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What’s the story?
Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn would team up to face Randy Orton and a currently unnamed partner, expected to be Shinsuke Nakamura, at Clash of Champions.
In case you didn’t know...
Owens has been feuding with Shane since he attacked Vince McMahon months ago. The two seemed like they were ending their feud, but Zayn helped Owens defeat Shane at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view and the problems continued.
Owens & Zayn even interfered in the Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown Survivor Series match that McMahon ultimately lost.
The heart of the matter
SmackDown Live kicked off with Owens and Zayn gloating about their triumph over Orton last week. Zayn left the ring to demonstrate why he didn't violate the "barred from ringside" clause added to Owens' match with Orton, but this allowed Orton to sneak into the ring and deliver an RKO to the Prizefighter.
Shane then came out to book the match between Owens & Zayn against Orton and a partner of his choosing for Clash of Champions. Shane also booked Zayn to face Orton for the main event.
After Orton defeated Zayn, Owens & Zayn began to attack the former WWE Champion until he was saved by Shinsuke Nakamura, whom WWE billed as the biggest candidate to be Orton's partner at Clash of Champions.
Just before SmackDown went off the air, General Manager Daniel Bryan and Shane were having a conversation regarding the end of Owens & Zayn's punishment, but Shane revealed that he would be the special guest referee for their tag team match and that Owens & Zayn's WWE careers were on the line.
What’s next?
With the inclusion of the career-threatening stipulation, the interest in Owens & Zayn's tag team match has grown much more in terms of interest.
WWE could have a multitude of scenarios for the match such as Owens & Zayn losing their jobs and running rampant on the company or even Bryan somehow getting involved, but that is pure speculation.
Author’s take
Owens and Zayn have been the focus of SmackDown Live in recent weeks and this match at Clash of Champions will be their biggest pay-per-view showcase as a unit, and it could even be their last.
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