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Kevin Owens has had quite an illustrious career in WWE so far, winning a variety of championships. He is a Tag Team Championship victory away from becoming a Grand Slam Champion. He made his NXT at the end of 2014, turning heel on his first night. Owens won the NXT Championship in two months, which might still stand as a record. That's how impressive he was. Fighting the typical WWE superstar look, the Prizefighter made his way to Raw around five months after he made his NXT debut. This was an astonishingly quick call-up, but a one that WWE nailed.
Owens, in his first main roster match, beat John Cena clean in a Champion vs Champion match. While he lost the remainder of the matches, a star was born. Kevin Owens would become a bonafide superstar and main eventer in the WWE. But somewhere between his weight and WWE's reluctance to book strong heel main eventers, Owens still hasn't made the leap. Sure, he did win the Universal Championship, but his entire reign was filled with dirty finishes. He did not win a single title match clean during that reign. Alongside Chris Jericho, he did some of the finest work of his career but after losing that title, he has gone back to the upper mid-card.
A wrestler as ridiculously talented as Owens should be a consistent main eventer but WWE could not sustain a push for him. His feud with Shane McMahon looked to turn a corner but it dragged out and got stale by December last year. Ever since being drafted to Raw, Owens has been a literal punching bag for Braun Strowman. Months of destruction and humiliation at the hands of the Monster culminated with the real-life Kevin Steen to be squashed by him at SummerSlam. On Monday, Owens answered Seth Rollins’ Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge and had a brilliant match. He then proceeded to quit WWE. This is an opportunity to rebuild a fractured character who could be used in countless ways to improve the show massively. Raw could really use Kevin Owens now, they better give him something good to work with.
Hopefully, Owens gets some well-earned rest and returns better than ever. With a mix of expectations and wishful thinking, here are five possible ways in which Kevin Owens could return to WWE.
#5 The exact same
This would be extremely underwhelming, as Kevin Owens has been booked like a complete fool in the past few months. After ending their conflict with the authority figures on Smackdown, Owens and Sami Zayn joined Raw during the Superstar Shakeup. They got decimated by Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley in a tag team match at Backlash before Owens entered the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. During the match, Strowman threw him off a really tall ladder at the stage area through a table, thus beginning a summer of bullying. Be a Star, WWE.
Owens would be destroyed weekly by the Monster Among Men and even fell from the top of a steel cage at Extreme Rules. Even though that resulted in an Owens victory, he was constantly left broken. Two months of torment culminated in a match at SummerSlam for Strowman's Money in the Bank briefcase. Maybe there was an endgame for Owens after all. But no, he got squashed in around 90 seconds. The former Universal Champion had a better night this week on Raw when he answered Seth Rollins' Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge. Owens lost and quit on the spot.
Kevin Owens is currently damaged goods and this Raw was the first step in his recovery. If he ends up returning as the same coward who gets thrown around by bigger men and hides behind the Authority, then what is the point? It is high time for a change on Owens' part and hopefully, he does return as something different. However, this is WWE and more importantly, this is Raw. They will probably bring him back exactly the same and act like nothing happened. WWE has surprised us in the past with great booking though, this is one such instance that warrants a surprise of such kind.
#4 Ruthless prizefighter
Kevin Owens is not called the Prizefighter for nothing. He has been known to pick his fights, often ones with some stakes for him. This was most prominent in NXT. After destroying his best friend Sami Zayn, he instantly became the next in line to face the new NXT Champion. At NXT Takeover: Rival, Owens won the title via referee stoppage after viciously powerbombing Zayn again and again. His ruthlessness and mean streak was awarded with the NXT title in next to no time on the brand.
Similarly, Owens debuted on the main roster by answering John Cena's US Title Open Challenge and laid out the Champ. It was a huge statement from the NXT Champion at the time. He would cleanly defeat Cena at Elimination Chamber in a fantastic WWE debut match. It was probably the greatest debut from any NXT call-up in WWE history. Unfortunately, that ruthlessness and mean streak is now gone. We have seen shades of it in recent times like when Owens attacked Vince McMahon or the Festival Of Friendship.
That is the Kevin Owens we love. The vindictive and sadistic villain who has no regard for the well-being of any other human being just so he can feed his family. Owens could return to his cold and calculated ways, possibly aligning with the Authority. It certainly is better than hiding behind Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and now Baron Corbin. Imagine this Kevin Owens vs Kurt Angle at Survivor Series, or possibly WrestleMania. It could be his ticket to regaining the Universal Championship as well.
#3 Alongside Sami Zayn
This would require Kevin Owens to take an extended period of time off, which would not exactly be likely. They could hold him off until Sami Zayn is cleared to return from his shoulder injuries. If Zayn is ready to go by Royal Rumble, Owens could indeed return with a friend. The two will forever have their careers linked with each other. They have been teaming and feuding with each other for over a decade now and will likely continue to be part of each other's careers more often than not. Their chemistry is off the charts and has done wonders for the WWE product at times. Every year since both Zayn and Owens were part of WWE, there has been some major development in the never-ending story between the two best frenemies.
It has been mentioned numerous times here, that KO turned on Sami Zayn on the night when he won the NXT Championship. That was in December 2014. Owens completely brutalised Zayn and snatched the NXT title from him in the following year. The two feuded on the main roster in 2016 throughout the spring until the brand split, with Zayn winning the final match in an absolute classic at Battleground. The two were on the same brand but did not meet as often as usual, until October 2017. As part of the Smackdown roster, Zayn aligned with Owens by saving him from certain doom and defeat at the hands of Shane McMahon.
Sami Zayn has been a refreshing revelation as a heel, with loony and annoying characteristics. His work as a bad guy has been superb and despite the fact that he is so likeable, people have been booing him. The pair works immensely with each other, remaining entertaining during the dark days of Smackdown from late 2017 till early 2018. It's a shame that Zayn got injured, as Owens could have really used something else to do other than be Braun's whipping boy. If the pair does reunite upon their respective returns, together or separate, it will do wonders for the failing Raw tag team division. It has become a joke ever since a Strowman won the titles with a 10-year-old boy at WrestleMania.
#2 Babyface
Kevin Owens has been a heel for practically his entire WWE career, except for one night. He actually debuted on NXT as a face, defeating CJ Parker, now Juice Robinson in NJPW, at NXT Takeover: R-Evolution. It was at the show's finale when Owens showed his true colours and turned heel on Sami Zayn. But he indeed hasn't had a run as a babyface. It is pretty incredible when you look at it. However, Owens would make a phenomenal face without any shadow of a doubt. He is ridiculously talented and extremely over with the fans of WWE.
He has had quite the journey. He is a family man and has gone through immense struggles to be at the position he is currently in. Kevin Owens is relatable. His natural charisma and wit are the perfect fit for him to turn good and side with the fans for a change. It is a change that we all are ready to embrace. Besides, he has been treated like the most sympathetic babyface on the entire roster for a year now.
From getting constantly screwed by Shane McMahon to getting bullied for no apparent reason by Braun Strowman, Owens is the one that has been wronged countless times ever since Shane cost him the United States title at last year's SummerSlam. On a show where Braun Strowman has turned heel for the time being, we might need to see someone defect to the good side. And who better than Kevin Owens? This is as good a chance as any for WWE to try it out. It just makes complete sense to pull the trigger.
#1 An Undisputed NXT Invasion
Admittedly, this is extremely unlikely and merely a fantasy scenario. But imagine if a group of NXT superstars invades Raw or Smackdown, like how the Nexus did. It would be radical and exciting, with the possibilities being endless. Owens quitting could lead to him linking up with the yellow brand for a hostile takeover (No pun intended) on the main roster. He, along with maybe a few former NXT stars like Zayn, Joe or Hideo Itami could take part in this invasion. It certainly is a mouth-watering prospect.
The invasion could be limited from NXT to only the Undisputed Era. After possibly losing all their titles at NXT Takeover: War Games 2, the stable could make its way to Raw, or possibly Smackdown with an intention to Shock the System. Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish are joined by a returning Kevin Owens as they wreak havoc on the WWE, making a similar impact to The Shield in 2012. It would make WWE programming must-watch again, as WWE could right the wrong of the Nexus by booking this NXT Invasion correctly.
The Undisputed Era is already one of the most over acts under the WWE umbrella, possibly the most over act in NXT. They are super popular and are riding a huge wave of momentum. Hopefully, this can translate to a successful start to life on the main roster along with a man who has made it no secret that he is one of them. Leading an NXT invasion of Raw or Smackdown would instantly turn Kevin Owens into the megastar he has been so close to becoming over the years.
After months of literal torcher, let us hope that Kevin Owens takes some well-earned time off before returning better than ever. He has certainly earned it. Now is the time for WWE to revitalise the career of one of their biggest stars.
