5 Things You Should Know About Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens is one of WWE's most recognizable Superstars. The Canadian born professional wrestler has been an integral part of weekly episodic WWE television since his memorable main roster debut in 2015 when he instantly feuded with John Cena. Since then, Owens participated in the unforgettable Festival of Friendship with Chris Jericho, had a number of classic bouts against long time frenemy Sami Zayn, betrayed The New Day, and has held multiple titles, including the prestigious Universal Championship.

Despite his numerous successes, Owens has found himself lacking and although it's often been a struggle to point to a specific reason why, he did his best to open up on today's episode of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia where he talked about the ups and downs of his WWE career.

Join us and get to know WWE Superstar Kevin Owens like never before.

#5. Kevin Owens Questions His Place In WWE

While Kevin Owens has had his share of obvious successes in WWE, that doesn't stop him from experiencing crippling self-doubt, which has often caused him to question his place in the company.

After his WrestleMania 33 match with jilted on-screen former best friend Chris Jericho, Owens learned that Vince McMahon wasn't quite satisfied with the bout. In footage now forever memorialized on WWE Network's 365, Owens went up to the WWE CEO and asked if everything was OK, but received a stern, "No."

The match and McMahon's ensuing reaction caused Owens to spiral into self doubt,

"That made me question myself as a performer. That made me question my place in WWE and ultimately affected my life in every aspect because I'm so passionate about this."

Owens found support through his wife, but admits, "Those couple months were real rough." He points back to that time as the "one night where everything switched" for him and although he had two years worth of success on the main roster felt a new pressure to "catch up."

He confided in Lilian Garcia,

"I felt like I wasn't doing anything right. After WrestleMania, after that match, I tried to kind of change things about my personality, or my character, and even the way I wrestle to try to be more in line with what the company needed me to be or what the show needed me to be, but it was hard because I wasn't finding it."

Things haven't exactly cleared up for Owens, who has struggled to find balance,

"If anything, I still feel like I'm struggling to find it because there's a balance between what I was for those first two years and what I've been since and what the show needs me to be for the people in charge, but it's hard for me to find that balance. It's been a struggle since that moment, I'd say."

If you're thinking the experience helped Owens grow, think again,

"I'd like to say it made me grow, but I don't think I can say that. I think if anything, I tried to grow, but I don't know if I did."

Owens' fans can find silver lining in the fact that he has learned to accept things since his match with Jericho, a bout Vince McMahon labeled as, "One of the worst matches in WrestleMania history."

#4. WrestleMania XI Changed His Life

Kevin Owens struggled to find a passion early on and wasn't sure what he'd pursue in life. All of that changed when his father brought home a VHS version of WrestleMania XI.

Owens told Lilian Garcia,

"Up until I was 11 years old I really had nothing....I played all these sports, but nothing really clicked for me."

While in the 4th grade, Owens was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, but his lackluster response only frustrated his instructors. That all changed when he saw WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels,

"That was it. I didn't really want to watch it with him at first. I remember that, but then I was walking in the kitchen as he put it on and I could see into the living room, the TV and it just grabbed me. I sat down with him and about two hours in I said, 'That's what I want to do for a living.'"

It was HBK, who captivated Owens' impressionable imagination,

"At the time, I was 11 years old and I was scrawny. People used to think I was 7 or 8 even though I was 11, so when Shawn Michaels, the smallest guy on the show came out and ended up, by far, being the best wrestler on the show, I was like, 'If he can do it, then I can too.' From that moment on, I told my parents right then and there that that's what I wanted to do."

Owens found himself captivated and consumed with professional wrestling. His parents didn't discourage the youngster. Instead they helped cultivate Owens' newfound interest and he began training professionally at the age of 16.

#3. Happiness Eludes Him

Despite having more success than most wrestlers, Owens struggles with finding happiness and contentment.

He confided in Vince McMahon, telling the WWE CEO that he was never happy and that he was consumed with a desire for more no matter how much he achieved. McMahon had some advice for Owens, "It's OK to always want more, but you've got to find a way to be happy."

It isn't like Owens isn't trying. He went to Shawn Michaels, his childhood idol, for advice.

Owens told Lilian Garcia,

"It was the night after the Bobby Lashley match on TV and I was going into surgery, and I was going to be gone....I was telling him [Shawn Michaels] about how I was looking forward to the time off, not even to heal my knees, but to heal my head, not physically, but mentally. For 4 years it had been non-stop and it was draining. He told me, 'Yeah, you know, I was kind of like you where I took everything home and I was always obsessed with this stuff, but trust me now. I'm telling you, I wish it wasn't that way."

Owens used those five months away from the ring to assess how he would enjoy the special moments in his WWE career and although it's still a struggle, the WWE Superstar is putting forth his best effort.

#2. Kevin Owens Has A Babyface Run In Him

Kevin Owens has quickly become one of the greatest heels in the history of professional wrestling, but don't typecast him just yet. Owens sounds like a man who has enormous potential as a babyface.

When Lilian Garcia suggested that Owens enjoyed being a heel more than he did being a babyface, Owens responded,

"I can't say that that's true. Only because I've been a heel for so long now, I'm personally ready for something different and I'd also love to see how successful I can be as a babyface....my ego tells me I'd be great."

He continued,

"I got a tiny taste of it and then for reasons beyond my control - for what the show needed - I had to go back the other way and I'm trying to make that as good as I can, but I still have this need to find out, if I'm right."

Owens admitted that a big babyface run might be his new goal.

#1. Don't Attribute His Physique To Lack Of Work Ethic

Kevin Owens will be the first to tell you what he has so often heard from critics. He doesn't look like a professional wrestler. He doesn't possess a 6'8" frame like Hulk Hogan, nor does he have the chiseled physique of John Cena or The Rock. Instead Owens rocks what many might describe as a "dad-bod", but his critics get it wrong when they assume his physique says something about his work ethic.

Owens attributes his physique to genetics,

"I've just never been a guy who was cut and skinny. Even when I was younger, when I was 11, people thought I was 7 or 8, I was pudgy back then and it's not because I don't try. This is just who I am."

The WWE Superstar is often called fat and while the comments don't necessarily bother him, they do upset his young son. Owens insists; however, that his frame runs in the family.

Owens opened up about his physique,

"It's really just my stomach. I carry a lot of weight in my stomach, but everything else, I'm not fat. My grandfather had a huge gut his whole life and I'm talking huge. My dad is 150 pounds, but as soon as he eats something it blows up here [in the stomach]. That's just how our genetics are."

The RAW Superstar was at his biggest in 2010 when he weighed nearly 300 pounds. Owens doesn't deny being out of shape then and lost 40 pounds, but still had a stomach.

He adds,

"There were times when I was working out like crazy. My arms were good. My shoulders were good, but I still had a gut."

For years, Owens has been told that his look works against him, but the near constant critique only motivates him. Owens' critics motivate him to work harder in the ring where he consistently proves that one should not judge a book by its cover.

What are some of your favorite Kevin Owens moments? Do you think he'll finally get to have a real babyface run in the future? Head on down to the comments section and let us know!

If you use anything from this article on your site, please credit Chasing Glory with Lillian Garcia for the content and give a h/t to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcript. Thanks!