WWE made it very clear this week that Kevin Owens is a babyface and the idea is that he is representing the fans by calling out Shane McMahon’s excessive TV time and pointing out that he’s taking time away from wrestlers like Asuka, Kairi Sane, Buddy Murphy, Ali and others.
As noted earlier this week, the plan is to eventually phase out Shane McMahon as the company realizes that there is too much of him on TV and Shane also knows this. If it was up to him, he would not be on TV as much as he is.
On this week’s SmackDown Live, Owens got into a parking lot brawl with Dolph Ziggler, then he cut a worked shoot promo on McMahon and later in the show he delivered a Stone Cold Stunner. Steve Austin is friends with Owens and he gave him his blessing to do the move.
If you are a fan that watched in the late 90s then this may all seem familiar to you. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the idea here is to try to portray Owens into a Stone Cold Steve Austin-like babyface character.
The babyface turn is something Owens wanted. In fact, he was not supposed to turn heel after WrestleMania 35 but WWE felt like it had to be done because they needed someone to step in when Daniel Bryan was injured. Owens also admitted on Lilian Garcia’s podcast that he wanted to do more as a babyface.
He is getting his chance now and it seems like they are centering the blue brand around him with a one-on-one match with McMahon on the horizon.
For more backstage news on Owens, Sasha Banks, SummerSlam, Paul Heyman and more, visit the WWE News section.
