WWE's Plan to Save Teen Demo, Kevin Owens Face Turn, Street Profits in Roundup

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

WWE Trying to Appeal to Teenagers

WWE reportedly has concerns that its teenage demographic may begin leaning toward All Elite Wrestling when its weekly show begins airing on TNT later this year.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Marc Middleton of WrestlingInc.com), WWE is starting to push an edgier product in order to get that demographic to stay.

WWE increased the use of curse words like "sh-t" and "b--ch" on Raw and SmackDown this week. Also, Kofi Kingston flipped off Samoa Joe during a promo segment on SmackDown, which was reminiscent of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Meltzer added that WWE may begin calling up more talent from NXT capable of connecting to the teenage audience. He also noted that Ricochet's push as United States champion is a sign that WWE views him as someone who appeals to teenagers.

New Raw Executive Director Paul Heyman is believed to be high on Ricochet, which may have something to do with his ascent as well.

The success of wrestling during the Attitude Era had plenty to do with the young male demographic enjoying the edgy product that WWE used to provide.

WWE has been far more family-oriented in recent years, but it is clear that the company is trying to stretch its boundaries to cast a wider net rather than focusing primarily on young children.

Reported Reason for Owens' Face Turn

Kevin Owens appeared to turn face or at least take a step toward doing so on Tuesday's episode of SmackDown Live.

Per Meltzer (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), KO is turning for the second time since WrestleMania because of Daniel Bryan. Owens was reportedly supposed to remain face coming out of WrestleMania, but when Bryan was out injured, Owens turned heel and feuded with WWE champion Kofi Kingston.

Now that Bryan is healthy, the creative team apparently felt the time was right to put Owens back on the other side of the ledger.

Owens showed some face-like tendencies while hosting Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre on the Kevin Owens Show on SmackDown. When Dolph Ziggler interrupted, KO went off on him and talked about how tired he is of hearing how Ziggler should be WWE champion.

McMahon put Owens and Ziggler in a tag team match against Heavy Machinery with the winners going to face Bryan and Rowan, as well as New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at Extreme Rules.

Heavy Machinery prevailed after Ziggler accidentally superkicked Owens, which led to KO attacking Ziggler after the match.

Owens may not be a full-on face yet, but if he is, it would represent an abrupt about-face since he and Sami Zayn were heeling it up just one week ago.

While Owens has been at his best as a heel over the years, he is one of WWE's top all-around talents and likely has the chops to pull off being a top babyface too.

Rumors on Street Profits' Raw Debut

NXT Tag Team champions The Street Profits surprisingly debuted on Monday's episode of Raw, which left much of the WWE Universe wondering what it means for their status in NXT.

According to Meltzer (h/t Middleton), The Street Profits are still part of NXT and their Raw appearance is not considered an official call-up to the main roster.

Meltzer added that there were "politics" involved with The Street Profits' appearance on Raw, but he didn't elaborate. He did note that utilizing The Street Profits may have been a "Heyman move" due to his desire to get fresh faces on Raw.

The Street Profits are reportedly expected to continue making some main roster appearances while continuing as the NXT Tag Team champs.

On Raw, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford were interviewed by Charly Caruso backstage. They cut an entertaining promo and provided a fun segment, but nothing came of it, as they didn't have a match.

The Street Profits have big-time potential as a tag team on the main roster due to their entertainment value, characters and in-ring ability, but they have plenty left to prove in NXT after winning the tag titles in a ladder match at NXT TakeOver: XXV.

Calling them up now may not be advisable, but using them on multiple brands could be the best way to get the most out of them and keep everyone happy.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).