Report: Kevin Steen to be signed by WWE

[The Dragon Saga]

ROH star Kevin Steen and independent wrestler Willie Mack are expected to be offered WWE developmental contracts, according to a well placed source.

http://www.prowrestling.net/article...-name-to-be-offered-developmental-deals-37165

From Mike Johnson on PWInsider.

Reports are surfacing that ROH's Kevin Steen is to be offered a WWE contract in the coming weeks. I can't confirm or deny this right now, but the feeling some people I've spoken to have is that Steen told ROH about it and that is why they did the angle at War of the Worlds with Silas Young. Steen's ROH contract expires in early July and many see Best in the World as his last ROH show, if it wasn't why would they shoot such an angle on Saturday? If it's a work it wouldn't make much sense. Steen will be on ROH's first PPV but after that he could be headed for WWE.

I really do like ROH, everyone on this board knows that by now, but the one thing I like more than ROH is Kevin Steen. He's to ROH as Bryan was, he's the "face of the company" for lack of a better term and has been for the past two years. His story, fighting against the people in power behind-the-scenes like Jim Cornette to become the person he has, his epic feud with El Generico, his charisma, his showmanship, everything about him makes him so good.

If WWE signs him, they've signed one of the best talents they could. I'll go as far as to say this - nobody currently under a TNA contract would be a better signing than Kevin Steen to WWE. Not Roode, Aries, Ray, Joe or anybody. For the past four years Kevin Steen has been in a class very few are in, and he deserves to make millions of dollars for it and his family.

If it falls through, he gets to stay with ROH, which is great, but honestly, hes done everything, hes won everything, like Bryan in 2009, it might be time to bid farewell.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

Willie Mack has pretty much been signed apart from a medical, so the source seems legit.

 

[nightmare]

If its true I am sure he would spend some time at home first & take a breather. Although if he is WWE bound, I think we found our next NXT Champion.


I cant wait for the moment that Steen & Sami are in the same ring again. The place is going to fucking explode.

 

[Harthan]

Very exciting. Steen seems more than capable of excelling in NXT. One assumes he'll get a new name and all that. Maybe, just maybe, he'll tag up with Sami Zayn? Zayn already seems so close to the main roster while I assume Steen would need like at least a year, but at the same time, there's pretty much nothing for the Ascension to do right now. I mean, El Local and whoever his partner is are not exactly inspiring to me.

The WWE showed a lot of resistance to doing that with the Kings of Wrestling, but I think it may be different here. I think Vince and HHH saw Cesaro as a future main event guy immediately, and were reluctant to pair him with Ohno/Hero, who I think they had some personal issues with for a while. I don't imagine they think quite the same of Zayn, although they did feud him with Cesaro special, even with Cesaro on the main roster. It'd be a lot of fun to see Steen and Zayn reunited in the WWE - they'd be an immediate threat to the Ascension and could definitely play in the revitalized WWE tag team division in the future.

 

[nightmare]

Plus, there is the awesome potential of Steen facing guys like Bray, Ambrose, Cesaro, etc.


Hell, if Devitt and KENTA do show up- there are going to be a shitload of great matches headed our way.

 

[#tamale]

Cool. Good news to go along with the Devitt signing and possible Kenta signing.

I wonder what Cornette thinks of this.

 

[X]

Figured this was coming and Steen deserves it. Can't wait to see how they will utilize him. He's an elite talent who really deserves it despite not having "the look" much like Bryan. Along with news of Devitt and KENTA heading to WWE, there's a seriously ridiculous amount of good, relatively young talent that nave the potential to be stars. The WWE's future has never looked brighter.

 

[Gibby]

They'll make him muscle up a bit and I doubt they'll tolerate him wrestling with top on. But yeah, he's great, this is going to be good if it comes off. Realistically you have to expect one of KENTA/Devitt/Steen won't make the grade or will be at-odds with the system. At least if it's KENTA he has a place he can go to where he has never been but truly belongs (NJPW).

 

[MrHashasheen]

Steen isn't one of my personal favorites but he's pretty much done everything in Ring of Honor so a trip to NXT sounds about right. I'd actually banked on something with NJPW, though.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

I seriously don't know what they are going to do with Kevin Steen. I'm happy because that's the guy's dream and the roster is pretty fantastic with Neville, Zayn, Devitt, KENTA, Crowe, Kalisto... Still Steen's fun because he's allowed to be himself. If they gimmick him up, I'll be a little bit pissed I guess.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Steen isn't one of my personal favorites but he's pretty much done everything in Ring of Honor so a trip to NXT sounds about right. I'd actually banked on something with NJPW, though.

Steen did one tour of Japan in his entire career for Dragon Gate and despite making a lot of money said it was the worst month of his life. To be fair he had to live in an apartment with Jack Evans who is supposed to be annoying as fuck, hence why he and Teddy Hart get on so well.

 

[The Butcher]

Things are lookin' chunkier already.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Gotta refresh the roster for Cena with someone I guess.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Steen did one tour of Japan in his entire career for Dragon Gate and despite making a lot of money said it was the worst month of his life. To be fair he had to live in an apartment with Jack Evans who is supposed to be annoying as fuck, hence why he and Teddy Hart get on so well.

Interesting. I don't know, I really figure NJPW is looking at ROH, TNA and GFW to figure out who they can bring in to get more of a foothold in North America. They won't quite get there with only a couple of PPVs a year after all.

The way TNA is freefalling right now, I wouldn't be shocked to see NJPW swoop in on their guys. Especially considering TNA's taping schedule is similar in part to the touring concept.

 

[hatehabsforever]

The only potential problem I see with Kevin Steen coming to WWE (if it in fact does happen, which I'm not totally convinced of) is the unrealistic expectations many guys will have upon his arrival. If he doesn't absolutely steam roll his way through NXT, then come to the big leagues and become WWE World Heavyweight Champion within six months of his arrival, these forums will be littered with dudes complaining about how the WWE has messed Kevin Steen up, don't now how to utilize him properly, etc.,

I have no doubt that Steen is as good as many of you say. Personally I am totally unfamiliar with him as I've never seen 5 minutes of ROH, and I likely wouldn't recognize him if he walked right into the room. But I wouldn't be shocked if he never makes it beyond the mid card in WWE, which as far as I'm concerned should not be dismissed as failure. He doesn't strike me as the stereotypical WWE guy (granted neither is Danielson), I just hope that the ROH enthusiasts in here don't expect too much too soon.

 

[Shadowmancer]

For New Japan to make themselves more appealing to the US and other western markets they just need to hire two people and add an option. the option for English speaking commentators for the iPPVs

 

[nightmare]

If they gimmick him up, I'll be a little bit pissed I guess.

I'd mark the fuck out.

 

[Gibby]

For New Japan to make themselves more appealing to the US and other western markets they just need to hire two people and add an option. the option for English speaking commentators for the iPPVs

Just a solid PBP guy and Bruce Tharpe, that's all you need really. I like the Japanese guys and can't tell what they're saying 90% of the time but they really sell it to me.

 

[KitsuneDreamer]

Great news, although a bit torn on the situation.

Huge Kevin Steen fan, and would love for him to be in WWE, but how watered down will he have to become? His appeal to me was his smart ass, rude attitude, and package piledriving everybody, through anything. Without that, It is hard to see what he will do. Whatever happens though, should be cool to watch.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Huge Kevin Steen fan, and would love for him to be in WWE, but how watered down will he have to become? His appeal to me was his smart ass, rude attitude, and package piledriving everybody, through anything. Without that, It is hard to see what he will do. Whatever happens though, should be cool to watch.

He was absolutely adorable at Global Wars. HUG STEEN HUG

 

[Dirk]

nobody currently under a TNA contract would be a better signing than Kevin Steen to WWE

Had to get in the little shot, didn't you?

 

[Lowdown]

Gonna miss seeing Steen on ROH TV, but I wish him well. I wonder if he'll still make appearances for PWG.

 

[X]

Gonna miss seeing Steen on ROH TV, but I wish him well. I wonder if he'll still make appearances for PWG.

Nah, the WWE wouldn't allow him to appear on their DVDs. Not unless they were dates he'd already negotiated before he signed with them, like Bryan finishing up his indy dates before coming into the fold.

I hope he gets a farewell there though, he's been a major part of their company for years.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I got no clue on this Willie Mack but I think its a good move signing Steen. I like his in ring style, he has charisma and he is pretty good at telling a story whether it be in a match or a program. On top of that he goes against the mold which will only help him in the long run.

WWE often sign cookie cutter talent but guys like Steen can go far based on their skill and simply being different and he's someone I think has a good chance of becoming a player in WWE. I don't usually say this but Steen is a guy I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing in the WWE.

 

[X]

Willie Mack is an awesome signing too. The guy is build like a mack truck and has a ton of raw power, think a smaller Mark Henry, but he moves like a cruiserweight and can do insane aerial moves, I've even seen him do a shooting star press. He's also very young so he's got a ton of upside. Mack is an underrated signing simply because everyone's paying attention to Steen, but it's another great talent to bring into the fold, and if you're interested in looking up his stuff check out his work in PWG where he's really been able to shine.