Kevin Owens - Universal Champion

[The Gribbler]

Okay,

I wanted to get some discussion going surrounding the Universal Title Reign of Kevin Owens.

Looking over the last 150 or so days of Kevin Owens being the Universal Champion; I found myself wondering whether or not his championship reign has been good, bad or indifferent.

Rather than the Kevin Owens who kicks ass and takes names, we have seen a more comedic side to KO. I will freely admit that between Owens and Jericho, there have been plenty of laughs, but I don't think this is working for Owens as Champion.

Yeah his reign has been a decent length and that does bring some legitimacy to the belt, but I am just not buying him as a champion. The entire reign it would seem as though he has been booked as a second fiddle to Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho and even The List (although I suppose you can't help what gets over).

The reason this is such an issue for me is with the Universal Title still being in its infancy, it needed a legit champion to bring it into the world. I originally though Owens made a lot of sense, but I was thinking Owens, ass kicker extraordinaire. Playing the heel and whupping ass until a face came to take it away from him.

This softer Owens just isn't working for me, and has made the Universal Title seem a lot less important.

Am I alone in feeling this way? How would you like to see Owens booked for the remainder of his title run (which I think will last until Wrestlemania)?

Thoughts, Opinions?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The highlight of his run has been his comedy mid card act with Jericho, that says it all. To be fair, you can't create a title when you're already over saturated with them, and expect it to hold any prestige. Especially after the champion was firmly propping up the second hour of Raw.

It's been rubbish but it would've been whoever held it. I think it's just Raw's fault.

 

[Low_Ki]

Okay,

I wanted to get some discussion going surrounding the Universal Title Reign of Kevin Owens.

Looking over the last 150 or so days of Kevin Owens being the Universal Champion; I found myself wondering whether or not his championship reign has been good, bad or indifferent.

Rather than the Kevin Owens who kicks ass and takes names, we have seen a more comedic side to KO. I will freely admit that between Owens and Jericho, there have been plenty of laughs, but I don't think this is working for Owens as Champion.

Yeah his reign has been a decent length and that does bring some legitimacy to the belt, but I am just not buying him as a champion. The entire reign it would seem as though he has been booked as a second fiddle to Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho and even The List (although I suppose you can't help what gets over).

The reason this is such an issue for me is with the Universal Title still being in its infancy, it needed a legit champion to bring it into the world. I originally though Owens made a lot of sense, but I was thinking Owens, ass kicker extraordinaire. Playing the heel and whupping ass until a face came to take it away from him.

This softer Owens just isn't working for me, and has made the Universal Title seem a lot less important.

Am I alone in feeling this way? How would you like to see Owens booked for the remainder of his title run (which I think will last until Wrestlemania)?

Thoughts, Opinions?

I wouldn't say that your alone at all. I think many people have that opinion. But honestly, aside from the typecast Reigns hating, he at the time was the best pick to be something different.

He plays the heel superbly. And while I agree that sometimes it all been a bit too comedy for my liking, its something different. The thing with Jericho was not something that I think anyone had planned, and honestly, they have simply and organically gone with the story that in my opinion, is the most natural story heading into Wrestlemania.

The title has taken a bit of a back seat in all of the shenanigans, but personally I feel like he has had a decent reign as champion. Not great, but decent.

You also have to factor in the calibre of the two wrestlers that he has fought during his reign.

Seth Rollins - Great worker, put on great matches, but wasn't yet over as a fully fledged face at the time of their feud.

Reigns - Polarising is an understatement but a decent worker.

What's the age old saying? To be a great champion you first need great challengers.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Vince has this thing about heel champions, especially heel main event champions, and wanting them to come off as kinda sorta likeable and/or vulnerable rather than ass kickers. Brock Lesnar has been an exception to the rule over the course of the past decade or more but, then again, that always seems to be the case with Lesnar when it comes to Vince's decision making.

Would I have preferred Kevin Owens as we saw him in NXT and during his first year or so on the main roster? You know, the thinking man's sociopath as I often thought of him. The guy who seemed calculating and cold in a dangerous way? Sure, I think it'd be great to see Owens as Universal Champion in that character. As I said, however, Vince seems to want to portray most heel champions in a somewhat comedic and/or vulnerable light, which is one of the reasons Triple H can't take over soon enough for my taste, but he takes it to too much of an extreme sometimes.

With that being said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy Owens' time as champion. He and Jericho have been a lot of fun to watch and while it has been a bit much at times, I've been thoroughly entertained. Being able to pull off a more comedic and often light hearted character that's such a departure from the Owens who tore it up in NXT and in WWE before the brand split is a testament to how good Owens is. Owens has kept me entertained during his time as champion overall and that's what's most important in my eyes.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

I love Owens, I think he's wildly entertaining, but his time as Universal Champion has been mediocre at best, and I'm not entirely sure who to blame for that.

You can definitely point the finger at creative, they're always doing something wrong and as others have said the Kevin Owens we see on RAW is not the same Kevin Owens we saw on NXT. But I don't think they're handling of Kevin is the problem, it's the handling of the Universal Title.

I wonder if we'd be looking at things differently if Kevin Owens was the WWE Champion. I don't wanna play the role of psychologist but maybe part of the reason his reign has seemed mediocre is that we don't take the Universal Championship seriously.

It was a bold move to introduce an entirely new world championship, they've never done it before, even with the World Heavyweight Championship, although under a new lineage the belt was still familiar. And once they did unveil this new championship it was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews. The name sucked, it looked horrid, it's first champion didn't even hold it for a full 24 hours. AT SUMMERSLAM THE US TITLE MATCH WAS HIGHER ON THE CARD THAN THE MATCH TO CROWN THE FIRST EVER UNIVERSAL CHAMPION! IF YOU WANT THE CHAMPIONSHIP TO FEEL IMPORTANT HAVE IT BE THE MAIN EVENT OF YOUR SECOND BIGGEST SHOW OF THE YEAR!! How can the championship make the man if it itself isn't even over? Owens might as well be holding a paper belt.

It's like they thought they could introduce an entirely new world title and have it automatically be on the same level as a championship that's been around for over 50 years. It doesn't work like that, and until they fix it, the problem is gonna keep persisting no matter who's champion.

 

[OYDK]

It's not Kevin Owens that makes the title feel unimportant, it's the booking of it as a mid-card championship that makes it feel unimportant, although I will admit that having Balor and Owens be the first two to win it doesn't help its legitimacy much. There are three people on Raw that are, and have been, consistently booked as legitimate stars since the split; Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Charlotte. At this point the title doesn't really matter because it's obvious that Reigns and Rollins are the focus. Unless one of them are holding the championship, it will continue to be booked on the level of a mid-card strap.

Heck, even when Owens and Rollins were feuding you more often than not had Reigns and Rusev opening or closing out shows while Owens was featured in 1 or 2 segments throughout the middle. Now that Reigns is involved (of course), the Universal title and Kevin Owens are finally getting spotlighted more. There's not much more Owens can do. He and Jericho have consistently been the most entertaining part of Raw, at least in my opinion, but if star quality booking's not there, than it's difficult for KO to be perceived as a star.

The comedic role is fine. I just don't think we've had the opportunity to see enough of that killer instinct that Owens has shown in the past. Powerbombing Reigns through the table a few weeks ago was great, and that was a moment that really made Owens as the top champion seem legit. There just hasn't been enough of those moments thrown in throughout his reign to offset the comedy in my opinion.

 

[Navi]

Personally I love Kevin Owens. His comedic timing is perfect and he and Jericho are two of the best things on RAW, Strowman being the other.

But his run as Universal champion came too early. If Balor hadn't have been injured, I could have seen them in a long feud and Owens could have firmly cemented himself has a heel. As it is though they had to put the belt on someone quick and I guess he was the best option out of the three. Rollins face turn was dismal, and Reigns had just disgraced himself with a positive drug test.

His run hasn't been the best. Owens puts on good matches but he really hasn't had a feud that he could sink his teeth into. I really hope this hasn't hurt him going forward. RAW's booking also has to take some of the blame, they had to make the best out of a bad situation, but they've made it kind of worse. For Owens anyway. I'm just afraid that he will not be seen as a suitable contender for the main title now.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Again I always as been a big supporter of owens since his very start as a kid in montreal working for jacques rougeau's promotion. But I have to say that since he joins wwe, he been a one note wrestlers. The kevin owens character as not evolve at all since his feud with cena and has always had a mid carder vibe about him and sadly giving him the universal title the way they did didn't help at all. They had a great set up to put owens on the next level by having him get the rub from hhh by associated him with hhh, but they opted to continue the mid card comedy storyline they started before he won the title and while the program is really good and I enjoy what jericho and owens are doing, it does feel like a mid card program and you kinda forget sometimes that owens is the universal campion.

His run isn't setting the world on fire and it feel like pretty much all the others title run that owens had before winning the universal title which make what should be the raw world title feel like a midcard title.

I think owens really needs some sort of evolution to his character because from the presentation of this character right now feel like a mid carder and the guy can be reat at promos and be a great wrestler, if you don't look and act like a main eventer, you never will be a main eventer and while I still like owens as a wrestler, I don't get a main eventer vibe when I watch owens on tv.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

Again I always as been a big supporter of owens since his very start as a kid in montreal working for jacques rougeau's promotion. But I have to say that since he joins wwe, he been a one note wrestlers. The kevin owens character as not evolve at all since his feud with cena and has always had a mid carder vibe about him and sadly giving him the universal title the way they did didn't help at all. They had a great set up to put owens on the next level by having him get the rub from hhh by associated him with hhh, but they opted to continue the mid card comedy storyline they started before he won the title and while the program is really good and I enjoy what jericho and owens are doing, it does feel like a mid card program and you kinda forget sometimes that owens is the universal campion.

His run isn't setting the world on fire and it feel like pretty much all the others title run that owens had before winning the universal title which make what should be the raw world title feel like a midcard title.

I think owens really needs some sort of evolution to his character because from the presentation of this character right now feel like a mid carder and the guy can be reat at promos and be a great wrestler, if you don't look and act like a main eventer, you never will be a main eventer and while I still like owens as a wrestler, I don't get a main eventer vibe when I watch owens on tv.

Couldn't agree more! Owen's reign as Universal champion has been lackluster. He's the champion, yet the least main event caliber, out of the top guys. Can't blame it all on Owens though, as his championship reign has been booked so poor that he is constantly outshined by Jericho each week. If Jericho would come out next week with the Universal championship, it would be as if he was champion this entire time because nothing would change.

Hopefully they figure out how to correctly book Owens and make him into a strong main eventer, because it's not like they have many options. Vince doesn't want to turn Reigns heel, Rollins just turned face, and it is only inevitable that Jericho turns face, so they are stuck with Owens as the top heel on Raw.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

The comedy has made for gold tv. I think where people have been put off is how he's been booked as a coward champion throughout. The chicken crap heel routine can work, but it's in contrast to an ass kicking character that originally got him over.

The coward heel who cheats to stay champion isn't new. The prizefighter KO wasn't an all new character either, but it had that unique familiarity that caused it to resonate. Would this run have been better had KO kicked ass through it?

Probably not. Rollins and KO never really clicked. It's likely Finn Balor was originally meant to play the role that Rollins has fulfilled. Rollins would have suffered fairly heavily had he just been steamrolled by the KO we saw debut against John Cena.

Triple H also cast a long shadow over this title run. We never received a real answer for his actions. I think that directly affected the tension between Rollins and Owens. KO had just seemed to have fallen into his spot like an oaf. There was nothing sinister in KO's motives other than a lukewarm selfish desire to be champion.

Kevin Owens played the role well, but it's a role better suited to a character like Miz. Owens suffered from having a proper arch nemesis. Jericho brewing in the wings made the present suffer too much. A lukewarm Rollins face turn didn't help matters either.

When we look back, it'll come down to the booking. This hasn't been booked as strongly as it could have been. Owens needed a much stronger face, and better/clearer support from the character who positioned him into this spot.

I'm not convinced Owens loses the title Sunday. Most are, pointing to Jericho in the cage with the US title as being the smoking gun. Whatever happens, the feud with Jericho will give Owens the proper foil he needs to move stronger into 2017.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Kevin Owens championship has been lackluster, all due to booking.

- HHH interfered and handed him the belt. HHH hasn't been seen since.

- He has lost to the mid-card champion clean numerous times.

- He has no clean title defenses. Jericho has interfered every time.

- His feud with Reigns and Rollins is ridiculously stale.

You can't blame Owens for any of that. Raw has had some really bad booking, and it has really hurt Owens title reign.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

If anything this has proven that KO IS a WWE style entertainer rather than just the monster he started off as. This time with Jericho is as much about him learning the comedy/entertainment side from an undoubted master of it as carrying the title for RAW.

The "Co-Champions" thing is actually pretty accurate... Jericho has done his part to get both the title and Owens to a higher level than perhaps Balor would have. It's easy to say it's lacklustre, but Balor I think would have been jobbed long before now...again not cos of his fault but cos Vince would have panicked.

They should follow the course.. the way to make the title matter at Mania is have Chris win the Rumble, have him go to Mania and beat Owens, only for Owens to "injure him"... He has to defend against Balor AND Owens the following night and can't do it or is easy pickings. His career is "over", Balor can either chase or upset Owens and the monster returns to chase... but with Jericho gone at his hands he's no longer a mid card guy with a belt... he's a main eventer/legend killer.

 

[ShinChan]

I have always preferred the aggressive Kevin Owens who is a no nonsense guy. The one that debuted on the main roster.

But then he was made into a common heel who just backs off at any challenge.

His booking as Universal Champion hasn't done him any favours. Infact, it has worsened the situation. He has lost multiple times clean to a midcard champion in Roman Reigns.

Even in matches, he's entering at first although he's the champion and he should come out at last. But Roman Reigns comes out at last. We all know why?

Still, the damage is repairable. Let's hope that he's booked better.

 

[XXJJ]

Looks like he is going into WM as champion. I don't really see anybody beating him. Reigns was the only realistic option imo and that didn't happen at RR.

I guess Owens vs Jericho at WM for the title makes the most sense.

 

[ColeMc]

A week ago WI was saying that Orton was to win the RR and Wyatt to win the strap at EC setting up their match at WM.

Cena v Joe was also being touted as a possibility and while I would love to see taker v cena, the little tease of Taker v Goldberg v Lesnar we had a couple of weeks back would be an awesome draw. Sadly I think that one is a little unrealistic due to putting three megadraw wrestlers in one match and having to fill the card...titus vs henry?

Back to Bray. I had heard that Bray is due a title run in 2017 and this would be the most logical step and I don't think anyone wants to see Cena with a 6 month run as champ running out the same old lines we've heard for the last decade. Yes John, the champ is indeed here, yes John we can't see you, yes John hustle loyalty(except to everyone you've buried) respect.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Well it would seem Owens will carry the Universal title into WrestleMania. How does everyone feel about KO's title run now?

I really hope the Braun interference isn't just random or based on Reigns spearing him. It's going to be pretty lame if Strowman is all like, "I hate Roman."

How about building some heat for Kevin Owens. How about they reveal that KO bribed Braun with a title shot of he cost Reigns the match? That would place some heat on KO instead of just making him some feckless idiot opportunist who lucked out. Of course, that would be too clever. WWE likes their loser undeserving champions.

It seems likely that KO goes to WrestleMania. A match against Jericho makes the most sense, and hopefully Owens turns on Jericho sooner than later. There is of course the Fastlane event in the way.

Goldberg is being advertised for Fastlane. I would really hate to see KO lose the Universal title to have it be moved to a match between two part timers. Brock vs Goldberg III doesn't need a championship. I fear they may not be able to resist the urge to put the title on Goldberg.

I'd much rather see Owens carry the title into Mania to face Jericho in a title vs title situation. This is a story featuring a lot of long form storytelling which is sorely missed from WWE programming. Jericho and KO can still have a great match for the US title, but it deserves much more.

KO losing the Universal title to Goldberg could be real though. Have you seen the dirt sheet story of Orange County Choppers building a new Universal title with the same design as the current one?

They might give Goldberg the current one as a present when retiring as champion after WrestleMania. I doubt Lesnar is losing the third meeting though. If Lesnar is leaving Mania with the Universal title, they won't go without a champion on Raw after Mania all the way until SummerSlam. Perhaps they'll take a page out of UFC's book and name an interim Universal champion.

Anyway, I digress from KO. Owens and Jericho deserve to headline WrestleMania. They won't go on last, but they've been the most entertaining part of Raw regardless of the strength in booking of Owens' title defences.