5 theories on why Kevin Owens will turn heel and attack Kofi Kingston

Kevin Owens was left without a storyline after losing a WWE Championship Triple Threat match against Daniel Bryan and Ali at Fastlane in March, meaning he did not appear at WrestleMania for the first time since he became a member of WWE’s main roster.

Since then, the former Universal champion has left his mark on SmackDown Live by appearing out of nowhere to hit Rusev with a Stunner following a six-man tag match. He then became an honorary member of The New Day last week, renaming himself “Big O”, to help Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods defeat Cesaro, Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura.

It has already been announced that Owens, along with Woods, will be at ringside to support Kingston when he faces Nakamura on the next episode of SmackDown Live, so it looks as though KO’s story with The New Day was not just a one-off in front of his home fans in Montreal, Quebec last week.

Given that the man who Kingston won the WWE Championship from at WrestleMania 35, Daniel Bryan, is sidelined with an unspecified injury right now, the New Day member is without an obvious first challenger for his title, which has led many people to speculate that Owens could be the man to fill that spot.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five theories on why Owens will not only face Kingston next for the WWE title, but why he will turn heel and attack his new ally.

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#5 Kofi Kingston stole his spot

Kevin Owens missing WrestleMania 35 was a pretty big deal. After all, when the video packages began airing for him to make his return to television in February 2019, the original plan was for Owens to challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WWE’s biggest show of the year.

Why did that not happen? Two words: Kofi Kingston.

The ‘KofiMania’ phenomenon caught on so much that WWE was left with no choice but to propel the New Day member into the title picture and have him, not Owens, face Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. That meant that KO received his opportunity one month earlier than planned at Fastlane, while he was left off the ‘Mania card completely.

If that is not reason enough for Owens to hold a grudge against Kingston, then what is?

#4 Kofi Kingston needs a WWE title challenger

The lack of storyline developments over the last two weeks in WWE is understandable – it has been the Superstar Shake-Up, after all – but it is still surprising that nobody has yet stepped up to emerge as potential challengers for Seth Rollins’ Universal Championship and Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship.

With the injured Daniel Bryan seemingly out of the title picture for the time being, there are hardly any Superstars who can realistically take on Kingston at the next pay-per-view, Money In The Bank, on May 19.

Randy Orton? He lost twice to Kingston recently. Samoa Joe? He is reportedly moving to Raw. Lars Sullivan? It seems too soon for him. The Bar? Underwhelming. Rusev? He has lost on 18 PPVs in a row. Shinsuke Nakamura? He had lots of chances in 2018 and lost every time. Elias? He is busy with Roman Reigns.

Unless Reigns is given a shot right away, which would no doubt prove unpopular, then Kevin Owens is surely the leading candidate to enter the WWE title picture ahead of Money In The Bank.

#3 Kevin Owens can never be trusted

From Sami Zayn to Chris Jericho, every WWE Superstar and fan knows that Kevin Owens is not a man to be trusted, so why should we trust him now?

The former Universal champion has shown a lighter side to his character in recent months, notably last week when he became “Big O” and did his best impression of Big E by swivelling his hips alongside the rest of The New Day.

However, looking back over the last few years, we have seen this kind of thing before from Owens. Remember when he attacked Zayn in December 2014? He suckered him in by celebrating with him first on the ramp. Remember when he attacked Jericho in February 2017? He suckered him in by giving him a new list during 'The Festival of Friendship'.

Maybe, just maybe, Owens suckered in Kingston by using The New Day to play up to his home fans in Montreal last week, cementing his status as a top babyface in the process. That way it will be even more shocking when he turns heel and betrays Kingston before Money In The Bank.

#2 SmackDown Live has enough good guys

With Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns and Finn Balor all on SmackDown Live, does the show really need another high-profile babyface in Kevin Owens?

Throughout his four years in NXT/WWE, KO proved himself to be one of the top heels that the company has seen over the course of the last decade. Granted, it was inevitable that he would become a good guy one day, but the timing of Reigns and Balor moving to Tuesday nights is certainly questionable.

If Owens remains a good guy, he will be the fourth most popular singles Superstar on SmackDown Live. However, if he switches back to the dark side, he will likely find himself facing the aforementioned babyfaces in main events for the rest of 2019.

As entertaining as the former NXT champion has been during his short run as a good guy so far, perhaps it would make more sense for him to attack Kingston and kick-start another run as a major heel on the blue brand.

#1 The New Day does not need a new member

Let’s be honest, this “Big O” thing is inevitably going to end badly, isn’t it? It is unclear how long Big E will be out of in-ring action with his knee injury, but he is bound to return in his usual spot with The New Day when he is fully recovered, and where would that leave Kevin Owens?

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have reassured everyone in recent weeks that The New Day will never split up, no matter who wins which titles and regardless of which brand all three men are on, so it was a surprise when Owens became an honorary member of the group on last week’s SmackDown Live.

Moving forward, the announcement that Owens is set to accompany Kingston for his match against Shinsuke Nakamura on Tuesday certainly opens up the possibility of KO somehow getting involved to set up a rivalry with the WWE champion.

Whether or not these theories come to fruition, we will have to wait and see. Either way, there is only four weeks to go until Money In The Bank, so we should find out Kingston’s first challenger soon enough!