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Former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens, has become a key player in WWE over the last few years. Owens seamlessly switched from indie wrestling to WWE, following his debut on NXT and his eventual move to the main roster.
Owens, who went by his real name Kevin Steen in the indies, made quite a few friends during his indie wrestling stint. Many of those wrestlers went on to become big names in the world of pro wrestling. Two wrestlers he befriended during his indie wrestling stint were The Young Bucks, the team of Matt and Nick Jackson, and he helped forge a friendship between The Bucks and Cody, who was with WWE until 2016.
Kevin Owens helped Cody join The Young Bucks
In an interview with WrestleTalk, WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page revealed that it was Kevin Owens who introduced Cody to The Young Bucks:
“From what I understand, it was because of Kevin, Kevin Owens. He had called up The Bucks, who he was good friends with, and said ‘Cody’s a solid cat’. You know, you guys might want to pull him in to your group. Of course, we know what happened there. That year, Cody made like seven figures.”
Cody had come through the ranks at WWE, learning his trade at Ohio Valley Wrestling before making his main roster debut soon after. When Cody left WWE in 2016, he had not wrestled anywhere apart from WWE and had to start afresh.
The two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion wrestled in various promotions following his WWE release, including Ring of Honor, NJPW, and TNA, to name a few. He developed a friendship with The Young Bucks, and the trio were a part of the Bullet Club during their stint in Japan.
Cody, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega then later came together to help form AEW, along with Tony Khan. The promotion has gone head-to-head with WWE, and their NXT brand on Wednesday nights. Cody already has one title to his name in AEW, winning the AEW TNT Championship, becoming the first-ever wrestler to hold the belt in AEW.
