Kevin Owens appeared on Monday Night RAW, with the NXT Championship in hand, and looked John Cena directly in the eyes. NXT standouts have made their debuts on RAW before, but this was something different. Laying out John Cena and stepping on the title he holds is a statement. Not a kayfabe statement by Kevin Owens, the wrestler, but a statement by WWE, the company. They are aware of the future, and are starting to introduce us to it. Cena himself acknowledged it: many members of the WWE Universe want change – someone to knock Cena off the top of the mountain, and be strong enough to keep him down. Owens isn’t there yet, but he made a clear statement during the last two episodes of RAW – his climb has begun.

Fast forward. After his debut on Monday Night RAW, Owens dealt with a surprise confrontation of his own. Samoa Joe appeared at the end of NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable to announce his arrival to Owens, and the NXT crowd. Holy sh**, right? If Owens’ appearance on RAW wasn’t enough, the TNA and Ring of Honor standout finally appeared on WWE television, topping Owens’ moment on RAW. Think about that: this wasn’t a WWE-made star, or an indie star that WWE scooped up and molded into their own. Joe was made in other, relatively major wrestling companies; something we have not seen since the years of the Monday Night Wars (some exceptions, sure). If that doesn’t speak to change…

WWE is acknowledging independent careers. Owens claims to have wrestled longer than John Cena, as he dumped all over his “veteran advice.”

Even though TNA or ROH were not mentioned by name (we hear you, Josh Mathews), WWE is acknowledging Samoa Joe as an established star in professional wrestling. He didn’t come out as Joe Samoa, or S. Joe, or some name he was assigned by Vince. He was Samoa freaking Joe, a guy we all already know.

Back to Cena – sure, he is still THE guy in WWE, but times are changing. He is the United States Champion, a mid card champion, and is wrestling every week. He had a good match with Zack Ryder this week, for crying out loud.

Is there a more preferable spot for him? The title feud heading into Elimination Chamber is Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose. The two Shield guys everyone wants, right?

Let’s recap: Owens. Joe. Rollins. Ambrose. And just for good measure: Tag team wrestling is back again.

WWE can always be better, but no longer can we say they’re out of touch. It’s not Cena vs. Orton every Monday on RAW anymore. It’s not the rocket strapped to Roman Reigns anymore. It’s Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, and NXT. This is WWE now, and it looks good.

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Photo Credit: WWE