Celebrating 10 Years of Kevin Owens in WWE

On August 12, 2014, the WWE took a chance and signed someone who is now one of the company’s top stars. Kevin Owens transitioned seamlessly from being a top star in NXT to the main roster.

Owens challenged legends such as John Cena and Stone Cold Steve Austin. He is the 23rd Grand Slam Champion that is Owens.

Ten years later, in August 2024, Owens is still with the company and doesn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon. His dedication to the business shows as he appears every week looking to put on a show.

He quickly gained respect from the audience as he always performed well. Owens has undoubtedly had one of the most captivating runs in the company.

His promos and in-ring work are not mere performances but storytelling that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats. He ensures that the story is told and lived by the audience, making them feel part of the action.

Owens is one of the company’s most successful superstars and has changed the landscape. He broke the mold for what the average wrestler is “supposed” to look like while adapting to any scenario he is put in.

So, let’s look at some of the highlights of Kevin Owens’ career in the WWE.

The Rise of Kevin Owens

Like many other current superstars, Owens began his career in NXT. However, his run was no different as he quickly pushed to the top.

Owens closed out his debut night with a bang at NXT R Evolution 2014 by turning on Sami Zayn after he won the NXT Championship. This is where we discovered that Kevin Owens has the potential to be one of the best heels in the company.

That night, he set up one of the best rivalries and teams in WWE, Owens and Zayn.

Only two months to the day after his debut, Owens won his first championship with the company, the NXT Championship. He defeated former friend Zayn in a brutal match at NXT Takeover: Rival.

Owens held the championship for five months, the remainder of his time in NXT. The average superstar spends around two years training in NXT, and having Owens make his main roster debut after only five months shows how advanced he is and his character.

When Owens debuted on the main roster, he was still NXT Champion, competing regularly on Raw and NXT. Owens made a bold debut on the May 18, 2015 edition of Raw by answering Cena’s open challenge for the United States Championship.

Pinning him against a legend in the industry put a lot of pressure on him to prove himself to everyone watching. This one match with Cena turned into a feud lasting around four months.

He seamlessly transitioned from NXT to the main roster after eventually losing his NXT title to Finn Balor in yet another memorable feud.

The PrizeFighter Kevin Owens

Owens isn’t a grand slam champion for no reason; he’s The PrizeFighter. He’s had that name since NXT because he is determined to fight for the gold.

Only four months after his debut, Owens won his first main roster championship, the Intercontinental Championship. He defeated Ryback at Night of Champions 2015 and held onto the title until TLC 2015, losing to Dean Ambrose.

However, he regained the championship on the February 2, 2016 Raw, becoming a two-time Intercontinental Champion. He was able to walk into his first WrestleMania (WrestleMania 32) as Intercontinental Champion.

However, Zack Ryder left with the title. Owens has also held the United States title numerous times, three to be exact.

But, before he held that championship, he had already reached ‘top guy’ status as Universal Champion. Owens won the WWE Universal Championship on the August 29, 2016 Raw in a fatal four-way match, leading to arguably one of the most entertaining championship runs.

JeriKO

Many can agree that JeriKO‘s team was an unlikely yet entertaining duo. It seemed as if Owens and Chris Jericho would feed off of one another’s energy in their promos and in the ring.

They had chemistry, which is why their story worked out so well—the charisma between the two meshed in all the segments they were involved in together.

Their friendship started rocky at the beginning of the summer of 2016 but, by August, they were ‘best friends.’ By the end of the month, Owens won the Universal Championship on the August 29, 2016 Raw.

Looking back on Owens’ Universal Title reign, it is hard to think about without picturing Jericho by Owens’ side. They had one of the most entertaining friendships in the company, feeding into the roles they were given.

They became a perfect heel tag team, interfering in matches for one another and digging into their opponents on the mic. Match interferences were so consistent that Jericho was locked in a shark cage and suspended over the ring.

This was the first shark cage match in years, perfect for their story. The audience loved it, as it was refreshing to see something different.

Owens and Jericho just continued to feed into it. Their friendship continued while Owens was champion, but it ended at The Festival of Friendship on the February 13, 2017 edition of Raw when Owens turned on Jericho.

The feud between these two was one of the top storylines. Nine months were spent getting the fans involved in this story by having them show up together weekly.

So, when Owens decided to turn on Jericho, the fans were devastated. The fans’ emotions show how impeccable the storytelling was.

The goal is to make the audience feel something, and they do precisely that. This eventually led to their match at WrestleMania 33, in which Owens defeated Jericho for the United States Championship.

Kevin Owens vs Legends

I have already discussed Owens’s history of competing against and with legends such as Cena and Jericho, who still actively wrestle. Along with Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and more future Hall of Famers.

But what Owens accomplished, which many superstars can’t do, is to pull one out of retirement. Owens had the opportunity to face the one and only Shane McMahon various times, the first being at Hell In a Cell 2017.

Then, he teamed up with his best friend, Zayn, against Daniel Bryan and McMahon on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania 34. The magnitude of this match was monumental because not only was McMahon stepping into the ring, but it was Daniel Bryan’s in-ring return after years of being out.

Owens continued to face McMahon two more times in 2019, at SummerSlam 2019 and in a career vs career ladder match on the October 4, 2019 edition of SmackDown, which Owens won. Fast-forward a few years and, at WrestleMania 38, Owens faces wrestling icon Stone Cold Steve Austin.

This was Stone Cold’s first and only match in 20 years. The fact that he was chosen to face him shows the respect and faith that the company has in Owens.

They knew that if he was put in this scenario, he could deliver, which he did.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

There is no way to write a piece on Owens without including Zayn. While I have briefly mentioned him, he has been way more involved in Owens’ career than one could imagine.

Their on-screen relationship has been rocky, but their off-screen relationship has always been strong. This strong relationship shows itself when they’re in the ring together.

The chemistry is uncanny whether they are working with or against each other. As I mentioned, Zayn and Owens even fought together on the biggest stage in the company, not just once, but twice.

They lost against a returning Bryan and McMahon at WrestleMania 34 but then, by WrestleMania 39, they were winning the tag team championships. Leading up to WrestleMania 39 was one of the most intriguing storylines involving the two.

The story was built and dragged out for months, with Zayn as part of The Bloodline. While sometimes it can seem annoying or consistent, the longer the story and the more in-depth it is, the more the crowd can get involved.

Zayn joined The Bloodline in the Spring of 2022, and left the faction by Royal Rumble 2023, setting up the road to WrestleMania with Owens. This story was very emotional, from Zayn finally getting an opportunity to two best friends able to do it together.

Knowing how accurate their friendship was off-screen helped the audience get invested more. It made the moment they won the tag team titles at WrestleMania 39 that much more meaningful.

Fight Owens Fight

Owens didn’t become a top guy for no reason. He has proven himself and shown up week after week in his decade-long career and continues to do so.

Owens knows the importance of not only the match but also the storytelling. No matter what scenario he has been put in, he has been able to adapt and make the best of any situation.

Looking back on Owen’s 10-year career with the company, his run has been nothing less than impressive. He has accomplishments that many wrestlers will never get because of his dedication and how he has proven himself to everyone over this past decade.

Currently, Owens is set to challenge WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at Bash at Berlin for the title. Will Owens add another championship to his resume?

Will he turn heel before or after the match? One thing we know for sure is that it will be a great match, as they both don’t disappoint.

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