Wednesday 11 September 2019 08:46, UK
Kevin Owens is no longer a WWE employee after being fired by Shane McMahon on last night's SmackDown.
The drama began earlier in the evening when Elias was forced to withdraw from his King of the Ring semi-final match against Chad Gable, with McMahon taking his place.
The boss' son then installed Owens as the special guest referee for the match, promising to lift an earlier $100,000 fine if he called the contest 'down the middle'.
Gable defeated the self-proclaimed "Best in the World" in mere seconds with an astonishing rolling German Suplex but Shane did not accept the loss, instead altering the match to a two-out-of-three falls contest.
With the threat of the fine looming over him, Owens continually failed to make accurate counts and the match only came to an end when Gable snapped in a Kurt Angle-style ankle lock to forced McMahon to tap out.
Gable therefore is in the King of the Ring final - in which he faces Baron Corbin on next week's Raw - and the future of Owens is less clear. After a few post-match strikes from an exhausted Shane, he got on the mic to proclaim that KO was now fired.
History repeats itself for Orton and Kingston
WWE champion Kofi Kingston arrived at Madison Square Garden reflecting on the night in 2009 where he battered Randy Orton from pillar to post in the famous New York arena on a night that altered his career.
However, that trip down memory lane would soon be interrupted with multiple chants of "stupid" from Orton. The Viper would then claim Kingston was nothing but a fraud, statements that had Kofi immediately ready to fight ahead of their Clash of Champions slate this Sunday.
That, perhaps somewhat predictably, led to a scuffle between the two, which only came to an end when - in a perfect full-circle moment, Kington put Orton through an MSG table with a legdrop.
Undertaker drops Zayn
The Undertaker's return to Madison Square Garden did not lead to the speculated clash with Bray Wyatt, with Sami Zayn instead finding himself in the Phenom's firing line.
Taker arrived on the blue brand making it clear he's always considered MSG his home but before he could complete his list of great moments in the venue he was interrupted by Zain, who claimed to have nothing but respect for the legend but nevertheless openly questioned if The Undertaker should continue returning.
Zayn stated the future was here, and his name was Sami Zayn. Undertaker did not say anything when Zayn asked him to leave the ring, but he spoke swiftly with action with a brutal chokeslam, taking yet another soul in the hallowed halls of the Garden.
