Kevin Owens

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Reason for Danielson vs. Omega Opening Dynamite

AEW delivered a dream match on Wednesday night's Grand Slam edition of Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City with AEW World champion Kenny Omega facing Bryan Danielson in a non-title match.

While the match was excellent, it was somewhat surprising that AEW put it on first rather than making it the main event. Apparently, there was a calculated reason for AEW's decision.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), Danielson and Omega opened the show so that they could have a long match with fewer commercial interruptions.

Danielson vs. Omega went for 30 minutes and ended in a time-limit draw, and there was only one commercial break during the contest.

With Danielson and Omega going on first, the main event saw Britt Baker successfully defend the AEW Women's World Championship against Ruby Soho thanks to interference from Jamie Hayter and Rebel.

In addition to the rationale reported by Meltzer, the finish of Danielson vs. Omega likely had something to do with the decision as well.

Ending the show with a time-limit draw may not have sat well with the fans in attendance, which is why it made more sense to do the match earlier in the show.

After Danielson and Omega fought to a stalemate, it seems likely that they will go at it again in the near future with the title on the line.

WWE Discussing Logistical Plans for WrestleMania 38

WWE is reportedly considering making WrestleMania a two-day event once again next year after doing so each of the past two years.

According to Meltzer (h/t Middleton), WWE officials have discussed several ideas with AT&T Stadium officials regarding WrestleMania 38. The event is currently scheduled to emanate from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on April 3, 2022.

Among the ideas reportedly discussed is for WrestleMania to be a two-day event on both April 2 and April 3.

WWE made WrestleMania two days for the first time last year with WrestleMania 36, opting to try something new in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. WrestleMania 37 in Tampa, Florida, earlier this year was held over two nights as well.

Another reported idea being talked about is to hold WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium on April 3, followed by Monday Night Raw occurring at AT&T Stadium the next night as well. Both WrestleMania and Raw would reportedly have 40,000-seat setups.

Regardless of what WWE opts to do, WrestleMania 38 promises to be one of the biggest events in company history.

When WWE last held WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium over five years ago, the company reported an attendance of over 101,000, which was the highest in WWE history.

If WWE breaks up WrestleMania 38 over the course of two days, it is possible the total attendance could eclipse what WrestleMania 32 did in one night.

Cole Talks Owens Possibly Signing with AEW

Amid speculation regarding Kevin Owens' future in WWE, newly signed AEW star Adam Cole discussed his thoughts on KO possibly signing with AEW as well.

During an appearance on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Eric Mutter), Cole was asked about what he would like to see Owens do in the future:

"I mean this because I'm friends with Kevin. I want Kevin to do what makes him happiest. I really mean it, I mean it in my soul. However, of course I would love the idea of him joining me, and The Young Bucks, and everyone else here. That would be incredible. However, I do want Kevin to be happy. So there's no part of me that would be angry or upset with whatever his decision is."

Earlier this month, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t Aaron Rift of NoDQ.com) reported that Owens' WWE contract is set to expire in January 2022, which is earlier than originally thought.

Sapp noted that WWE restructured several contracts prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Owens' was among them.

Prior to Sapp's report, Middleton noted that Owens tweeted and deleted the coordinates of Mt. Rushmore. That was significant since Owens, Cole and The Young Bucks were once a stable known as Mt. Rushmore on the independent scene.

Cole made his AEW debut earlier this month at All Out after his WWE contract expired. Cole was a top star in NXT for four years but decided to jump ship to AEW.

Bryan Danielson did the same at All Out, signing with AEW upon the expiration of his WWE contract.

With so many high-profile WWE stars making the move to AEW, it is possible Owens could be next on the list, especially since he has no shortage of friends over at AEW.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: contains strong language).

Danielson Kept Notebook of Lessons From Vince McMahon

Bryan Danielson may have left WWE for AEW, but there are clearly no hard feelings. Danielson has spoken consistently about the immense respect he has for people in WWE since making his AEW debut at All Out, and we've gotten even more details regarding his respect for Vince McMahon from Dave Melzer of the Wrestling Observer.

Meltzer reported Danielson kept a notebook of important lessons he gleaned from the WWE boss over his time with the company.

While not details were given on what Danielson learned from McMahon, it's not hard to imagine the notebook being filled with small anecdotes. Danielson arrived in WWE as the best wrestler in the world but still in need of some character work; he left WWE as one of the biggest names in the sport, thanks in large part to lessons he's picked up over time with the company.

It may be more fun for fans to buy into an AEW-WWE rivalry, but it's good to see not all former WWE superstars are disenchanted with their time in the company.

Kevin Owens Contract Update

The contract status of Kevin Owens has become one of the sport's hottest topics over the last week, thanks in large part to Owens himself and the Young Bucks playing up the topic on social media.

We now have a better understanding of Owens' contractual status, with his deal set to expire Jan. 31 of next year. Fightful Select reported his deal expires before the Royal Rumble, which is expected to move to February.

The situation is largely in a holding pattern for the next few months, but Owens leaving WWE for AEW would be another huge boost for the ascending company. AEW has all of the momentum in the wrestling world right now, and adding another upper-carder from WWE would only continue that trend.

Orton vs. Lashley on Raw Due to AEW's Ratings

For the first time in company history, AEW defeated Raw in the 18-49 demographic last week. That major accomplishment reportedly led to major changes on Raw for this week.

Meltzer reported Vince McMahon decided to have a Randy Orton vs. Bobby Lashley WWE Championship match on Raw this week as a reaction to losing in the ratings. 

 “They moved the pay-per-view match to Raw. Originally they were going to do the tag team title match," Meltzer said. "The whole show last week was built to set up this tag team title match on this week’s Raw and then they pulled the match because they lost in the ratings and they’re putting Randy Orton and Bobby Lashley, the pay-per-view main event on TV tomorrow night. Yeah, that’s among the responses [to AEW]. I’m not surprised.”

Ringside News refuted Meltzer's report, saying there were "other reasons" the match was moved.

Big E may have revealed those "other reasons" when he announced his plan to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase Monday.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Sami Zayn's contract with WWE is reportedly expected to expire before the end of 2021.

The Wrestling Observer reported the details of Zayn's contract, though no exact date has been given.

Zayn has been with WWE since 2013 after a wildly successful run on the independent circuit. There have been natural questions regarding his future with the company since word got out that longtime friend Kevin Owens' deal with WWE expires at the end of January.

Owens seemingly teased joining AEW by tweeting out the coordinates of Mount Rushmore last week before deleting the tweet. The Young Bucks, Adam Cole and Owens were part of a PWG stable called Mount Rushmore in 2013 and 2014. Cole left WWE to join AEW at the All Out pay-per-view.

Owens, meanwhile, changed his Twitter bio's location to "almost there" while the Young Bucks changed theirs to say "there." 

The careers of Zayn and Owens have been intrinsically linked for more than a decade. If one is planning to leave WWE for AEW, logic follows that the other one will go too. 

Based on the dates of their contracts ending, Zayn would be the one forced to make the first move. 

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

WWE Superstar Kevin Owens' contract reportedly expires in January 2022, per Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select (h/t Aaron Rift of NoDQ.com).

“We’ve learned from a WWE official that WWE restructured several contracts ahead of the pandemic, and for whatever reason, Kevin Owens’ deal was changed to expire in January 2022," the report stated.

"We were not told of any additional terms of the deal or specifically why it was shortened. We’ll work to find out if any other deals were adjusted.”

As Rift noted, Owens told TVA Sports in May 2018 that he had recently signed a five-year deal with WWE, so the latest report represents a significant change his contract structure.

The latest Owens report drops on the same day that he deleted a tweet that may have alluded to a reunion some of his former stable members who are now in AEW. Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc. explained.

The speculation began when Owens tweeted the coordinates to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. He then changed the location in his Twitter bio to “Almost there,” which is seen as a reference to the Mount Rushmore coordinates, which have since been deleted from his Twitter feed.

Mount Rushmore is the name of a stable Owens was in with Adam Cole and AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks in 2013-2014. Owens ended up leaving the stable when he signed with WWE in 2014. He left the group with a triple superkick from Cole and The Bucks.

Owens has been with WWE since 2014.

He's a three-time United States champion and two-time Intercontinental champion who has also won the Universal and NXT titles once apiece.

Owens has been an incredible success in WWE since leaving Ring of Honor, notably being named the world's No. 3 singles wrestler by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 2017. Rolling Stone also named Owens the WWE Rookie of the Year and WWE's Best Heel in 2015.

If Owens ever left WWE for AEW, it'd be a massive coup for the organization who just added Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson to the roster. AEW also added a pair of New Japan Pro-Wrestling legends in Minoru Suzuki and Satoshi Kojima. Miro (known as Rusev in WWE) is also on the roster and thriving as the TNT champion.

Ruby Soho (Ruby Riott in WWE) also appears to have a bright future in AEW after earning a shot at the Women's World Championship following her Casino Battle Royale win at AEW All Out.

For now, Owens is a member of WWE, but it will be interesting to see what goes down in 2022.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).