The RAW after any Mania is considered to be one of the most vital part for the next year’s feuds and direction of the WWE product. After the conclusion of WrestleMania 32, there were a couple of points to be noted. First, Reigns is indeed going to be in the main event for the next few years. Second, The Undertaker will most probably have his final match at WrestleMania 33 which will be hosted by Orlando.
However, the RAW following it did give us hints about the rise of the young and talented superstars. Whether they are from NXT or main roster, they will be given the push they deserve. For years, superstars like Cesaro and Dean Ambrose have emerged but are not given a proper direction. Either they were forced to take falls for the chosen ones or they were made mid-card stars at best.
There have been a few rare instances of a certain Daniel Bryan defying the odds and getting in to the Main Event but not all of them got their chance to shine. One such name is Kevin Owens. Although, he has been booked strongly for the better part of his career so far with WWE, but at times even he did not get what he deserved.
The debut of Kevin Owens was something that created a buzz. The impact it had was substantial. The way he stomped on the US Title and raised his NXT belt was quite a statement. If the way Owens performed before his debut was not enough, he stole the show at Elimination Chamber. The company did put their trust in the NXT champion as they allowed him to win cleanly against JOHN CENA!
There is a reason I wrote Cena’s name in caps because it was the first time someone defeated Cena on his debut. In the rubber match against Cena, Owens lost. This was the time where WWE could have made an exception and let KO win the feud. But they chose to do it the old fashioned way and Cena won just like he did against numerous others, prime example being Bray Wyatt. I still believe Bray should have won against Cena at WrestleMania 30.
Following his bout with Cena, Owens engaged in a feud with Cesaro. However the stage was set for a Triple threat match between Cena, Cesaro and KO. Considering the matches Cena and Cesaro delivered on RAW it would have been a sure shot classic. Instead, Cesaro and KO were given a match at SummerSlam 2015 but not the ‘time’. Had these two been given enough time and the freedom, they would have blown the roof off.
Anyway, moving on to present scenario, Kevin Owens is feuding with his ex-Best Friend and now the arch rival Sami Zane. They will be having a series of matches in the upcoming PP’s. Not that I am complaining, I know they will steal the show 10 out of 10 times. but what after that?
WWE have kept Owens in the upper mid-card slot and have been maintaining it since his debut. But having him just feuding with others superstars with Intercontinental tile on the line or even without it is not doing much good to his resume. He belongs to the Main-Event and WWE have teased it several times but did not actually make it true.
Now that Vince is being stubborn about his Project-“Roman Reigns”, even though more than half of the crowd is still not buying, it makes the matters worse for Kevin. So what can be done is, let Owens have the next big thing in WWE and that is...
WrestleMania 33: Kevin Owens vs The Undertaker
The Undertaker. Kevin deserves to fight The Deadman at the grandest stage of them all. Even though the company has plans of having Cena Vs The Undertaker in a legends match at WM, it will not be as effective as it seems. The Streak is already broken, so the excitement level in a Taker match has already dropped down considerably among the WWE Universe because there is nothing like the Streak at stake when he fights.
The near-falls were the ones that were supposed to create the jaw dropping excitement level. Had the streak not been broken, a match vs Cena would have been perfect. All the near falls would have let fans believe that Cena might be the one breaking The Undertaker’s streak as he has been the top guy of the company for more than a decade. But now that the streak is gone, there is no point in having a match.
As there can be only two outcomes, either Cena wins, which will not be welcomed by any means, or Taker wins which is also not required considering it being his last match. As the tradition says, any wrestler fighting his last match must lose (Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Sting, Stone Cold and the list goes on..)
It would be better if Taker puts someone over who is relatively younger than Cena. Kevin must win against the Undertaker thereby, ending his legendary career at 23-2! He must do so by delivering his signature move Package Piledriver. For those of you who know him before the WWE or the NXT would know. For the rest, you can simply watch him delivering it in various other promotions and he is yet to debut it here.
WrestleMania would be the perfect time to do it. Just imagine these two having a good 20 minutes fight and kicking out of each other’s respective finishers atleast 3 times and Owens getting frustrated at the Deadman and deciding to throw him at the ropes one more time and the WWE Universe is expecting the fourth Pop-up Powerbomb. but instead Owens pushes Taker’s head between his legs and then delivers the variation of a move that made Taker who he is today.
And the next thing you know, Owens is only the second superstar to beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania. You know where I’m heading, don’t you? *wink*
WrestleMania 34: Kevin Owens vs Brock Lesnar
For this match to happen, RAW following WrestleMania 33 should feature The Undertaker’s retirement ceremony where he is not dressed as The Undertaker but his true self, Mark Calaway. He should acknowledge all his buddies and the feats he acquired during his career. He should mention his old rivalry with Brock which took place back in the Attitude Era and the way it re-ignited just before WM 30.
How he felt like it is the end of the world he Brock delivered that Thunderous F5 and the Ref counted 1..2..3..!! He felt helpless, he wanted to kick out but he could not’t do so. And the similar feelings were there when Kevin Owens hit him with the Package Pile-driver. He was taken by surprise and thus resulting in his second loss. Now he must congratulate both of them and wish them good luck for their future. Now the Undertaker has ignited the spark.
Lesnar must feel insecure that someone has done something that only he did before that. This must be taken into consideration to build their match-up for the Main Event of WrestleMania. Owens should mention it once in a while that he defeated the Undertaker and meanwhile making the German Suplexes more common in his matches, thereby provoking the Beast more and more but still not mentioning it.
By the end of 2017, Lesnar should become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion again. At Royal rumble, all superstars are making their claims to face the beast at WM 34 including Kevin Owens. At Royal Rumble, KO wins too! This will set up the dream match between Brock Lesnar and Kevin Owens.
Just Imagine the promo work we will witness between Paul Heyman and Kevin Owens. Two Gifted Promo workers indeed. In the main event finally, these two will face each other. Both looking to deliver more suplexes than the other. Both trying to give their best. Half of the WWE Universe is chanting “FIGHT OWENS FIGHT” and the other half with “SUPLEX CITY”.
They are tied at delivering 16 suplexes each, equaling the record of Cena-Lesnar match too. At last, Kevin Owens delivers him with the 17th Suplex and a Power Bomb thereby setting the new record as well as becoming the New WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The show ends with Kevin Owens raising the belt high in the air.
