FOX has their fingerprints all over the production of SmackDown and making it feel like fans are watching a sports game. This was shown in the people who were featured on the show, like Erin Andrews, Michael Strahan, and Terry Bradshaw. The introduction of major sports figures like Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury can’t hurt either.
Brock Lesnar was simply too much for Kofi Kingston. He also adds more legitimacy to the format of SmackDown and the introduction of Cain Velasquez is the icing on the cake. Velasquez did make an appearance at AAA’s TripleMania 27 earlier this year. Velasquez vs. Lesnar is definitely a massive WrestleMania bout to start building which WWE very well may already have in the works. Cain also has a history with Lesnar, beating Brock for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in 2010.
My prediction is that Lesnar will lose the WWE Championship before that time comes so Vince McMahon does not have his hands tied and has to make this a title match. This can free up an opportunity for Kevin Owens to become WWE Champion, which the WWE universe will probably be more accepting of.
This could very well be the start of the build to a confrontation at ‘Mania between Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman, similar to the clash in 2008 between Floyd Mayweather and The Big Show. This makes perfect sense because Braun serves a very similar role within the company as Big Show did, almost as more of an ambassador, which is still very important.
This is a gigantic leap for Kevin Owens to go over on a McMahon. It would not surprise me at all if WWE elected to begin a big push for KO heading into WrestleMania, still possibly culminating with Owens winning the WWE Championship. I was wrong about the push beginning after SummerSlam, but I’m still confident that WWE could have major plans for Kevin Owens.