his unofficial Universal title rematch, but he'll also be creating history by becoming the first superstar to hold the Universal Championship twice.
The prizefighter has been one of the most underappreciated professional wrestlers over the past year or so. He is one of the few Superstars who is at ease on both the mic and in the ring.
In fact, he very well may be the best promo on the current WWE roster, and his in-ring psychology is second to none. He has established himself as one of the purest heels on the main roster whom the fans love to hate.
In addition to that, KO can do things that other men his size can't do. With so much charisma and talent, you'd hope that the WWE realizes the golden opportunity they have with KO. WWE could most definitely have Owens defeat Strowman to capture the MITB Contract which is one of the few things that has alluded the prizefighter thus far in his WWE career.
Furthermore, Owens cashing in his newly-won MITB contract on Roman Reigns (provided that Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar for the Universal title) will be the icing on the cake at SummerSlam.
KO would probably get one of the loudest pops of all time, should he cash in on Reigns at the Barclays Center come August 19th.