Kevin Owens got one of the biggest reactions of SummerSlam, but Vince Russo still thinks WWE got it wrong. In fact, he believes WWE wasn’t confident the Prizefighter could sell tickets for the event.
Owens made his long-awaited return after 17 months away during SummerSlam Night Two, stepping into the No. 1 Contender’s Match and punching his ticket to an Undisputed WWE Championship shot. It was one of the biggest surprises of the weekend. Russo, however, believes WWE left money on the table.
Speaking on The Coach & Bro Show, the former WWE head writer argued Owens shouldn’t have returned at SummerSlam at all. Instead, he believes WWE should have brought him back weeks earlier and built an actual storyline leading into the premium live event.
“We’re gonna kayfabe Kevin Owens’ return for the pop. You could have backed that up for four weeks and started a Kevin Owens story with the return match coming at SummerSlam.”
Russo said there are only two explanations for why WWE chose not to go that route—and he wasn’t impressed with either of them.
“There’s only two reasons why, and both are poor. Number one, creatively they didn’t know what to do. If he’s not gonna be cleared to wrestle in four weeks, how do we tell a story with him in four weeks? Very easily. You wanna send me a check for consulting? I’ll write it out.”
Then Vince Russo floated the explanation he believes is far more likely, stating that WWE didn’t believe Kevin Owens would be able to sell more tickets.
“Or… number two, they didn’t believe Kevin Owens would sell extra tickets. Coach, what else do you do?”
Jonathan Coachman immediately agreed with that theory, adding that WWE thought having GUNTHER in that position was the better idea.
“Bingo! Bingo! They didn’t think that. But they thought GUNTHER would without announcing it as well.”
The criticism comes just a day after Owens made one of the most emotional returns of his career. Following the match, Owens revealed there was a point during his recovery when he genuinely believed he’d never wrestle again. Months of medical scans continued showing his neck wasn’t healing the way doctors had hoped, and it wasn’t until about a month before SummerSlam that he finally received the clearance he had been waiting for.
Russo clearly isn’t questioning the return itself. He just believes WWE should have made the comeback a month-long story instead of saving it as a one-night surprise.
Do you agree with Vince Russo, or was Kevin Owens’ surprise SummerSlam return the right call? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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