Why Does Kevin Owens Use The Stunner?

Kevin Owens is a Canadian Professional Wrestler is currently signed with WWE on the Raw brand. He started his pro-wrestling career in 2000, at the age of 16. He has worked with multiple wrestling units before joining WWE, where he wrestled under his real name, Kevin Steen. Some of the wrestling companies include Ring of Honor (ROH), Pro Wrestling Guerilla (PWG), International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS), All American Wrestling (AAW), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). He then got signed with WWE’s development branch NXT in 2014 and was called for the main roster debut the next year.

For over 23 years of pro wrestling career, Kevin Owens had held multiple championships which include ROH World Championship, ROH World Tag Team Championship, PWG World Heavyweight Championship, PWG World Tag Team Championship thrice, IWS World Heavyweight Championship thrice, AAW Heavyweight Championship, CZW Ironman Championship, NXT Championship, WWE United States Championship twice, Intercontinental Championship twice, and Universal Championship once. KO has also main evented WrestleMania consequently for two times.

Also Read: Who is Kevin Owens married to?

Why does Kevin Owens use the Stunner?

Kevin Owens uses Stunner out of respect for Steve Austin. Further, it is assumed that performing multiple pop-up powerbombs might not be the best decision as he is getting older. Over several years of wrestling, Kevin Owens used Pop-Up Powerbomb as his primary finishing move, where he throws an opponent over the shoulder and delivers a wicked-powerbomb. Which stands to be a more devastating, powerful, and unique maneuver when compared to other modern finishers. He has used this move against wrestlers of different sizes. This move helped him to win multiple championships on several occasions.

However, during a baby face run in 2019, Kevin Owens started using “Stunner” as his finishing move to secure a win over his opponents. His stunner had become more noticeable, as this move had not been used for a very long year. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin made this move famous and has used this move on opponents in a most explosive way. Rock sold this move in a different way and made it look like one of the most destructive moves in the business. Since Stone Cold left the WWE in 2002, this finisher was hardly used by any other wrestler.

Kevin Owens brought this finisher back to life and actively used it as his primary finishing move. Kevin Owens in an interview with Fightful.com stated that powerbomb has been used by multiple wrestlers regardless of which version is used. He wanted his finisher to be more exciting for the fans and decided to go with the Stunner. He also stated that he got permission from Steve Austin to use the Stunner out of respect. It is a well known fact that Kevin Owens is a real-life fan of Stone Cold and his stunner represents his fandom. He even faced “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in a match at Wrestlemania 38 and headlined as the “Battle of Stunners”.

Also Read: Who was Kevin Owens trained by?