Triple H may take drastic action with Kevin Owens after last SmackDown

Kevin Owens faced serious consequences on SmackDown after attacking General Manager Nick Aldis and refusing to return the Winged Eagle title. The incident occurred during the main event segment, where Aldis warned Owens about potential career-ending repercussions.

The tension escalated when Cody Rhodes appeared to offer Owens a ladder match opportunity at Royal Rumble 2025. Instead of accepting the handshake extended by Rhodes, KO responded by throwing Aldis into the champion before launching an attack. The National Treasure quickly recovered and limited the assault on Rhodes.

The attack on an authority figure like Aldis could prompt Triple H, WWE’s Chief Content Officer, to take decisive action. The Game has not appeared on television since his Saturday Night Main Event confrontation with Owens, but this latest incident might force his intervention.

Former manager criticizes Royal Rumble ladder match announcement

The newly announced ladder match between Rhodes and Owens has drawn criticism from Dutch Mantell, who shared his concerns about the stipulation’s impact.

Mantell addressed the diminishing appeal of ladder matches:

Well, Ladder Matches, you only see so many of them; when you continually do them throughout the year, they lose their drawing power because you can see every finish and what is left to do. So, if they wanted me to buy a ticket to see a Ladder Match, I’d say, ‘Nah, I’d go watch this other movie down the street.

The former WWE manager also expressed his overall disappointment with the show:

I’ll wish them luck, I just didn’t enjoy the show, I don’t think it was well put together.

This singles ladder match stands as a unique occurrence, differing from WWE’s recent trend of featuring multiple competitors in such stipulation matches.