Kevin Owens and Apollo Crews were set to face off for the WWE Intercontinental Championship this week on Friday Night SmackDown, without Commander Azeez anywhere near the ring. Unfortunately for Owens, Azeez beat him down before the match and made sure that the challenger was in rough shape.
.@FightOwensFight showing a lot of heart against @WWEApollo despite being attacked backstage prior to this match. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/nqq5ypU8xk
— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2021
Prior to the match, Azeez attacked Owens backstage and rammed him with a road case to injure his ribs. Despite the attack, Owens still made his way down to the ring, where he and Crews waged war for the title. Unfortunately for Owens, the attack by Azeez left him clearly worse for wear, and although he was able to avoid an early defeat, he couldn’t pull off the upset. Late in the match, Crews survived a pop-up powerbomb for a near fall before he hit a Death Valley Driver on Owens for the win.
"I didn't do anything, karma did it. it's called KARMA!" – @SamiZayn #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/zy88SvkuQP
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) June 5, 2021
After the match, Sami Zayn came running down to the ring, and landed a nasty Helluva Kick to Owens in the corner. After his former friend was down, Zayn began screaming that this is how it feels to be hurt and have someone come along and make it worse. Zayn kicked Owens once more before he left. The whole time, he yelled that this was “Karma” for what Owens did to him earlier this year.
