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| Fight forever so we don't have to experience Shane McMahon, plz Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Eternal Friendship
Okay, on the face of it, Sami Zayn confronting Kevin Owens and then getting mauled for his trouble may not seem very friendly, but let's review. Zayn came out to reason with Owens out of concern for his former friend. He didn't defend Shane McMahon; he wanted OWENS to get out before he did irreversible damage to HIMSELF. He didn't mention McMahon's family (probably because he didn't want Shane to leap out of a ringpost for daring to mention them), but he did say that he doesn't want Owens' family to suffer because of what might happen. I did think things got a little melodramatic with Zayn talking about Owens “crossing a line” at Hell in a Cell, when I'm pretty sure participating in a sanctioned match is in fact toeing the line, not crossing it, but whatever. The point is that Sami Zayn still cares for Kevin Owens no matter what happens. He may be wise enough to not want to be a guest referee for him, but he still doesn't want Owens to go too far down a dark path.
And Kevin Owens cannot handle that. He hates the idea that Zayn could still want to help him after everything Owens has done to push him away, so his immediate response was to run Zayn down and list all the titles he's won in WWE while Zayn's been languishing. In the end, the only person to whom he truly compares himself, the one person he really wants to beat, is Sami Zayn, and he absolutely cannot understand how upholding honour and fairness can be more important than winning, which is why no matter how many titles he wins Kevin Owens will never be happy while no matter how many titles he doesn't win Sami Zayn will always find the strength to keep going. Titles come and go but love and friendship is the one thing that endures, but that thought is too terrifying for someone like Kevin Owens so he'll keep running away from it while someone like Sami Zayn will never let it truly die.
See, look how much better this all gets when you remove any McMahons from the equation.
Their actual match at the end of the show was pretty darn great, too. Sami Zayn is a good dude but that doesn't mean he's not going to bring it full force when facing his old friend. He's also been struggling lately, so he could have also seen this match as an opportunity to show that he belongs in the main event. I liked him asking Daniel Bryan to make Shane McMahon stay away because McMahon's got his shot at Hell in a Cell but this one chance on Smackdown is all Zayn has (and I loved that Bryan's response was basically “Ugh, I'll try, but you know what a scene-stealing asshole that guy is”). Zayn's determination plus the fact that Owens always brings a particular intensity when he faces Zayn made the match excellent.
Unfortunately, things ended messily as the match was cut short when the ref called it due to unnecessary roughness, and while the power bomb onto the apron DID look brutal, that seemed like a pretty arbitrary decision. Owens continuing to brutalize Zayn brought out Shane McMahon, and I'm choosing to believe that the chair-bedecked Zayn hurtling into him was just as much Zayn's idea as Owens' just to give Zayn some agency back.
Thus we are right back to focusing on Shane McMahon and the dire threat that he allegedly poses to Kevin Owens at Hell in a Cell. No doubt he'll sweat profusely onto Owens until he submits.
The Ongoing United States Championship Saga
In other Canadian news, Tye Dillinger continued to bring out the best in Baron Corbin while AJ Styles watched because we're just never getting a proper United States Championship open challenge ever again. Dillinger and Corbin had a good match wherein Dillinger once again showed himself to be one of the best parts of this show right now just by wrestling well and being likeable as heck. I was minorly annoyed when he failed to pull off a Tye Breaker and Corey Graves said it was because Corbin was just too big, but ACTUALLY it was because Dillinger was selling his hurt leg and back. Damn it, Graves, acknowledge his competence! I also loved the high drama of Dillinger making it back to the ring apron just as the 10 count was being called and Corbin viciously booting him away. If he doesn't wind up in the United States title match at Hell in a Cell I will be disappointed.
Baron Corbin looked more competent than he has in a while, too, tossing Dillinger into Styles in order to pick up a count-out win and being pleased as punch with himself about it. The one step forward/three steps back thing WWE has going on with him at the moment is frustrating, and I hope there's some kind of resolution soon. I do enjoy that the U.S. title scene is apparently now working on women's division rules where you can just declare yourself to have a title match and everyone is fine with it.
Forgotten Hype
Ostensibly the Hype Bros versus Usos match was furthering both their current stories: the Usos on their way to facing New Day again, and the Hype Bros' dissension in the ranks. In the end, though, Rawley tagging himself in and subsequently being pinned wasn't followed up on at all, so who knows how the bros dealt with this latest setback. It was more important to establish that the Usos and New Day will indeed be having a cell match at Hell in a Cell. I mean, I certainly don't think the Hype Bros woes are very important, but it seems weird to keep introducing this plot element and then never follow up on it (she wrote after watching WWE for years...). And I have to give Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley props because I've mostly enjoyed them in the ring lately. It's just that I love everyone else in the division so much more.
Rusev Day Before It Was Rudely Interrupted
Everything about Rusev's in-ring celebration was delightful. Everyone was well-dressed and pleased with themselves for doing a good job, Aiden English got to sing, and there was a comically large key. I wanted it to go on forever, but then a pantsless party crasher ruined all the fun because God forbid Randy Orton go one full week without reasserting his dominance. For real though, Rusev's motivation right now is representing his country and not letting them down, something he feels very deeply, and Orton's is just...being an asshole, apparently. Stop upsetting the dementors and entirely ruining Rusev Day, Randy!
A Return to Hibernation
Is there any tension between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair since the latter won her shot at the Women's Championship? Is Tamina angry at Lana for not making sure she won? Who knows! We've got a new number one contender now so everyone else is back in their boxes until the next go-round. I complain, but Flair and Carmella did have a fine match. Weirdly, Carmella was in control for most of it until Flair just thought, “Welp, time to win,” and then she did. It just seemed strange to structure the match like that unless they were trying to point out Carmella as a legitimate threat or Flair as being too cocky, but, nope. Flair ended up winning pretty effortlessly. Like I said, it wasn't bad, just odd.
