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Even with Zelina Vega's SmackDown return, Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn stole the show
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
The long-running rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn continued this week on Friday Night SmackDown.
To say Owens and Zayn know each other well would be an understatement. The duo came up together on the indies and continued their love/hate relationship in WWE once they both joined the company.
Along the way, we’ve seen them in ladder matches, in the Elimination Chamber, in bouts with no-disqualification stipulations attached and even with Logan Paul ringside at WrestleMania.
Their latest offering was a Last Man Standing match, and expectations from fans were high, given that these two always deliver.
Thankfully, that continued Friday, when Kevin and Sami put their bodies through hell in order to earn a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match taking place July 18 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Need a few examples?
There was this:
This:
And even this:
Not to mention the fact that Kevin got flipped off the top rope to the outside of the ring through two tables stacked on top of each other.
Bottom line: Matches such as this are why we, as fans, watch.
Storytelling. High stakes. Emotion. Action. Brutality. Believability. I could list more, but you get my point. This had it all.
The finish of the match being a nod to the way in which their NXT rivalry started was a nice touch as well – a good old-fashioned powerbomb into the ring apron (otherwise known as the hardest part of the ring™).
Kudos to both Superstars. They stole the show.
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Additional Takeaways from SmackDown:
— Zelina Vega made a surprise return to WWE when she was announced as an entrant in the upcoming Money in the Bank ladder match.
She then wrestled against Liv Morgan, who was still unhappy about being overlooked as an entrant, but ended up losing after an attempt to grab Morgan’s tights backfired.
Vega, who was released from WWE last year before reportedly re-signing with the company in recent months, is a world-class talent who has proven to be valuable in the ring as well as outside of it. The situation that led to her exit seemed too trivial to keep her away for long. Plus, the women’s division on SmackDown could really use a few fresh faces, and Vega is a perfect addition because fans were calling to see more of her in the ring before she got released.
Bringing her back was undoubtedly the right move. With a new rebirth on SmackDown and fans returning soon, now is the time to give her a steady push and see how they react.
If things go right, she could be a worthwhile challenger for Bianca Belair at some point in the next few months. They had good chemistry when working together in the past.
— Last week, I outlined a path to Seth Rollins vs. Edge at SummerSlam, and things still seem to be heading that direction (at least from my perspective).
Seth has made it clear over the past week that he’s unhappy about Edge being given the Universal Title match at Money in the Bank over him. No one seems to be taking his complaints seriously, though, which has been known to make his character angry and lash out.
Next week, as consolation, he has a qualifying match for the MITB ladder match against rival Cesaro. I have a feeling it won’t end in his favor.
What seems more likely is Rollins losing and spiraling into madness even further after being left off the upcoming pay-per-view altogether. That way, if he causes Edge to lose to Roman, it’ll make an appearance at Money in the Bank even more impactful.
Another reason for my line of thinking here is that Edge has been so hyper-focused on Roman since returning that he isn’t paying any attention to what Rollins is saying.
That doesn’t seem smart.
Rollins’ character had no regard for Edge’s well-being when "The Rated-R Superstar" was retired from in-ring competition and couldn’t fight back. You think he’ll have an issue holding back when Edge can?
I doubt it.
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
