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What's the story?
Kevin Owens has been out of action with a knee injury since October of 2018. He was written off television after his knees were viciously attacked by Bobby Lashley.
Joe Peisich discussed Kevin Owens recently on the Fired Up podcast on Barnburner, and he mentioned a possible feud for Owens once he returns from knee surgery. It would be against the man who put him on the shelf, Bobby Lashley.
In case you missed it . . .
Bobby Lashley had trouble getting over as a face ever since he returned to WWE the night after Wrestlemania. WWE then paired him with Lio Rush, but he still failed to garner much of a face reaction.
Once the duo turned heel, primarily when Lashley attacked Owens' legs during a match in Chicago in October on Raw, the fans started to boo Lashley. Since Owens has been out of action, Lashley has been positioned towards the top of the heel pecking order on Raw behind Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre.
He recently won the Intercontinental Title on Raw by defeating both Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match. Could it be a big part of a potential first feud for Owens?
The heart of the matter
As a part of the McMahon's announcement that several new stars would be showing up in WWE and that things would be changing, two separate graphics aired that said that both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens would be 'returning soon'.
No timetable was given for the return of either man, but Peisich mentioned on the Fired Up podcast on Barnburner that Owens' time off might signal a change in his character.
“Kevin Owens looks slim, trim, very good. Expect Kevin Owens to feud with Bobby Lashley possibly as early as the day after the Royal Rumble. Are you excited for that?”
Since Lashley is still a heel and he now has the Intercontinental Title, it would suggest that when Owens does return to television, it will be as a face.
It would be the first time in his career as a face but he certainly has two factors in his favour with his ability on the microphone and backing from a large portion of the WWE Universe.
The severity of Owens' knee injury isn't known but it has been three months and change since he went under the knife. Whenever he does return, Peisich expects him to be gunning for Lashley.
What's next?
The WWE seems like a better place when both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are prominently featured on WWE programming.
They were bright spots on Smackdown when feuding with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon and they were important mid-carders or main-eventers on Raw whenever situations deemed it necessary for the men to move up the card.
It will be interesting to see the reaction Owens gets when he returns and how his return is handled. Will it simply be announced or will he save someone from an attack from Lashley?
