From the WWE Rumor Mill: Kevin Owens could return to Monday Night Raw

What's the story?

Bryan Alvarez stated on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Live that he expected Kevin Owens to join Monday Night Raw after his match with Shane McMahon at Hell In A Cell.

In case you didn't know...

Owens moved to Smackdown Live this past April during the first Superstar Shakeup of the year that took place a week after WrestleMania 33. He then began calling himself the "Face of America" because he was in possession of the WWE United States Championship.

The heart of the matter

There are rumours that a second Superstar Shakeup is going to take place sometime in the fall, and Owens moving to Mondays would fall in line with those noises. There is also speculation that Jinder Mahal could head to Raw alongside Owens, ahead of the Raw brand's tour of India in December.

Alvarez also stated in this edition of Wrestling Observer Live that the WWE had multiple plans in mind for the finish of the Hell In a Cell match. One of the which could involve Stephanie McMahon getting involved and sending Owens to Raw.

As for the Smackdown Live roster, he mentions that there is already a lack of star power on the show, and moving Owens would hurt that further. A major name from Raw would need to move over to prevent an even bigger imbalance between the two shows.

What's next?

The Hell In A Cell match takes place on October 08, 2017. It is one of two matches announced to take place inside the cell, with the Smackdown Tag Team Championship match being the other when The New Day takes on The Usos.

Author's take

I think it would make complete sense to move Owens to Raw after the Hell In A Cell match to separate him and Shane after this personal feud. To continue to have Owens answer to Shane going forward on Smackdown Live just wouldn't make sense.

If Owens does move, Smackdown Live would need to obtain a main eventer who could take the Prize Fighter's place. Someone like Finn Balor could benefit with a move to Smackdown Live to compete with the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, and AJ Styles.

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