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Owens as the Intercontinental championAt WWE Night of Champions, the WWE Universe got exactly what they wanted. Ryback lost his Intercontinental belt. It’s not that WWE fans wanted Ryback to fail, but his reign as IC champion wasn’t going as planned. Despite the feud between Owens and Ryback started two weeks before Night of Champions, the result was successful and the WWE should remain proud of Owens and his accomplishments. Immediately after the match, Triple H and Kevin Owens took a picture backstage.HHH praised the new champ in a very big way. It appears that Ryback will take on Owens for the strap at Hell in a Cell. There’s no word on what kind of match it will be, but a gimmick match for this type of battle is likely. Since Owens is so diverse and can wrestle with literally anybody on the roster, a limit to his opponents doesn’t exist. If he had to work a program with the Big Show or Neville, both would have its fair share of excitement and drama. That’s the beauty of Kevin Owens. He can work with anybody and will represent the Intercontinental championship By using that logic, these next 5 WWE superstars would make for great opponents to Owens.
#1 Neville
These two have wrestled in WWE NXT before. Kevin Owens and Neville are two of the best wrestlers in the world. Both have starred in top shows on the Independent circuit, but WWE NXT is where they became famous. Neville and Owens were WWE NXT Heavyweight champions, but have slightly different stories on the main roster. Owens immediately entered into a feud with John Cena, while Neville remained in the mid-card. He’s in a meaningless feud with the Lucha Dragons and the Cosmic Chaos. It’s quite obvious that he needs out.
Owens should challenge Neville in the near-future, simply because the wrestling would steal the show each night. Then again, every person on this list would enhance Owens’ skill and that of the WWE’s other talent. Since Neville is a major babyface, that gives Owens enough ammunition to to dastardly things, like a heel should do.
#2 Finn Balor
They already battled in WWE NXT. Fans watched as Finn Balor claimed his first NXT Heavyweight championship at Beast in the East. Owens and Balor then had a rematch at NXT Takeover Brooklyn. Both matches were stellar and told a great story in the ring. When Balor eventually makes the jump to the WWE main roster, he’ll need a high-profile feud right away.
If Owens is still the Intercontinental championship, that would bring a great opportunity for each man to get over with the WWE Universe on a more-stable level. That’s not to say the WWE Universe doesn’t love each man, but a program featuring this couple would be best for business.
#3 Sami Zayn
There’s not much to say than a feud between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens could headline WrestleMania for the WWE World Heavyweight championship. They are best friends in real life and had one of the best feuds in WWE NXT history. Just to solidify this potential program on the main roster, Owens talked about his history with Zayn.
“I haven’t done anything in particular. We have been who we are, and I speak for Sami Zayn here as well. In that aspect, we are very alike. A lot of people have doubted us throughout the years, we know we can make those people come around. We’ve never faltered from that, so why try to be different here? And we haven’t tried to be different and it’s been working very well, so I think that says something not only about the faith we have in ourselves, but about people being true to themselves. I think that’s important in this day and age. With social media around, people can see glimpses of who we are there, so why shy away from it in another environment? All around, we’ve been true to ourselves for years, so why change now?”
Zayn may be the best option for an Intercontinental championship feud against Owens.
#4 Dolph Ziggler
Once Dolph Ziggler gets out of the monotonous feud he is currently involved in, he should go after the Incontinental championship. Ziggler and Kevin Owens are superb wrestlers that can tell a story in the ring. There’s just something about these men that could headline a pay-per-view.
Of course, the IC belt won’t headline a show, but their skill would easily make up for it. If this feud would begin near the Royal Rumble and culminate with an Iron Man match at WrestleMania 32, then Owens and Ziggler may finally remain on the main event level.
#5 Daniel Bryan
This one is a long-shot, but if Daniel Bryan is able to get healthy, then he’d be a great candidiate to face Kevin Owens to reclaim his Intercontinental title. After WrestleMania 31, Bryan did win the IC champinship, but had to give up shortly thereafter due to injury. Unfortunately, Bryan doesn’t know when he will return to the WWE ring.
His injuries were bad and thought to be potentially severe. Given that Owens is a safe worker, he’d make sure Bryan wouldn’t sustain any injuries. Of coruse, there is no guarantee in doing so, but working with a safe wrestler is better than not at all.
