WWE Universal champion Kevin Owens isn't new to the world of wrestling. On the road to earning the notoriety and credibility that he has today, Owens has seen his share of challenges professionally.
However, he didn't allow those challenges to dictate his career path. In fact, these challenges only helped strengthen Owens’ resolve. He didn't rest idly but continued to strive to create the best possible life for himself and his family.
One of the biggest challenges Owens has faced is maintaining an effective heel persona that discourages the cheers of the fans.
He will not shy away from putting his critics in their place, and anyone that follows him on social media has witnessed first hand just how much fun he can have at the expense of the people who tweet to him.
As a sixteen-year veteran of the ring, Owens has never been one to back down from his challengers. He has crossed paths with some of the biggest and best in the world of wrestling.
While on the independent scene, Owens used a vast and notable repertoire of moves, some of which are rarely seen today. That doesn't mean he isn't capable of still using them, it's simply that he only uses them on special occasions.
Here are five other interesting facts that you probably didn't know, about Kevin Owens.
#5 He beat up a drunk and heckling fan
After watching that video, it is clear to see it takes a bit of provocation on the fan's part for Owens to push him.
Any up and coming talent on the independent circuit is faced with having to generate heat if they are a heel. It's the heel's job to get the fans riled up, and to get them cheering for him to get a thorough thrashing.
People need to remember that while it is fine to heckle, there are times when things cross the line. Although heckling is the right of any fan, that doesn't mean that they are in the right to cross the barrier and actually take the wrestler up on their challenge.
Also read: WWE News: Kevin Owens shoots on an old fan at ringside during a WWE Live Event
Once they come into the ring, they are putting themselves at risk. What is even more astonishing about this particular moment was that Owens actually beat up the friend of the fan, while the actual heckler stood at ringside.
#4 Owens' son was part of a match, at the age of six months
Recently, Broken Matt Hardy got his toddler son King Maxel into the ring, Maxel even ended up defeating Rockstar Spud in his debut match. However, that isn't the first time a baby has been a part of a wrestling match; in fact, another example took place about eight years earlier.
While wrestling on the independent scene, Owens, under his real name of Kevin Steen, was participating in an event called DDT4 Night One. His eldest child Owen became part of the match after he was ridiculed by another wrestler as part of an in-ring promo. The wrestler, known as Excalibur, called the baby ‘ugly.'
Steen didn't sit idly by while his son was insulted, and not only beat Excalibur down but beat him so badly that he incapacitated him.
Steen, in fact, hit him with one of his finishing moves, the package piledriver, not once, but three times. Steen then placed the baby on the unconscious Excalibur for the three count and his first, and only (so far), win.
#3 Owens learned to speak English as a teenager watching Raw
As a native of Marieville, Quebec, Canada, Owens spent the early part of his life speaking only French. As many can tell today, Owens is fluent in English as well as French, and it is only if you listen closely that you can detect a slight French accent in his English.
The English language can be very challenging to master, but Owens has done a more than admirable job of not only mastering it, but clearly using it to his advantage to deliver some of the best in-ring promos in wrestling today.
What is interesting to note is that most will learn a second language by attending school, becoming more familiar through practice, reading, writing and working on their comprehension. However, Owens was different.
During his teenage years, while watching Monday Night Raw during the Attitude era, Owens would listen to the commentary by Jerry ‘The King' Lawler and Jim Ross. It is through listening to their banter, as well as the promos the performers would give, that he became more familiar with English.
#2 He's been competing for his entire career with an injured knee
Injuries are without question a part of the sport. In the case of Kevin Owens, he has had his share of injuries but continues to demonstrate perseverance in the face of adversity.
At nearly 270 pounds, Owens isn't a small wrestler, and his body has endured its share of punishment throughout his career. As a sixteen-year veteran of the ring, competing since he was a sixteen-year-old, Owens has had his shares of stumbling blocks due to injury. However, his career could have easily ended before it ever began.
While the specifics of when the issue originated aren’t clear, he has a recurring injury that became a focal point of a storyline when he was in Ring of Honor. He had what was believed to be his retirement match because the pain he was experiencing was so bad that it hindered his chances of continuing his career.
However, as it turned out, he turned heel on his friend El Generico (now known as Sami Zayn). However, despite the heel turn, the injury behind the angle was very real. Owens has never let the injury prevent him from competing at the highest level possible, however, despite it being a recurring issue for him.
#1 He had an online confrontation with Sabrina The Teenage Witch
Wrestling fans are all over the world, and a number of wrestling fans are celebrities themselves. We have witnessed celebrities become a part of Wrestlemania. However, while it was never conducted in the ring or as part of a backstage segment, one actress has had an altercation with Kevin Owens that no one saw coming.
During the latter half of 2015, actress Melissa Joan Hart stated on Twitter that when she watched Owens on Raw, she felt that he was ‘lazy.' While some fans showed their support for Hart, eventually her comments got back to Owens who responded that her television shows put him to sleep, making it difficult for him to recover.
Owens then blocked the actress from his twitter feed. Despite being blocked, Hart continued to make comments about Owens in hopes that he would unblock her and continue the banter, but that never came to be, unfortunately.
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