Breaking Down WWE's Most Controversial, Shocking Stories for the Week of Feb. 16

From Randy Orton refusing to fight Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33 to Kevin Owens attacking Chris Jericho on Raw, one bromance seemed to grow stronger, and another disintegrated. Valentine's week seemed to be a story of both love and hate.

This week's slate of WWE programming gave fans a mixture of shocking and controversial stories that have officially laid the groundwork for what should be a fun WrestleMania season.

One More Match for Kurt Angle?

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), there may be plans for Kurt Angle to get back in the ring, something he hinted to me during a recent exclusive interview with Forbes. Angle is quite possibly the best athlete and most complete wrestler WWE has ever seen. Even Angle in winter would be a welcomed addition to WWE SmackDown's thin roster, although the matchup that makes the most since is with Russian sympathizer Rusev, who resides on Raw.

Angle was a hot name in the rumor mill for surprise Royal Rumble entrants, but for now, he'll have to settle for a Hall of Fame induction and hopefully a non-wrestling angle with Rusev that sets something up between the two for further down the line.

Angle's injury history is a lengthy one and poses a legitimate question of whether he can pass a physical. Even if he does, WWE will need to tread lightly in booking the living legend.

Randy Orton Will Not Fight Bray Wyatt at WWE WrestleMania 33

In the latest twist to a volatile WWE Championship picture on SmackDown Live, Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton announced he would not be facing Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33. This is a wise plot twist that will keep things interesting for the blue brand, which will have to go just under two months without a pay-per-view.

SmackDown Live general manager Daniel Bryan already announced a No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal for next week's show, and it will be interesting to see if WWE goes through with Orton punting on a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania.

The Battle Royal scenario lends itself to a host of screwy finishes, including the vaunted tie. It's hard to imagine Orton carrying on as a Wyatt disciple all the way up to April, but even if he does compete against The Eater of Worlds, there's a chance this could turn into a Triple Threat or Fatal 4-Way match.

Gone Cena: John Cena to Take More Time Away from WWE

As John Cena transitions into life after wrestling, Meltzer (h/t Middleton) reported that Cena appearances will be few and far between post-WrestleMania.

Cena has a lot of movie projects on the docket, including the forthcoming release of The Pact, as the WWE star looks to join The Rock and Batista as former world champions who made successful leaps to blockbuster films.

Much of the SmackDown Live era has been sans Cena, but that hardly slowed the brand down from becoming the critic's choice in comparison to three-hour WWE flagship Raw. Still, SmackDown did not defeat Raw in the ratings until Cena's heralded return.

SmackDown has done a great job fine-tuning previously tired acts like Dolph Ziggler and The Miz, but Baron Corbin is the only up-and-coming star who the brand has truly invested in. In order to fill the large void left by Cena's absence, SmackDown will need to cultivate more homegrown stars like Corbin.

Chris Jericho Makes Kevin Owens' List, Is Triple H Building an Army?

Kevin Owens shockingly turned on his best friend, Chris Jericho, following an entertaining Festival of Friendship segment on Raw. Owens, who will defend his Universal Championship against Goldberg at WWE Fastlane, was seen having a one-on-one conversation with Triple H earlier in the night.

Triple H and Owens have had zero interaction since The Game assisted Owens in winning his first world championship back in late August. Their dormant alliance seems to have been rekindled, and with Triple H already working with Samoa Joe, the godfather of NXT could be building yet another faction of internet darlings before our eyes on Raw.

Owens and Jericho have played off one another well in good times and bad. With Triple H added to a feud that needed little else, hopefully an otherwise simple story of "best friends, better enemies" doesn't become convoluted.

Bayley Wins the Raw Women's Championship

WWE seems to have painted itself into a corner with Charlotte Flair in that it has become obsessed with preserving her undefeated pay-per-view record. In doing so, Flair is a sitting duck when it comes to defending her Raw Women's Championship on Raw.

Monday marked the fourth time Flair lost her Raw Women's Championship on television, a record for any women's championship. What was, for the most part, a feel-good moment for Bayley didn't feel like she slayed a dragon as much as it felt like she did what seemingly anybody can do and defeated Flair on the comparably small stage of Raw.

Flair figures to regain the Raw Women's Championship at WWE Fastlane, setting up a scenario where Bayley beats her at WrestleMania to hand the champ her first pay-per-view loss in a title defense. But if this is a group women's match as expected, Flair's one-one-one undefeated record will remain intact, further diminishing a potential Bayley win.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.