Let me bring up Nikki Bella for a moment. A few months ago on Raw, she said wins and losses don't matter. I saw some fans overreact to that and people that wanted to give their opinion on things just over-analyze it. A heel just lost a match where her title wasn't even on the line. The faces are out to enjoy the moment. What is the problem with the heel coming out and trying to make them feel like they accomplished nothing? That is what you would expect a heel to do. Nikki Bella did not say anything too awful. It isn't like she buried any individual personally to get a cheap reaction or insulted a group of individuals. She didn't insult the business. I am not saying Nikki Bella is a great heel, but she said what you would expect a heel in this situation to say. And as long as she is still holding the title, why should wins and losses matter?
Back to Kevin Owens. How does what I just said about Nikki Bella relate? What is Kevin Owens basically saying through his actions? He is saying wins and losses don't matter. Last week wasn't the first time he has walked out on a match. But as long as he is getting his title shot or retaining his title, why should he care about whether he wins or loses a certain match? He is doing what you would expect a heel to do. I haven't seen any fans react to him the same way they did towards Nikki Bella. People talk like what Nikki Bella said is one of the problems of the diva revolution. I don't see people criticizing what Kevin Owens is doing as a serious problem in the midcard or Intercontinental title scene. Ryback will obviously get another shot. They are just building up to it.
Personally, I do still see having Kevin Owens walk out on matches as a problem. It isn't insulting to his opponents, the fans, the business, or anything like that. How is it making him look? I think it is different when a guy that has already been established on the main roster starts walking out on matches like this. Kevin Owens just debuted on the main roster a few months ago. He hasn't really solidified himself. Yeah, he looked impressive when he beat Cena, but they have brought him back down since then. Even though he is holding a title, this kind of heel character might not do him many favors in getting over. Kevin Owens fans will continue to like him. Walking out of matches now and then might only annoy them, but they will still like him. But many other fans might just not care too much for him. It's not just walling out on matches. His whole heel character just doesn't feel strong. If this was a WWE veteran being pushed like this, it would be different.
Kevin Owens will eventually face Ryback in a match to put an end to his feud. It is likely Owens will retain. Where does he go after? How about Cesaro? They had a feud prior to Owens facing Ryback. Cesaro has been lost in the shuffle recently. Going back to that feud would be nice. I see some fans wanting it. The feud would be even better with a title on the line.
Let me just give one more example of a heel relying on the "wins and losses don't matter" idea. And it is another recent example. A few months ago, Seth Rollins retained his title against Brock Lesnar. He was disqualified when The Undertaker came back and attacked Lesnar. When that happened, the whole match seemed irrelevant. There wasn't even an official announcement on the finish. The next night on Raw, they had a segment where Seth Rollins had Lilian Garcia announce the finish. Seth Rollins was all smiles, still holding his WWE Championship. Lilian announced that Brock had won by DQ, but that didn't take the smile off Seth's face. The only part he wanted to hear was that he was STILL WWE Champion. Again, this is how you expect a heel to react. If this was a face, like John Cena, that retained like that, he probably wouldn't be so cocky about it. Seth doesn't care that he lost. All that matters is that he still had his title, much like Nikki Bella saying wins and losses don't matter, and much like Kevin Owens simply walking out on matches. Once again, I do not see people criticizing Seth Rollins the same way they did Nikki Bella. If any other heel did that same promo she did, they probably would not be criticized by certain fans. A heel acting like wins and losses don't matter is nothing new. Just ask Kevin Owens.
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