Chase Owens

Owens in January 2022

###

Bristol, Tennessee, U.S.

**Steven Owens** (born March 7, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name **Chase Owens**. He is signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a former one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a holder of the Provisional KOPW 2021 Trophy as part of the Bullet Club.

## Professional wrestling career

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2014–present)

On October 13, 2014, Owens made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) at King of Pro-Wrestling, successfully defending the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship against BUSHI. After the match, Owens challenged Jushin Thunder Liger. On November 8 at Power Struggle, Owens lost the title to Liger. Owens returned to NJPW on February 11, 2015, at The New Beginning in Osaka, where he and Rob Conway defeated Liger and Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a tag team match. Three days later at The New Beginning in Sendai, Owens unsuccessfully challenged Liger for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Owens returned to NJPW in May to take part in the 2015 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He finished the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals. Owens returned to NJPW on October 23, 2015, when he joined Bullet Club. The following day, Owens and new stablemate Kenny Omega entered the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, but were eliminated in their first round match by Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero). Owens returned to NJPW in May 2016 as a late replacement for an injured Nick Jackson in the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He finished second to last in his block with a record of three wins and four losses.

At the end of the year, Owens took part in the 2016 World Tag League, teaming with Bullet Club leader Kenny Omega. The two finished second to last in their block with a record of three wins and four losses. Around this time, Owens was quietly promoted to the promotion's heavyweight division.

Owens participated in the 2017 World Tag League, teaming with Bad Luck Fale, the duo finished with a record of three wins and four losses, failing to advance form their block. On April 1, 2018 at Sakura Genesis, Owens teamed with Yujiro Takahashi to unsuccessfully challenge The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson).

On July 7 at G1 Special in San Francisco, Guerrillas of Destiny and Haku dubbed as "Firing Squad" attacked Omega and The Young Bucks. Takahashi, with and Page, Scurll and Owens come out to make the save but were unable to help. Later Tonga revealed the reason behind the attack was due to division within the group. Afterwards, the stable was further divided between two groups the "Bullet Club Elite", led by Omega, who began to wrestle as face, and the "Bullet Club OG". The Elite would leave Bullet Club in October, followed by Yujiro and Owens, who officially left the stable in December. Members of The Elite were recognized as part of the Bullet Club and continued being called Bullet Club Elite until January 4, 2019, while Bullet Club OG was simply renamed to Bullet Club, ending the Civil War. On January 5, at *New Years Dash*, Ishimori and the Guerrillas of Destiny defeated Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Toru Yano to retain the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, when Yujiro and Owens helped them retain the titles, rejoining the stable in the process. After that, he announced that he had signed a contract with New Japan, making it the first time he was full-time with the company. He would start this year off well, achieving many pinfall victories, albeit over weaker opposition. In March 2019, Owens entered the New Japan Cup, defeating the IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson in the first round but losing to Yoshi-Hashi in the second round.
On March 23, 2019 at the New Japan Cup finals, Owens unsuccessfully challenged Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States Championship.
On June 16, Owens teamed with Bullet Club stablemates Yujiro Takahashi and El Phantasmo to unsuccessfully challenge Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe and Toru Yano for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Owens participated in the 2019 World Tag League teaming again with Bad Luck Fale, the duo finished with a record of six wins and nine losses failing to advance to the final round.

The next year, Owens and Fale would again team, finishing the 2020 World Tag League with a record of three wins and six losses, again failing to advance to the finals. On January 4, at Wrestle Kingdom 15, Owens won the New Japan Rambo by last eliminating Yuya Uemura to become the participants to decide the inaugural KOPW 2021. The following day, on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 15, Yano defeated BUSHI, Fale and Owens to become the provisional KOPW 2021 Champion.

On February 12, Owens, who was jealous on the way Yano won the *New Japan Rambo* and the KOPW 2021 at Wrestle Kingdom 15, leading him to challenge Yano to a Texas Strap match. NJPW later announced the title match. This led to on February 15, Yano proposing a "YTR style Texas Strap match" at Castle Attack, after Yano was appealed by the idea, after Owens attacked him with a strap, during their match. Afterwards, NJPW announced a fan vote to determine the stipulation for the match, which Yano won on February 22, resulting in the match being a YTR style Texas Strap match. Yano made his first title defense of the provisional KOPW 2021 Championship against Owens on February 27 at Castle Attack in a YTR style Texas Strap match.

Leading to Wrestle Grand Slam, it was announced that the event would feature a title match for the provisional KOPW 2021 trophy in a New Japan Rambo. Leading to the match, the proviosional champion Yano proposed a stipulation for match being either with blindfolds or handcuffs. On July 20, NJPW announced that the New Japan Rambo would be held with handcuffs following the result of a fan vote. On July 25 at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Chase Owens last eliminated Yano in the *New Japan Rambo* with handcuffs, following the help from his Bullet Club stablemates to win the provisional KOPW 2021 trophy. Following his loss, Yano, who was frustrated with his loss, challenged Owens to a rematch for the trophy. Over the following weeks, following their matches, Owens would try to get Yano to yell "I quit", which led to Yano challenging Owens into an I quit match, while promising to showcase his serious side. On August 10, following a six-man tag team match between them, Owens attacked Yano with a strap, before announcing the Texas Strap match, as his stipulation for their match, a repeat from his request for Castle Attack on February 27. On August 19, following a fan vote to determine the stipulation for the match, NJPW announced that Owens and Yano would face each other in a No Disqualification I Quit match. On September 4 at Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Yano defeated Owens in a No Disqualification I Quit match to regain the trophy. From November 14 until December 12, Owens and Bad Luck Fale took part in the 2021 World Tag League finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and five losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. In March 2022, Owens took part in the 2022 New Japan Cup, losing in the third round to Shingo Takagi. On May 1 at Wrestling Dontaku, Owens and Fale won the IWGP Tag Team Championship by defeating United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb) and Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) in a three-way match, only to lose the titles back to Cobb and O-Khan on June 12 at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall. From July 20 to August 16, Owens took part in the 2022 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and four losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. From November 22 until December 14, Owens and Fale took part in the 2022 World Tag League. Following three matches, where Owens and Fale scored two victories, they were forced to pull out of the tournament, after it was announced that Owens would be absent for the remainder of the tournament, following the passing of a family member, leading them to forfeit the remainder of their matches. In March 2023, Owens took part in the 2023 New Japan Cup, losing in the second round to Tetsuya Naito. From July 15 to August 5, Owens took part in the 2023 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of two wins and five losses, failing to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

## Personal life

On January 18, 2021, Owens tested positive for COVID-19 amid its pandemic in Japan.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ Package piledriver
	+ Rolling elbow
* **Signature moves**
	+ *C-Trigger* (Jumping bicycle knee strike)
	+ Dropkick
	+ Flipping neckbreaker
	+ Jewel Heist (Side hammerlock transitioned into a short-range lariat)
	+ Northern lights suplex
	+ Prince's Throne (Fireman's carry double knee gutbuster)
	+ Snap suplex
	+ Swinging neckbreaker
	+ Swinging slingshot backbreaker
	+ Superkick
* **Nicknames**
	+ "The Crown Jewel"

## Championships and accomplishments

* **National Wrestling Alliance**
	+ NWA Mid-Atlantic Junior Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
	+ NWA Mountain State Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

* **New Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bad Luck Fale
	+ Provisional KOPW (2021)
	+ New Japan Rambo (2021, 2022)
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him **222** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chase Owens [@realchaseowens] 2023-03-06. It’s my Japan birthday!! Feel free to send me money as a present 😇😇 .
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 【10.13両国全カード決定!】年内最後の"IWGPヘビー選手権"AJvs棚橋！"権利証戦"オカダvs内藤！勝者同士が1.4東京ドームで激突!!  (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling (2014-09-24). Retrieved on 2014-09-24.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chase Owens Cagematch profile . Cagematch. Retrieved on 2014-09-23.
4. ↑ NWA Smoky Mountain TV - 1/14/17 (Chase Owens vs. Jordan Kage) . NWA Smoky Mountain. Retrieved on 2017-01-13.
5. ↑ Axel Saalbach. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database . *wrestlingdata.com*.
6. ↑ King of Pro-Wrestling  (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2014-10-13.
7. ↑ Power Struggle  (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2014-11-08.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The New Beginning in Osaka  (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2015-02-11.
9. ↑ The New Beginning in Sendai  (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2015-02-14.
10. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-05-07. NJPW news: "Best of Super Jrs." tournament details announced . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-05-31.
11. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-06-05.
12. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2015-10-23. 10/23 New Japan Road to Power Struggle report . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2015-10-23.
13. ↑ Road to Power Struggle  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-10-24.
14. ↑ Caldwell, James 2016-05-19. New Japan announces replacements for Young Bucks in BOSJ tournament; updated A & B Blocks . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-06-01.
15. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXIII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-06-06.
16. ↑ *ja:戦国炎舞 -Kizna- Presents World Tag League 2016* (in ja). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*.
17. ↑ Chase Owens [@realchaseowens] 2017-04-23. heavyweight ;) .
18. ↑ Chase Owens [@realchaseowens] 2017-05-03. I'm not a junior .
19. ↑ NJPW World Tag League results: Finals! .
20. ↑ Sakura Genesis 2018  (in en). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*.
21. ↑ Chase Owens Announces That He's Signed A Contract With NJPW | Fightful Wrestling  (in en).
22. ↑ Satin, Ryan 2019-01-07. Chase Owens Signs NJPW Contract  (in en-US).
23. ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/new-japan-cup-night-one-results-tournament-begins-278776
24. ↑ https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2019/03/njpw-new-japan-cup-results-651936/
25. ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/new-japan-cup-finals-live-results-kazuchika-okada-vs-sanada-279946
26. ↑ NJPW. 2019.12.08 WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2019 NIGHT 17 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING  (in en).
27. ↑ NJPW. 2020.12.06 WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2020 ＆ BEST OF THE SUPER Jr.27 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING  (in en).
28. ↑ NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion “The Crown Jewel” Chase Owens . *Canadian Wrestling Elite*. Retrieved on 2016-06-05.
29. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=1313
30. ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015 . *The Internet Wrestling Database*. Retrieved on 2015-10-07.