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Why did Shane McMahon fire Kevin Owens?
On Tuesday's SmackDown Live, Shane McMahon inserted himself into the King of the Ring Tournament against Chad Gable in the semi-finals, after Elias was forced to pull out after breaking his ankle.
Shane also forced Kevin Owens to be the Special Guest Referee for the match, offering to withdraw Owens' fine if he calls the match 'properly'. What followed was a match in which a conflicted Owens, who could not afford the $100,000 fine, did everything he could to help his boss, but ultimately McMahon tapped out to Gable in the middle of the ring.
A fuming McMahon then did the only thing that's sensible after losing against Chad Gable in the semi-finals of the King of the Ring tournament despite the best efforts of your hand-picked Special Guest Referee - he fired him on the spot.
This is just the latest step in Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens' storied rivalry that has seen McMahon jump off of the top of a Hell in a Cell to try and kill Owens and Owens beat Shane clean in the ring to save his job just a month ago at SummerSlam. But what's next for Kevin Owens?
Kevin Owens teases move to NXT
Well, Owens took to Twitter after the main event of SmackDown Live that saw him lose his job to post a cryptic series of numbers that could possibly allude to his future
Many people were quick to figure out that the numbers were the order of the alphabet so the fourteenth, twenty-fourth and twentieth numbers of the alphabet are, of course, N-X-T. So could Owens be moving back to NXT?
Is WWE moving Kevin Owens to NXT to compete with AEW?
Well, I believe that Owens' firing was a deliberate move from WWE and Owens to allow him to move back to the yellow brand just in time for NXT to go live on the USA network. The appearance of a former Universal Champion and main roster main event star, who was also massively popular as an indie star, will certainly be a good weapon on what Matt Riddle calls the 'Wednesday Night Wars'.
Read Also: Exclusive Interview with Matt Riddle on AEW, Goldberg, Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar
Kevin Owens to feud with Adam Cole for NXT Title?
But, while it's clear that Owens returning to NXT will be a good move for WWE, it's also a good move for Owens. I wouldn't be surprised if hwas actually involved with, or even behind, the decision to 'fire' him from the main roster.
It's no secret that Owens wants to work with his close friend Adam Cole in WWE, with the two frequently appearing in each other's personal videos and social media posts. Owens at one point said, in a now-deleted tweet, that seeing Cole's debut was one of his best-ever WWE moments.
It's also worth noting that Adam Cole defeated Jordan Myles to retain his NXT Championship recently and the recent (and last ever) set of tapings ended this week without setting up a new storyline and feud for the yellow brand's top champion.
So, given that Owens deleted that tweet, is presumably heading to NXT and clearly wants to work with Adam Cole, It seems extremely likely that we're going to be treated to a Kevin Owens Vs. Adam Cole feud for the NXT Title.
Kevin Owens moving to NXT to be closer to his family
However, there could be another reason why Owens would want to move to NXT and wrestle there for a while - to be closer to his family. Owens and his family moved close to the performance center in Orlando, so being close to them would certainly make a prolonged stint in NXT an attractive proposition.
If you've followed Owens on social media - or even listened to his promos, even as a hell, his family is of the utmost importance to him.
Do you think Kevin Owens should become NXT Champion after moving back to NXT? Do you think moving him to NXT in the first place is the right move? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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