Don't Fight Owens Don't Fight

Cena can't see Owens
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

Long time readers know my biggest pet peeve when it comes to professional wrestling storylines is the lack of logic. I can suspend my belief when it comes to the actual wrestling match. Why wouldn’t a wrestler bounce off the ropes and keep running? Due to his height, it’s “believable” only Rey Mysterio’s opponents would fall onto the second rope thus setting up the 619.  But when wrestlers do or say something that is illogical, I am taken out of the story and then use this forum to complain about the lack of logic. 

Will Cena win the rematch?
Photo courtesy: WWE

This brings me to the current Kevin Owens/John Cena feud. Don’t get me wrong;  I’m enjoying the feud. I’m glad to see Kevin Owens on the main roster and the fact that he did what Bray Wyatt and Rusev should have but didn’t do, makes him look more impressive. However, I have a feeling WWE’s patented protective 50-50 booking is going to negate Owens’ impact. 

Owens wins
Photo courtesy: WWE

While it was surprising for Owens to cleanly beat Cena in their match at Elimination Chamber, I was shaking my head in disbelief when before the show was over, Michael Cole was already promoting a rematch in two weeks at Money In The Bank. Take away my dislike of WWE Network Specials (are they still officially PPVs or is there an official new description?) usually being about 75% rematches from the previous show, there’s no logical reason for Kevin Owens to agree to a rematch. 

Since Kevin Owens beat Cena in their first match, what incentive does Owens have to fight Cena again? The first match was a non-title match so logically the rematch could be for John Cena’s United States Title. Kevin Owens, though, has already said he doesn’t care about the title and values his NXT title as a bigger prize than the US title. If Owens wanted to fight for a title, wouldn’t it logically make sense for him to go after Seth Rollins’ WWE Championship and claim that by beating the WWE standard bearer of the last decade, Owens has proved himself worthy of said title shot? 

War of words
Photo courtesy: WWE

During Kevin Owens’ promo on Monday night, John Cena interrupted and rambled on about Owens not being a man because a real man wouldn’t need to come out and brag about winning the match. Cena told a kid battling cancer to keep fighting and never give up.  Cena continued to ramble on in what was more an attempt to let the kids in the audience know John Cena was still a fighter and would keep fighting more than being about Kevin Owens.  Owens himself never addressed the reason for the rematch in two weeks before leaving the ring and walking away from Cena. 

So my question is, other than it’s easier to book a rematch than come up with and build a meaningful match in two weeks, WHY is Kevin Owens agreeing to fight John Cena? What’s the upside for Kevin Owens?