Kevin Owens

Kevin Steen (May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. He is a former one-time WWE Universal Champion, three-time WWE United States Champion and two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion. Originally trained by Pierre-Carl Ouellet and Jacques Rougeau in Canada, Steen performed for several American promotions, most notable Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Ring of Honor, where he was the ROH World Champion. Steen is also known from his time in Combat Zone Wrestling, where he was a one-time CZW Iron Man Champion.
==Professional wrestling career==
Kevin Steen first developed an interest in professional wrestling after watching a match between Shawn Michaels and Diesel at WrestleMania XI at the age of 11. Three years later, his parents allowed him to start training with Serge Jodoin, a wrestler based in Quebec. The following year, he began training with Jacques Rougeau. Kevin Steen had his first match on his sixteenth birthday in L'Assomption, Quebec on May 7, 2000. Kevin Steen trained with Rougeau and wrestled for Rougeau's promotion for four years, before beginning to wrestle with several other Canadian promotions, including the International Wrestling Syndicate.
===Combat Zone Wrestling (2004–2006, 2008)===
Kevin Steen made his Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) debut on September 10, 2004 at the High Stakes event. He lost in a fatal four-way match featuring El Generico, Excess, and SeXXXy Eddy, the latter of which was victorious in that match. He continued to make appearances with CZW and soon began teaming with El Generico against Super Dragon and Excalibur.
On May 14, 2005, Kevin Steen took part in the "CZW Best of the Best tournament" and he advanced to the finals after defeating Kenny The Bastard in the first round and Chris Hero in the second round. He was unable to clench the trophy, however, as he lost in the finals, which was a fatal four-way match involving B-Boy, Super Dragon, and Mike Quackenbush. Quackenbush won the match.
A few months later in August, Kevin Steen won his first championship in CZW. He pinned Franky The Mobster to win the CZW Iron Man Championship. He went on to defend the championship in individual matches against Nate Webb, El Generico, Chris Sabin, and Super Dragon. He also defended it in a match involving Necro Butcher, D.J. Hyde, B.J. Whitmer, and The Messiah.
In a cage match held at CZW Trapped involving The Canadians, The Blackout, The Forefathers of CZW, and Eddie Kingston, Kevin Steen lost the Ironman Championship to female wrestler LuFisto. He lost the championship one day shy of having a year long reign. He then departed for a tour with Dragon Gate, and didn't return to CZW until February 2008 when he made a one–time appearance and fought Vordell Walker to a no contest.
===Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2005–2008)===
While wrestling in CZW, Kevin Steen also began competing for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). On May 13, 2005, at Jason Takes PWG, Kevin Steen was entered into his first feud in PWG, when he helped Excalibur defeat Super Dragon in a Guerrilla Warfare match, in the process revealing himself as the fake Super Dragon, who had been attacking the real one the past few months. On August 6, 2005, Kevin Steen won the PWG Championship after defeating A.J. Styles at Zombies [Shouldn't Run]. Kevin Steen would hold the title for nearly four months before losing the championship to Joey Ryan at Chanukah Chaos (The C's Are Silent), following interference from Super Dragon. Steen's feud with Super Dragon ended on December 16, 2005, at Astonishing X-Mas, where he was defeated in a Guerrilla Warfare match.
In 2006, Kevin Steen began teaming with El Generico and they began to pursue the PWG World Tag Team Championship. On July 29, 2007, at Giant Size Annual #4, Kevin Steen and Generico defeated the reigning champions PAC and Roderick Strong to become the PWG World Tag Team Champions. They successfully defended the belts for almost three months before ultimately losing them to the team of Davey Richards and Super Dragon on October 27 in England as part of PWG's "European Vacation II" tour. The next night, Kevin Steen teamed with PAC in an attempt to regain the belts from Dragon and Richards, announcing before the match that if he lost, he'd leave the company indefinitely. Bear Man and PAC lost, leading to Kevin Steen leaving PWG.
However, Kevin Steen returned to PWG and, along with El Generico, won the titles for a second time, this time from The Dynasty (Joey Ryan and Scott Lost) on March 21, 2008 in an impromptu match. Steen and Generico became the first team in PWG history to be a part of the annual "Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament" to defend the belts in each match they had. In the tournament finals, they lost the titles to Jack Evans and Roderick Strong, thus ending their second reign.
On December 11, 2010, Kevin Steen wrestled Akira Tozawa for his first PWG win in two years. He has since returned to a more prominent role in the company after a few sporadic years (having only made five appearances between 2009 and 2010). On January 29, 2011, Kevin Steen was defeated by Chris Hero at PWG's annual WrestleReunion-sponsored event. Later that evening, after a four-way tag team match to determine which of four teams would enter the 2011 DDT4 tournament, Kevin Steen ran out to attack the eventual winners, the RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma), before declaring his intention of winning the DDT4 tournament. On February 2, 2011, it was announced that Steen would be teaming with Akira Tozawa for the tournament, which took place on March 4. In their first round match, Steen and Tozawa, known collectively as the Nightmare Violence Connection, scored an upset victory over the Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe). After another upset victory over the ROH World Tag Team Champions, The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli), Steen and Tozawa made it to the finals of the tournament, where they were, however, defeated by The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). On July 23 at PWG's eighth anniversary show, Kevin Steen first defeated PAC in a singles match, before teaming with CIMA to defeat PWG World Tag Team Champions, The Young Bucks, in a non-title match. After Claudio Castagnoli had defeated Chris Hero in the main event of the evening to retain the PWG World Championship, Kevin Steen challenged him to a match and, in his third match of the night, defeated him to win the PWG World Championship for the second time. At the following event on August 20, Kevin Steen entered the 2011 Battle of Los Angeles, defeating Dave Finlay and Eddie Edwards in his first round and semifinal matches. Later that same night, Kevin Steen was defeated in the finals by old rival El Generico. On September 10, Steen made his first PWG World Championship defense, defeating former champion Davey Richards. On October 22, Steen lost the PWG World Championship to El Generico in a ladder match, following interference from The Young Bucks. After the match Super Dragon made his first appearance in over three years by saving Kevin Steen with the two accepting The Young Bucks' challenge for a Guerrilla Warfare match. On December 10, Bear Man and Dragon, known collectively as "Appetite for Destruction", defeated The Young Bucks in a Guerrilla Warfare match to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship. On March 17, Bear Man defeated El Generico and Eddie Edwards in a three-way match to win the PWG World Championship for the third time. Kevin Steen made his first title defense on April 21, defeating Sami Callihan in an open challenge.
===Ring of Honor===
====Teaming and feuding with El Generico (2007–2009)====
On February 17, 2007, Kevin Steen returned to Ring of Honor, teaming with El Generico in a losing effort to the Briscoe Brothers. On April 14, Mark Briscoe returned in the middle of a match between Kevin Steen and Generico and his brother Jay and Erick Stevens. Mark was attacked by the duo, however, and was pinned by Kevin Steen after a package piledriver. On May 11, Kevin Steen (as a heel) and Generico (as a face) defeated Jason Blade and Eddie Edwards. At Respect is Earned, Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated Irish Airborne (Jake and Dave Crist), Pelle Primeau and Mitch Franklin, and Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce in a Tag Team Scramble dark match. That same night, Kevin Steen and El Generico brawled with the Briscoe Brothers, ending with Mark Briscoe suffering a mild concussion from a steel chair shot. At Driven, the Briscoe Brothers defeated Kevin Steen and El Generico to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Kevin Steen and Generico then suffered three consecutive losses to the Briscoes at Caged Rage in a Steel Cage match, Manhattan Mayhem II in a two out of three falls match, and Man Up in a ladder match. Their only tag team win over the Briscoes was at Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 in a non–title Boston Street Fight.
On June 6, 2008, Kevin Steen and Generico participated in a one night tournament to crown new ROH World Tag Team Champions. They defeated Go Shiozaki and ROH World Champion Nigel McGuiness in the first round and Chris Hero and Adam Pearce in the second round before losing to Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black in the finals.
On June 27 in Dayton, Ohio, Kevin Steen and Generico defeated The Age of the Fall's Tyler Black and Joey Matthews when Kevin Steen pinned Matthews following the package piledriver. The next day in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, Steen and Generico were defeated by AOTF members Black and Necro Butcher when Butcher pinned Steen following a roll up and a chair shot to the face from Black. On July 25, Steen faced off against ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness in a title match for the company's debut show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but Kevin Steen lost the match.
At a pay-per-view taping in Boston on September 19, Kevin Steen and Generico beat The Age of the Fall to finally win the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
On December 19, 2009, at Final Battle 2009, ROH's first live pay-per-view, after a loss to The Young Bucks, Kevin Steen turned heel by attacking his tag team partner El Generico. Kevin Steen has since found a new partner in Steve Corino. At the following pay-per-view, The Big Bang!, Generico and Cabana defeated Steen and Corino via disqualification, when Steen used a chair on his former partner. On June 19 at Death Before Dishonor VIII, Steen defeated El Generico in a singles match. On September 11 at Glory By Honor IX Generico and Cabana defeated Kevin Steen and Corino in a Double Chain match, when Cabana forced Corino to tap out. After the match Kevin Steen attacked El Generico and unmasked him. On December 18 at Final Battle 2010 Kevin Steen and Generico ended their year–long feud in an unsanctioned Fight Without Honor, where Kevin Steen put his ROH career on the line against Generico's mask. In the end El Generico won the match and thus forced Kevin Steen out of ROH. Prior to the outcome, on November 4, 2010, BKevin Steen's contract agreement with Ring of Honor ended due to financial budget concerns, which ultimately played a role within the stipulations of the match.
====Wrestling's Worst Nightmare (2011–2013)====
When Kevin Steen was pulled out of ROH events, ROH President Cary Silkin paid him every month. Cornette told Kevin Steen he would be brought back a few months later, so Kevin Steen lost, but when ROH was sold, Cornette told him to wait another six months. Kevin Steen was unhappy and ate a lot and gained a weight of . His contract expired on February 2011. After signing a new contract with the promotion, Kevin Steen returned to Ring of Honor on June 26, 2011, at Best in the World 2011, being introduced by Corino, who had turned face shortly after Kevin Steen's departure from the promotion and claimed that he needed redemption as well. However, ROH officials forced him to leave the arena before he could show that he was a changed man. After Corino was defeated by Michael Elgin, Kevin Steen ran in to save him from a beatdown at the hands of the House of Truth, but ended up turning on him and his sponsor Jimmy Jacobs. Afterwards, Kevin Steen was dragged out of the arena, while Jim Cornette swore that he would never again wrestle for ROH. The original idea was to introduce Kevin Steen as a rehab wrestler. However, Kevin Steen turned down the idea, because he did not "want to look like The Bravado Brothers". Though Kevin Steen was booked as the heel of the storyline, the fans took his side and instead booed Cornette. The storyline continued on July 22, when Kevin Steen invaded ROH's official message board, writing posts praising Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. On September 15 ROH's message board was "hacked" to redirect to a video, where Kevin Steen announced his intention of attending ROH's Death Before Dishonor IX the following weekend.
At the pay-per-view on September 17, Kevin Steen interrupted a match between El Generico and Jimmy Jacobs and called out Steve Corino, who was at the time wrestling in Japan, before powerbombing Jacobs on the ring apron. Kevin Steen was then confronted by Jim Cornette and ROH president Cary Silkin, whom he tried to Package Piledrive, before being ushered out of the arena by the security. On the November 5 edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Kevin Steen reappeared with Ohio Valley Wrestling talent Christian Mascagni as his legal adviser, threatening Jim Cornette and Ring of Honor with legal action unless he was reinstated within three weeks. On the December 3 edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Kevin Steen was granted a match with Steve Corino at Final Battle 2011, with his ROH future on the line. At the event, Kevin Steen defeated Corino, thus granting back his career in ROH. Afterwards, he would proceed to deliver a package piledriver to Jimmy Jacobs, before putting El Generico through a table with the same maneuver. At the end of the evening, he confronted Davey Richards and promised to become the ROH World Champion in 2012. On March 4, 2012, at the 10th Anniversary Show, Kevin Steen defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a No Holds Barred match and ended the pay-per-view by having another confrontation with Davey Richards. Kevin Steen continued his win streak during the Showdown in the Sun weekend, first defeating El Generico, with help from Jimmy Jacobs, in a Last Man Standing match on March 30 and then Eddie Edwards in a singles match on March 31. On May 12 at Border Wars, Kevin Steen defeated Davey Richards to win the ROH World Championship for the first time, making him the first Canadian to hold the championship.
Following the match, Steve Corino entered the ring and hugged Kevin Steen and Jacobs; the three men went on to form a stable later named S.C.U.M. (Suffering, Chaos, Ugliness, and Mayhem). Kevin Steen made his first successful title defense on June 15, defeating Eddie Edwards. On June 24 at Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis, Kevin Steen defeated Davey Richards to retain the ROH World Championship. At the following pay-per-view, Boiling Point on August 11, Kevin Steen successfully defended his title against Chikara Grand Champion Eddie Kingston. On September 15 at Death Before Dishonor X: State of Emergency, Kevin Steen made another successful title defense against Rhino. On October 6, a title match between Kevin Steen and Jay Lethal ended in a no contest in Lethal's home state of New Jersey, after which Kevin Steen spat at Lethal's parents, who were sitting at ringside. Seven days later at the following internet pay-per-view, Glory By Honor XI: The Unbreakable Hope, Kevin Steen made a successful title defense against Michael Elgin. Afterwards, Kevin Steen was delivered a box, which contained El Generico's mask. On December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday, Kevin Steen successfully defended the ROH World Championship against the returning El Generico in a ladder match. On March 2, 2013, at the 11th Anniversary Show, Kevin Steen defeated Jay Lethal in a grudge match to retain the ROH World Championship. On April 5 at Supercard of Honor VII, Kevin Steen lost the ROH World Championship to Jay Briscoe.
====Final run (2013–2014)====
At the following night's tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, S.C.U.M. turned on Kevin Steen, with Corino announcing that he would not be seen in ROH again. Kevin Steen, however, returned to ROH on May 4, now working as a face and replacing Jay Lethal in a tag team match, where he and Michael Elgin faced S.C.U.M.'s Cliff Compton and Jimmy Jacobs. The match ended with Jacobs pinning Kevin Steen for the win, after which Elgin walked out on him. Kevin Steen continued his rivalry with S.C.U.M. on June 22 at Best in the World 2013, where he was defeated by Matt Hardy in a No Disqualification match. The following day, Kevin Steen replaced The Briscoes due to injuries in a Steel Cage Warfare match and forced his former stable out of ROH, despite interference from Corino and Hardy, when he pinned Jimmy Jacobs to win the match and disband S.C.U.M. On August 3, Kevin Steen entered a tournament for the vacant ROH World Championship, defeating Brian Kendrick in his first round match. On August 17, Kevin Steen advanced to the semifinals of the tournament with a win over Roderick Strong. On September 20 at Death Before Dishonor XI, Kevin Steen was eliminated from the tournament by Michael Elgin. Following the tournament, Kevin Steen started feuding with Michael Bennett. The two faced off on October 26 at Glory By Honor XII, where Bennett was victorious, following a distraction from his girlfriend Maria Kanellis. On December 14 at Final Battle 2013, Kevin Steen defeated Bennett in a Stretcher match, where the loser would be forced to stop using the piledriver. On February 8, 2014, Kevin Steen earned a shot at the ROH World Championship by defeating Jay Lethal, Michael Elgin and Tommaso Ciampa in a four-way number one contender's match. Kevin Steen received his title match on May 10 in Toronto at Global Wars, but was defeated by the defending champion, Adam Cole. After losing to Shinsuke Nakamura at the Ring of Honor/New Japan Pro Wrestling co-produced War of the Worlds iPPV on May 17, Kevin Steen announced he was leaving ROH. This led to him being insulted and attacked by Silas Young. After defeating Young on June 22 at Best in the World 2014, Kevin Steen announced that his contract was up in a "month and a half". At the July 19 Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings, Kevin Steen defeated Steve Corino in his final ROH match.
===World Wrestling Entertainment===
====NXT (2014-2015)====
In August 12, 2014 he signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is set to report to their developmental territory, NXT, on August 25. After being assigned the new ring name of Kevin Owens, teaser vignettes were aired from the November 20 episode of NXT, promoting Kevin Owens's debut for December 11 at the NXT Takeover: R Evolution live special episode.
At NXT Takeover: R Evolution, Kevin Owens won his debut match and later at the night attacked the new NXT Champion Sami Zayn after his championship match celebration, solidifying himself as a heel. After weeks of attacking Zayn, a non-title match was set up between the two by the NXT general manager William Regal for the next NXT Takeover special event. On the January 28th edition of NXT, a contract signing took place between Zayn and Kevin Owens for their match on NXT Takeover: Rival but would change to a NXT Championship match when Kevin Owens refused to sign for a non-title match. At NXT Takeover: Rival, Kevin Owens captured the title (two months to the day after debuting) from Zayn via referee stoppage, having powerbombed a disorientated Zayn five times, and was stopped before he could execute a sixth. On the March 25 episode of NXT, he successfully retained the NXT title against Finn Bálor. Zayn would soon return and would have a NXT Championship match with Kevin Owens on May 20 at the NXT Takeover: Unstoppable event. Owens' title defense 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 would continue to brawl until they had to be separated.
On the July 4 WWE Network special event held in Tokyo, Japan, Owens lost the NXT Championship to Finn 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 recapture the title.
====Main roster and Intercontinental Champion (2015-2016)====
On the May 18th episode of Raw, Kevin Owens would make his Raw debut by responding to John Cena's United States Championship Open Challenge only to cheap shot him followed by a pop-up powerbomb, setting up a singles match between the two at Elimination Chamber. At Elimination Chamber, Kevin Owens would defeat Cena but would then it was announced later at the special event that they would have their rematch at Money in the Bank, which Cena would win. After the match, Owens powerbombed Cena onto the ring apron. Owens then challenged Cena to a match for the United States Championship, which Cena accepted; the match was scheduled for Battleground, where Owens submitted to the STF after surviving a super Attitude Adjustment by Cena, thus ending their feud. Following his loss to Cena, Owens entered himself into a feud with Cesaro, and defeated him at SummerSlam. On September 20, at Night of Champions, Owens defeated Ryback to win his first singles title on the main roster, the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Owens would defend it successfully at Hell in a Cell against Ryback. Owens would enter a 16-man tournament for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He defeated Titus O'Neil and Neville to advance to the semi finals at Survivor Series, where he would lose to Dean Ambrose. Ambrose and Owens begin to feud, starting at TLC where Owens lost the Intercontinental Title to the Lunatic Fringe. They continued to brawl at the Royal Rumble in a Last Man Standing Match, where Owens lost after being pushed by Ambrose through two tables. Owens would enter the Rumble match itself at #18, eliminating the debuting AJ Styles, but would be eliminated by former best friend Sami Zayn.
Owens would begin a short feud with Dolph Ziggler, whom Owens faced in 3 consecutive matches on Raw, where the score is 2-1 in favor of Ziggler. However, Owens would win back the Intercontinental Championship from Ambrose in a Fatal 5 Way Match, that included Ziggler, Stardust and Tyler Breeze. Ziggler would challenge Owens for the title at WWE Fastlane 2016, where Owens was victorious. Owens would lose the Intercontinental Championship to Zack Ryder in a 7-man Ladder Match, including Ziggler, Sami Zayn, The Miz, Sin Cara, and Stardust at WrestleMania 32. Owens would continue his feud with his former best friend Zayn, culminating in a match at WWE Payback. Owens would defeat Zayn and then later on, invaded the Intercontinental Championship Match between Miz and Cesaro. Owens would give Pop Up Powerbombs to both Zayn and Miz, inserting himself in the title picture again. Owens would face Cesaro, Miz and Zayn in a Fatal 4 Way Match for the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules, which he lost.
Owens would defeat AJ Styles on the next night, to have the 5th place in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Owens would lose as the match is won by Dean Ambrose. Owens would continue to feud with Sami Zayn, setting up another match for Battleground. Owens would lose the match.
==== Universal Champion and Chris Jericho (2016-2017) ====
Owens was drafted to Raw in the 2016 WWE Draft. Owens then formed a tag team and partnership with Chris Jericho, in which Owens and Jericho defeated Enzo and Cass. 8 days later, Owens would later win the WWE Universal Championship against Big Cass, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Owens would later defeat Rollins at Clash of Champions to retain his title. Owens would be the co-captain of the Raw 5-Man Team for Survivor Series along with Chris Jericho, also partnering with Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman. They'd go on to lose at Survivor Series.
Owens then began a short feud with Reigns, causing tension between him and Jericho after Owens stated that he 'doesn't need Chris Jericho' to help him, thus making Jericho abandon Owens. Reigns would defeat Owens on Raw, marking his first loss since becoming champion, giving Reigns a Universal Championship opportunity at Roadblock: End of the Line. At Roadblock, Owens would retain his championship after Jericho intentionally hit him with a Codebreaker, forcing the match to end via DQ. The following Raw, Jericho explained that he never wanted their friendship to end and hit that Codebreaker to help him retain.
Owens and Jericho would then team up in a 2-on-1 handicap match against Reigns for the WWE United States Championship in which Jericho won. Owens then got another Universal Championship match against Reigns at Royal Rumble (2017) which had Jericho suspended above the ring in a shark cage, Owens successfully defending his title after interference from Braun Strowman.
After this, Owens and Goldberg would have a short confrontation, Goldberg challenging him for the Universal Championship at Fastlane 2017, Jericho accepting on Owens' behalf.
Jericho then hosted a 'Festival of Friendship' to celebrate his friendship with Owens. However, Owens turned on Jericho by giving him a gift called the 'List of KO' with Jericho's name on it before brutally attacking him afterwards, throwing him into a TV set afterwards. At Fastlane, Owens would lose the Universal Championship to Goldberg in 22 seconds after interference from Jericho, his title reign ending at 188 days.
Jericho challenged Owens to a match at WrestleMania XXXIII, Owens accepting just as long as the United States Championship was on the line. Owens then began to explain that he never thought of Jericho as his friend and only used him as a tool to keep winning until his usefulness was gone. At WrestleMania, Owens defeated Jericho to become the new United States Champion, winning it for the first time in his career.
==== Smackdown Live, United States Champion, and Shane McMahon (2017) ====
During the 2017 Superstar Shakeup, Owens would be sent to SmackDown Live. Here, he'd begin a gimmick on being the 'Face of America' being the United States Champion, shaving his beard and getting a new haircut while wearing USA themed gear during matches. He would face Jericho in a rematch at Payback 2017 where he lost the title to Jericho, forcing Jericho to move from Raw to SmackDown Live. Owens, however, won the title back two nights later on Smackdown Live. After this, he would viciously assault Jericho, forcing medics to carry him out on a stretcher.
Owens defeated AJ Styles to retain his championship at Backlash 2017. He was then announced as one of the six participants for the 2017 Money in the Bank ladder match alongside Styles, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, and Shinsuke Nakamura. The match would later on be won by Corbin.
In a house show at Madison Square Garden on July 7, Owens lost the United States Championship to Styles, his second title reign ending at 66 days. However, Owens would reclaim the title against Styles at Battleground 2017. Owens would defend his title in a Triple Threat match the following Smackdown Live against Styles and a returning Chris Jericho, a match made by Shane McMahon where Owens lost the title to Styles after he pinned Jericho. Styles retained the Smackdown Live after with the referee not seeing that Owens actually had his shoulder up. Owens demanded a rematch with a proper official, being given a match at SummerSlam 2017 with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee. Styles, once again, retained the title. During the match, both men had multiple questions and arguments with McMahon about his officiating.
Owens demanded another rematch which McMahon allowed. Owens would be allowed to pick his own referee. Owens picked Corbin. McMahon also stated that if Owens lost, that'd be his last title opportunity. Styles would once again retain after Corbin walked out of the match and McMahon took over, distracting Owens and enabled Styles to capitalize.
Owens then demanded another title match the following week which McMahon denied. Owens then began to berate and insult Owens, going so far as to insult his family, causing McMahon to attack Owens after. Because of this, Smackdown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan announced that McMahon was indefinitely suspended because of his actions. Vince McMahon would appear the following week to confront Owens, who stated that Owens was to face Shane at Hell in a Cell 2017. Owens shook Vince's hand before headbutting him and busted him open before brutalizing him, debuting a new move called the 'Bullfrog Splash', a Frog Splash.
==== Alliance with Sami Zayn (2017-2018) ====
At Hell in a Cell, Zayn would pull Owens out of an announcer's desk to save him from a Leap of Faith by McMahon from the top of the cell, Zayn turning heel for the first time in his WWE career. Zayn then explained on the following Smackdown Live that he helped Owens out because he still considered him a brother and that McMahon had no regard for him in terms of his career and his help with his feud with Owens. The two would then be seen paired more often, winning their first match together as a team against Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton after Zayn low blowed Orton. They then entered a short feud with The New Day where they beat up Kofi Kingston after his singles match against Zayn. They'd also abandon The New Day to face the invading Shield from Raw.
None of them were given a spot to be on the 5-man team to represent Smackdown Live at Survivor Series. They would end up defeating the team of Breezango in the pre-show match. They'd later appear during the 5-on-5 event, beating up Shane McMahon before it backfired and Shane attacked both men with a chair, leading to Orton hitting an RKO on Owens.
==== Return to WWE (2019-present) ====
On the February 26 edition of Smackdown, Kevin Owens made his return replacing Kofi Kingston in the WWE Championship match against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane 2019. Later that night, Kevin asked Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon if he could team with Kofi to fight Daniel Bryan and Rowan, which they accepted, thus turning face in the process. Kevin and Kofi won the tag match via Kevin hitting the Stunner on Daniel Bryan. During 2019, Owens entered a feud with General Manager Shane McMahon. At SummerSlam, Owens placed his WWE career on the line in a Loser Leaves WWE singles match, defeating McMahon. Owens' victory came with a consequence as he assaulted McMahon's chosen special guest referee Elias, resulting in Owens being issued a heavy fine during the August 13th episode of SmackDown Live. In addition to the fine, Shane McMahon after a backstage segment with Owens, recruited the willing Samoa Joe to be Owens' surprise opponent, to whom he lost against later during the show.
Owens would be announced as a participant in the 2019 King of the Ring Tournament, losing in the first round against Elias.
==Personal life==
Growing up in the province of Quebec, Canada, Steen participated in a lot of sports such as hockey, polo, soccer and baseball. Never considered to develop a career out of any of those sports, especially soccer after suffering an injury at age 11, he considered becoming a professional wrestler after watching a VHS tape of WrestleMania XI with his father. Steen is married and has a son named Owen and a daughter named Élodie Leila.
In May 2008 at the end of the event DDT4 Night One, his then–six month old son recorded his first professional wrestling victory by pinning Excalibur. Steen delivered three package piledrivers in a row and then placed his infant son on top of Excalibur and a three count was made.
==In wrestling==
*Finishing moves
**As Kevin Owens
***Pop-up Powerbomb (2014 - 2018)
***Stunner (2019–present)
**As Kevin Steen
***Package piledriver, sometimes from the top rope
***F-Cinq (ROH) / Deep Sea Diverticulitis (PWG) F-Cinq
***Sharpshooter
***Steenalizer (Package fallaway Powerbomb)
*Signature moves
**Powerbomb on the ring apron
**Argentine Neckbreaker (briefly used as a finisher in 2016)
**Bullfrog Splash - 2016–present, sometimes used as a finisher
**Cannonball
**Double Jump Moonsault
**Superkick
**Swanton Bomb
*Tag teams and stables
**Appetite for Destruction (w/ Super Dragon)
**El Generico and Kevin Steen
**Nightmare Violence Connection (w/ Akira Tozawa)
**Mount Rushmore
**Muscle Outlawz
**New SBS
**S.C.U.M.
**Jeri-KO (w/ Chris Jericho)
**Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
*Nicknames
**"Mr. Wrestling"
**"The Anti-Christ of Pro Wrestling"
**"Wrestling's Worst Nightmare"
**"The Prizefighter"
*Entrance music
**"Tear Away" by Drowning Pool (CZW / PWG / ROH)
**"Word Up!" by Korn (IWA-MS)
**"Now You're a Man" by DVDA (PWG)
**"Better" by Guns N' Roses (C*4 / IWS)
**"Unsettling Differences" by Blue Smock Nancy (ROH)
**"Fight" by CFO$ (NXT)
==Championships and accomplishments==
*Combat Zone Wrestling
:*CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)
*Elite Wrestling Revolution
:*EWR Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
:*2005 Elite 8 tournament winner
*International Wrestling Syndicate
:*IWS Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
:*IWS Canadian Championship (1 time)
*North Shore Pro Wrestling
:*NSPW Championship (1 time)
* NXT
** NXT Championship (1 time)
*Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
:*PWG Championship (3 times)
:*PWG World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with El Generico (2) and Super Dragon (1)
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
:*PWI Ranked him #54 off the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
:*PWI ranked him #21 in the 2023 PWI Top 500 Wrestlers
*Ring of Honor
:*ROH World Championship (1 time)
:*ROH Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with El Generico
*SoCal Uncensored
:*Wrestler of the Year (2005)
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter
:*Best Brawler (2010-2011)
:*Feud of the Year (2010) vs. El Generico
*World Wrestling Entertainment
**WWE Universal Championship (1 time)
**WWE Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
**WWE United States Championship (3 times)
**WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Sami Zayn
**WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Sami Zayn
==External links==
* WWE.com Profile
* Profile
Category:1984 births
Category:2000 debuts
Category:Canadian wrestlers
Category:1 Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Blood Sweat And Ears alumni
Category:Chikara Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Combat Zone Wrestling alumni
Category:Dragon Gate alumni
Category:EPIC Pro Wrestling WAR alumni
Category:Gung Ho Wrestling alumni
Category:International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom alumni
Category:International Wrestling Syndicate alumni
Category:IWA Mid-South alumni
Category:Jersey All Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Northern Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:NWA Quebec Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling ZERO1 alumni
Category:UWA Hardcore Wrestling alumni
Category:Westside Xtreme Wrestling alumni
Category:ROH World Champions
Category:ROH World Tag Team Champions
Category:Quebec wrestlers
Category:Capital City Championship Combat alumni
Category:Inter Species Wrestling alumni
Category:Ring of Honor alumni
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment current roster
Category:WWE NXT alumni
Category:Absolute Intense Wrestling alumni
Category:All American Wrestling alumni
Category:Alpha-1 Wrestling alumni
Category:BATTLEWAR Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Beyond Wrestling alumni
Category:Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic alumni
Category:Dreams Project alumni
Category:Elite Wrestling Revolution alumni
Category:Empire State Wrestling alumni
Category:EVOLVE Wrestling alumni
Category:Fight Club: PRO alumni
Category:Great Canadian Wrestling alumni
Category:House Of Glory alumni
Category:House Of Hardcore alumni
Category:Juggalo Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:Maximum Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:New Horizons Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:North Shore Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Northeast Wrestling alumni
Category:Premier Wrestling Xperience alumni
Category:Preston City Wrestling alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling EVO alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling Guerrilla alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling Superstars alumni
Category:Quintessential Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Resistance Pro alumni
Category:Revolution Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Smash Wrestling alumni
Category:Southside Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:Squared Circle Wrestling alumni
Category:Twin Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:WrestleCon alumni
Category:WrestleReunion alumni
Category:WrestleZone alumni
Category:NXT Champions
Category:Living people
Category:WWE Intercontinental Champions
Category:WWE United States Champions
Category:WWE Universal Champions
Category:Male wrestlers
Category:AAW Heavyweight Champions
Category:Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Triple Crown champions
Category:Elimination Chamber Match alumni
Category:WWE Tag Team Champions