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From Kevin Owens emerging as a Stone Cold-like figure against Shane McMahon's dominance to Daniel Bryan and Liv Morgan weirdly breaking down in separate segments, this week's edition of WWE SmackDown Live (16th July 2019) featured a lot of contrasting moments.
I do think that in order to break away from the Blue Brand's usual format, the show ended up being pointless in some segments. But apart from that, there were some interesting takeaways from the episode, mainly being Kevin Owens' recent push that reminded the fans of Stone Cold Steve Austin in the Attitude Era.
Here are a few interesting observations from this week's edition of SmackDown Live:
#3: Daniel Bryan's 'career-altering' announcement turned out to be a classic WWE 'bait-and-switch' tactic
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Eric Bischoff's first stint as Executive Director on SmackDown Live saw some confusing outcomes during last night's show.
One of those scenarios featured Daniel Bryan's advertised 'career-altering' announcement, where Bryan came out with Rowan to interrupt the New Day, only to step backstage and come out once again several times without even uttering a single word.
Oddly, the former 'YES!' Man also appeared to be emotional for some reason.
Perhaps this could lead to a face turn for Daniel Bryan or as expected, this confusing segment might have been a classic 'bait-and-switch' tactic on WWE's part.
Maybe they had nothing planned for the announcement, and that is why this angle will be stretched throughout several weeks without any satisfying resolution.
Instead of the advertised announcement, we ended up getting a Six-Man Tag Team Match which saw Randy Orton successfully pinning the current WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston.
This might be a potential tease for an Orton vs. Kingston matchup at this year's Summerslam Pay-Per-View, but devolving a segment from a 'career-altering' announcement to a possible title(s) match, to an impromptu Six-Man Tag Team Match was meant to be a groan-inducing moment for the WWE Universe.
See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page
#2: What Liv Morgan's breakdown possibly means for her character in the future
Liv Morgan got an opportunity to face Charlotte Flair after the two traded insults at each other during the opening Town Hall segment.
In an unexpected turn of events, Morgan snapped after losing to the Queen in a singles match. She went on to accept Charlotte Flair's insults and hinted at a possible gimmick change in the future.
If that is the case, then let us hope that Liv Morgan's new personality ends up being visibly and characteristically different from her punk rock persona as part of the Riott Squad.
A fresh theme song, as well as ditching the blue tongue colour and the pink hairdo are some changes that you could expect to see amidst this transition. Liv Morgan could even go back to adopting her 'New Jersey' gimmick from NXT.
It will be interesting to see how she attempts at being 'real' in the near future.
#1: Kevin Owens is officially the central part of the primary feud on SmackDown Live
If there is one thing that Eric Bischoff made apparent during his first night as Executive Director of SmackDown Live, it is that there are huge plans for Kevin Owens in store.
Shane McMahon's clique and his various nemeses have been the central focus of both RAW and SmackDown Live for months. But this scenario only became interesting quite recently.
Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon will go at it in an all-out war. The ending of last night's show made that very clear.
As others have pointed out constantly, Owens is in the midst of a Stone Cold-like push. The anti-authority attitude and the stunners come as added bonuses.
What seems interesting to me is that with RAW Reunion occurring next week, is there a chance that Kevin Owens and Stone Cold Steve Austin cross paths at last?
Thanks for reading this article, please share it to spread the word. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more!
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
