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Kevin Owens – April 1, 2023
Kevin Steen began his career in Canada after catching the wrestling bug watching Shawn Michaels and Diesel battle it out at WrestleMania 11. His first language being French, he learned English by watching Monday Night Raw and imitating Jim Ross.
Steen made the rounds in the Canadian circuits before crossing into American pro-wrestling’s Ring of Honor. He signed with WWE to NXT in 2014 and changed his ring name to Kevin Owens at the suggestion of Triple H in honor of his son, who was named after Owen Hart.
As the reigning NXT champion, he made his WWE main roster debut on the May 18, 2015, episode of Monday Night Raw, where he immediately confronted and attacked John Cena. Following the attack, he and Cena had a match at Elimination Chamber on May 31, 2015, where Owens shocked many by pinning Cena clean.
“The Prizefighter” catapulted into popularity, winning his first title on September 20, 2015, by defeating Ryback at Night of Champions.
Notably feuding with John Cena, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, and Roman Reigns throughout his career, Owens’ quest to become a Grand Slam Champion would be realized on April 1, 2023, at Wrestlemania 39, where, alongside his long-time personal friend Sami Zayn, they defeated the Usos to become the Undisputed Tag Team champions.
Owens has won a total of 9 championships in his WWE career, and is the youngest WWE Universal Champion at the age of 32, becoming the second superstar to hold the title after Finn Balor vacated it due to injury.
