Shane McMahon's Absence Is Just What the Doctor Ordered for WWE SmackDown

WWE SmackDown will be sans Shane McMahon for however long it takes to recover from the thrashing Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn gave him on Tuesday night. And the blue brand will be better off for it.

The commissioner's presence has smothered SmackDown, forcing an increasingly unlikeable character into the spotlight as part of a dragging, tiresome story.

The aftershocks of Owens' vicious attack on McMahon's father in September are still impacting SmackDown. Since that moment, Shane-O-Mac has been obsessed with KO and overcome with a hunger for revenge. He's since cheated Owens (and his buddy Zayn) out of title opportunities time and time again, including at Fastlane where both men battled for the WWE Championship.

Credit: WWE.com

McMahon's actions have often led to him and general manager Daniel Bryan bickering.

And SmackDown has dedicated consistent airtime to McMahon's growing tension with Bryan, to his issues with Owens and Zayn. It's often the narrative element that opens and/or closes the show. It's been the de facto main event story rather than AJ Styles' WWE Championship reign.

WWE put that on pause in Indianapolis on Tuesday night, however.

Before McMahon announced that Owens and Zayn will battle each other at WrestleMania 34, he revealed he will take an indefinite leave of absence:

The heels weren't satisfied with that opportunity. They pounced on the commissioner, beat him into the mat and then dragged him to the backstage area. A powerbomb onto a ladder left McMahon groaning like an animal caught in a bear trap.

That's likely going to make sure his absence lasts a few weeks. And until he returns triumphantly to insert himself into KO and Zayn's WrestleMania match somehow, SmackDown will have a chance to explore a number of non-McMahon options.

That's good news for Owens and Zayn, who will get a chance to dig their claws into someone else. SmackDown will be forced to give the heels a fresh story and a holdover for the moment.

The villains will get a chance to be seen as villains again.

Often during the McMahon tale, it's been hard to consider KO and Zayn in the wrong. The commissioner has been unjust and unfair. He yanked the referee out of the ring to prevent three-counts at Fastlane, and he's inserted himself into matches as a referee and been far from objective. The heels have been the victims of a conspiracy, held down by "the man." 

In the process, Shane-O-Mac has grown irksome, a man hard to feel sorry for when he got his comeuppance on Tuesday, despite how brutal it was.

Fightful expressed a dislike of McMahon that is not uncommon:

Plus, with McMahon stepping out of the spotlight, SmackDown can zero in more on its wrestlers.

The amount of focus the commish got each week meant that the brand had insufficient time to build on Mojo Rawley's heel turn and to do much of anything with Tye Dillinger. Breezango's Fashion Files segments haven't been a regular part of the show anymore.

WWE won't be able to address all of that with McMahon temporarily out of the picture, but the airtime once saved for him has to go somewhere. It will be refreshing to see it go to an in-ring performer.

In November, the folks at the Tights and Fights podcast pointed out the blue brand's overuse of authority figures:

That remains true some four months later. But with a break from McMahon, things will change for SmackDown for a spell.

A shot at catching fire awaits whoever benefits from the opportunity borne from McMahon not being around. The show can better spotlight Styles' WrestleMania showdown with Shinsuke Nakamura. SmackDown will feel fresher overall.

Shane-O-Mac is guaranteed to be a major player come WrestleMania, but in the meantime, the blue brand is set to get a shot in the arm.