page_title: Kevin Owens
section_title: NXT Champion (2014–2015)
hierarchical_section_title: Kevin Owens / Professional wrestling career / WWE / NXT Champion (2014–2015)
caption_attribution_description: English: Wrestler Kevin Owens in 2015
context_page_description: Kevin Steen is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens.
  Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in late 2014, from 2007, Steen wrestled under his birth name for Ring of Honor, where he held the ROH World Championship and ROH World Tag Team Championship. Steen also wrestled extensively on the independent circuit for 14 years, most notably in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he held the PWG World Championship a record three times, as well as the PWG World Tag Team Championship on three occasions.
  Steen also competed for International Wrestling Syndicate, where he held three times the IWS World Heavyweight Championship, All American Wrestling, where he held the AAW Heavyweight Championship; and Combat Zone Wrestling, where he held the CZW Iron Man Championship. He wrestled under the Kevin Owens name in WWE's developmental branch NXT, where he was a one-time NXT Champion, before debuting on the main roster in May 2015. He has since held the Universal Championship once, the Intercontinental Championship twice, and the United States Championship three times.
context_section_description: On August 12, 2014, WWE announced that Steen had signed with them and was due to report to their developmental system NXT on August 25. His new ring name had only the surname changed to Owens, a tribute to his son Owen (who himself is named after Owen Hart), and NXT began airing promotional videos from November 20 to hype his upcoming debut. Owens detailed that he had wrestled for 14 years before making it to WWE, having faced (and formed friendships with) several current WWE or NXT wrestlers on the independent circuit years ago, but WWE signed them first—he declared that despite these friendships he would now fight anyone and everyone because fighting was the best way he could provide for his family.
  At NXT TakeOver: R Evolution, Owens defeated CJ Parker in his debut match, in which Parker legitimately gave him a broken nose with a Third Eye (palm strike); later that night, when Sami Zayn (the former El Generico) won the NXT Championship, Owens came to the ring to congratulate Zayn before attacking him with a powerbomb onto the ring apron, establishing himself as a heel in the process. On the December 18, 2014 episode of NXT, Owens wrestled former NXT Champion Adrian Neville to a double countout and powerbombed Neville onto the apron after the match. After yet another post-match attack by Owens on Zayn, an irate Zayn demanded a match against Owens, but Owens refused to wrestle unless it was for the championship—Zayn agreed and a title match was set for NXT TakeOver: Rival on February 11, 2015. At the event, two months to the day after his debut, Owens captured the championship from Zayn via referee stoppage after repeatedly powerbombing a disorientated Zayn. On the March 25 episode of NXT, he successfully retained the NXT title against Finn Bálor. At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, Owens' rematch for the title against Zayn went to a no contest after Owens continued to beat down an injured Zayn, until the debuting Samoa Joe stopped him. After weeks of tension between the two, Owens faced Joe on the June 17 episode of NXT. After the match went to a no contest, the two continued to brawl until they had to be separated.
  On the July 4 WWE Network special, The Beast in the East event held in Tokyo, Owens lost the NXT Championship to Bálor, ending his reign at 143 days. At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, Owens had his rematch for the title in a ladder match against Bálor, but he failed to regain the title in his last match and appearance in NXT. While on the main roster as NXT Champion, Owens successfully defended the title against Zack Ryder during an NXT Championship open challenge on the June 4 episode of SmackDown, against Neville on the June 8 episode of Raw and against Heath Slater on the June 12 episode of Main Event.
caption: Owens with the NXT Championship in May 2015
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