Kevin Owens Has Arrived

[Jack-Hammer]

In what I think most would consider to be a surprise and definite upset, Kevin Owens defeated John Cena clean in the center of the ring in what was a fantastic outing. I don't think anyone was really expecting Owens to come out on top, I think most were just expecting Owens to put up a great challenge that raised his stock but would ultimately come up short. While this doesn't guarantee that Owens has truly secured his way to superstardom, it's hard to think of a stronger beginning that by defeating John Cena clean in the center of the ring.

 

[L@RISANO]

Given it wasn't for the title(as far as I am aware), I think the WWE made the right booking decision, but the key part was the length of the match which definitely allowed Owens ample time to show his impressive moveset, and I believe he definitely cemented himself tonight.


Rusev losing 3 in a row to Cena don't look so bad after all, doesn't it?

 

[FightOwensFight]

Just a really great match from both Owens and Cena. Really smart to keep Owens' momentum as Cena could afford the loss more. Looking forward to what Owens will do going forward.

 

[V Dogg]

Unless WWE comes up with something to top it (maybe another Melina vs. Alicia Fox? yeah, right), that is, without question, 2015's match of the year. They'll be a rematch between the two sometime down the line with Cena winning, but they'll never be able to recapture the storytelling in that one.

 

[enviousdominous]

John Cena had a string of victories with his US Championship open challenge, most notably over Sami Zayn. I felt that Owens would get the win as penance for that, plus (as someone else already mentioned) this wasn't for the US Championship.

Both men wrestled one Hell of a match, definitely beyond anything I've ever seen John Cena do in a long time. They were trading amazing spots, selling flawlessly to each other and the finish made sense after the bombardment of finisher type moves that Cena endured up until the finish.

I suspect that with this accolade, Owens will eventually drop the NXT Championship to Samoa Joe as a method of penance.

I stopped watching Elimination Chamber after the IC match was left to Sheamus and Ryback. Nothing more to see, time for bed.

 

[Logisticalbooker86]

Excuse me Jack-Hammer, I need to use your thread to plead with WWE.

Please World Wrestling Entertainment, don't have Cena win the rematch...Not everyone has to be .500 against each other and sometimes the bad guy gets to win. Owens had the match of his life, do not cheapen it by having Cena even the score in two weeks.

I won't complain too much because it has not happened yet but I am afraid, I am very afraid.

As a side note, John, please stop talking so audibly in your matches. I don't know if a microphone is accidentally picking him up or what but damn I hate it.

 

[wrestler36]

Rematch in two weeks I would guess solidifies a Cena win, which is fine if the long term goal is to keep them feuding. In a deeper sense, this makes Joe/Owens more interesting in NXT because if Joe beats him, Joe beats the guy who beat Cena clean, which ups Joe's stock even more. Would be cool if Cena and Owens each have one win on each other and keep them separated until Summer Slam.

 

[LBGetBack]

Owens is the first "anti-Cena" type guy they've had since Punk left. He looks up to the task of filling that void. Great match!

 

[ohwhatarush]

awesome that owens won but lesnar lost to cena his first match back,wwe logic

 

[adam]

I'd like to see a no contest in their re-match which might lead to a match at SS.
John can go over at SS to satisfy the Super Cena fans.

 

[L@RISANO]

Owens is the first "anti-Cena" type guy they've had since Punk left. He looks up to the task of filling that void. Great match!

Brock Lesnar has always seemed to be everything that the John Cena character is against.
I am sure die-hard Cena fans were shaken to the core at SummerSlam 2014.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Totally did not see that coming. I thought for sure KO would have just gotten frustrated and intentionally DQed. Which would have been fine, it completely protects both guys. I just never would have thought Vinny Mac would let his golden boy get beaten clean by a relative unknown like that. Imagine how hard Triple H had to work to convince him to let this happen.

 

[Radical]

Somewhat surprised that Owens got the clean pinfall victory over Cena. I pretty much knew Owens had to come out of the match looking as strong or stronger than Cena even if it meant getting intentionally DQ'd.

But I'm not totally shocked by the booking. It was a non-title match and it was competitive. Also, clearly Owens is Cena's new feud so they had to make it interesting between the two of them. Who else is Cena going to feud with right now in WWE? He already destroyed Rusev, Wyatt and beat all those others during his US Open Challenges! There was pretty much no one else remotely interesting for Cena to face as US Champion.

This may be the match Cena has at SummerSlam for the United States Championship.

Also, it's not totally uncommon these days for Cena to lose or look weaker in the early matches against a new opponent. He lost to Wyatt in their feud but Wyatt lost out in the end. He lost to Rusev early in their feud but then beat him 3 in a row!

So the question is: does WWE give Cena his win to even things up and make it a easier case for a 3rd and final deciding match or do they let Owens come out on top again in some way that still leaves room for a 3rd match. If they were going that route they could have Owens look like he is going to lose to Cena and then get intentionally DQ'd, prompting Cena to demand another match with No DQ rules at SummerSlam.

I won't be surprised if Cena wins the rematch, I guess either way at least Owens has a clean win over Cena, which is overall still a pretty unique thing.

 

[blueskyy]

Elimination Chamber was okay... I was looking forward to this match, and it was a great match no doubt. But, kind of disappointed with the Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose match though, no so much because of the result, but the match itself.

 

[Navi]

When Kevin Owens showed up on RAW a couple of weeks ago, a lot of fans some here on this forum gave him no chance at all. They've fixated more on his looks and body type than what he can actually bring to the ring.

Tonight he showed that not only does he have a very impressive moveset, much more than some of the guys that have been up there awhile. He will use anything in his arsenal to get the victory, and he was amazing tonight. Great debut, and hopefully they will continue the momentum and not let him down.

The one thing that was blatantly obvious tonight was, even though it looked like Cena used a couple of different move, Owens stole the show and showed just how stale Cena's moveset is.

 

[OG Mark]

Like Nate DaMac, I totally anticipated Cena winning by DQ after Owens went on a rampage. However, with the clean win it not only boosts KO but NXT as a whole. "Look, they aren't just minor league/indy/rookies anymore!" Just like everything has been with Creative/booking lately, it's trying to draw more subscribers to the Network.

PS: Did KO's springboard moonsault (although missed) make anyone else have flashbacks to Big Van Vader?

 

[RobertTheBruce]

Unless WWE comes up with something to top it (maybe another Melina vs. Alicia Fox? yeah, right), that is, without question, 2015's match of the year. They'll be a rematch between the two sometime down the line with Cena winning, but they'll never be able to recapture the storytelling in that one.

Without question?! This was an awesome match, awesome. But Reigns/Lesnar, Rollins/Cena/Lesnar & Lynch/Banks are all ahead of this in terms of MOTY.

Without question.

 

[ColeMc]

Stole the show. Cena puts someone over and doesn't hurt his own rep at all.

Owens is so amazing, really turned it on as well. His moveset is just top shelf and includes some moves that some of the WWE fans wouldn't have seen before.

Owens is fat though remember and therefore is only popular because we're all fat as well...I believe that's the story anyway.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Rusev losing 3 in a row to Cena don't look so bad after all, doesn't it?

No, it doesn't. Even though our ample supply of Cena-haters want John to lose every match he's in for the 'good of the company'.....apparently not realizing he'd lose his status as a 'talent enhancer' if he did.......it's now obvious the 3 Rusev victories were leading to something good for someone else. It's all fine.

And of course, here's another nail in the coffin of those who say that Cena never jobs.

I'm not knocked out by Kevin Owens; whether folks like it or not, I feel that gut of his gives him an awkward appearance as he performs certain moves. But hell, working with a guy last night who knows how to make opponents look good, it's apparent WWE management is high on Owens.....and that's what counts.

Can't wait to see what's coming up next for KO. We need more people at the top, and as the OP says......Kevin Owens has arrived.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Great match, HORRIBLE decision to have Owens go over clean. The rookie should always look great against the veteran, but never beat them. Remember when John Cena debuted and beat Kurt Angle? No, because he put up a great fight and LOST. Remember when CM Punk made Undertaker tap out in his debut? Or when Daniel Bryan pinned Triple H in his first match? No, because they DIDN'T HAPPEN. Last night permanently and irrevocably damaged John Cena's drawing power, and that of the entire WWE roster, because they just straight up said that any random guy can come up from NXT and instantly be completely superior to any top WWE star.

 

[Tyler44]

When the match started, I forgot which commentator said it (probably Lawler) but they said "Owens isn't flashy. He won't do anything crazy."

I'm a person who's never watched an Owen's match, but I'm not sure how a big guy like that doing flips from the top rope isn't considered "flashy"? He impressed the hell out of me in that match.

 

[SJ5522]

Great match, HORRIBLE decision to have Owens go over clean. The rookie should always look great against the veteran, but never beat them. Remember when John Cena debuted and beat Kurt Angle? No, because he put up a great fight and LOST. Remember when CM Punk made Undertaker tap out in his debut? Or when Daniel Bryan pinned Triple H in his first match? No, because they DIDN'T HAPPEN. Last night permanently and irrevocably damaged John Cena's drawing power, and that of the entire WWE roster, because they just straight up said that any random guy can come up from NXT and instantly be completely superior to any top WWE star.

and different guys get different pushes. You're complaining like they broke some sort of law. You wanna go 'ah its a veteran vs rookie match (despite the fact WWE had constantly been going on about how Owens had been in the biz 15 years, about as long as Cena), the rookie will put up a good show but the veteran will win."? I like unpredictability, myself.
Cena was a face when he debuted, same with Sami Zayn the other week on Raw, he mirrored Cena-Angle, there's literally no reason for Owens to do the exact same job as Zayn when he's supposed to be a dangerous heel and a big thing

 

[Vanilla Midget]

The right guy one the match. A Cena victory would have been the wrong way to go. Owens has been in WWE for 6 months, the win legitimizes him. The immediate rematch in two weeks does not automatically conclude that Cena will get back his win, although WWE booking certainly shows us a recent history of keeping wins and losses even.

Kevin Owens isn't John Cena. Cena was a young pup when he had his incredible debut match against Kurt Angle. Owens monster indy veteran character can't lose the way John Cena's fresh face in generic tights can lose and benefit for a handshake from then heel champ Undertaker. Owens had to win.

Cena lost three straight to Lesnar. He lost clean to Rusev before going on to dominating. This hasn't been the same old lol Cena wins we're used to. If anyone is going to break the mould for traditional WWE win trading, this is probably it. When's the last time we saw Cena win clean to someone that wasn't Lesnar? The loss to Bryan had the elbow injury hanging over it, before that I think it was Batista in 2008.

There's lots of ways their MITB match can go down. Owens can get disqualified, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, or Samoa Joe can get involved, one of them can pass out, the list goes on. Cena winning derails Owens.

This feud is more than anointing Owens as the next next big thing. It's about getting people interested in NXT. You know where you go to watch NXT? The Network. Do you subscribe to the Network to see a guy who just lost to John Cena clean? Unlikely. Do you subscribe to see a guy who Cena can't beat? Yes, and that covers both the smart fans and the casuals. This feud is greater than the sum of its parts. It's a feud that cross-promotes to a vital revenue stream, and that alone is evidence that a Cena victory is far from guaranteed.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Without question?! This was an awesome match, awesome. But Reigns/Lesnar, Rollins/Cena/Lesnar & Lynch/Banks are all ahead of this in terms of MOTY.

Without question.

Reigns/Lesnar? Seriously? I can see how people can argue for the other ones you meantioned, or Cena/Owens (which was a great match even though I despise how it ended), but I cannot for the life of me see how anyone can defend Lesnar/Reigns. That was one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history. The match was nothing but fifteen minutes of Brock Lesnar doing his lazy suplexes, and Roman Reigns sitting around smiling like an idiot. Lesnar/Reigns rivals Lesnar/Goldberg in how atrocious it was.

 

[Mark0820]

Great match, HORRIBLE decision to have Owens go over clean. The rookie should always look great against the veteran, but never beat them. Remember when John Cena debuted and beat Kurt Angle? No, because he put up a great fight and LOST. Remember when CM Punk made Undertaker tap out in his debut? Or when Daniel Bryan pinned Triple H in his first match? No, because they DIDN'T HAPPEN. Last night permanently and irrevocably damaged John Cena's drawing power, and that of the entire WWE roster, because they just straight up said that any random guy can come up from NXT and instantly be completely superior to any top WWE star.

You are aware that Owens isn't a rookie and they said that two weeks ago on Raw, right? They made a point that Owens has been wrestling internationally for 15 years. Cena losing one match to a current champion isn't going to harm him in the slightest.