Kevin Steen was one of the top talents on the independent scene for years. He was often thought of as a guy that would never make it to the WWE simply based on his size. Kevin is never going to be confused with a bodybuilder. He has since arriving in NXT done a lot of work in terms of his body and has dropped some pounds and his arms are not looking like the Hulkster but are looking more buff. It was how Kevin connects with a crowd and what he can do in the ring at his size that makes him standout. The fact Kevin even got to the WWE was amazing and perhaps the success of Bray Wyatt helped open the door for him. Wyatt is another guy that will never win a body building competition but it his great psychology and in-ring work that has elevated him in the WWE system.
I don’t think the biggest Kevin Steen/Kevin Owens fan could have written a script better than what WWE has done with him. It has been an amazing ride and Kevin Owens is remarkably the NXT Champion as he won the belt in just his third match on the WWE Network as part of the NXT product. He has been build as an ass kicker that fights with a single motivation to make life better for his family. This is the true motivation for Kevin Steen as an actual person. It has been said many times the best wrestling characters our people just being themselves and turning up the volume. This is what they have done with Kevin taking his real life story as a man with two young children and a wife and wanting to provide a great life for them.
It would just be a natural assumption that Paul Lévesque aka Triple H has been or become a fan of what Kevin has to offer. The success of Sami Zayn likely is a contributing factor to how well things have gone for Kevin. Zayn has been a standout for the NXT brand from the start since he arrived on the scene in the last couple of years. He has been the MVP of that brand and likely more talented than many of the recent call-ups from NXT. The story of Zayn and Owens real friendship was used to build the feud that elevated Kevin to instant success in NXT and the brand’s champion. Triple H prior to the NXT event that crowned Owens as Champion said it would have been foolish to ignore the real life back-story between Zayn and Owens. It sure seems that Kevin has become fast friends with his boss Triple H and been given a tremendous push to start his career in WWE.
Kevin has been turned into an NXT version of Brock Lesnar in terms of his presentation. He is going out and mauling people not just winning matches but literally knocking people out. It fits with the merchandizing they have done Steen based on the initials of his character’s name KO aka Kevin Owens.
It makes all the ringing of hands that fans of Steen had when he was going to WWE seemed silly now. Kevin has been treated like the big deal he was in Ring of Honor and the independents. I honestly don’t know how anyone could have any beef with what WWE has done with him to this point.
The fear will now shift to what happens when Kevin eventually makes his way to the main roster. There is a lot of worry for people like Sami Zayn, Charlotte and Adrian Neville who all seem on verge of heading to the main roster. We are still a ways off from worrying about Kevin jumping to that main roster and I would just suggest enjoying the here and now with Kevin. There is nothing to complain about right now. In terms of Kevin, there is zero to complain about right now.
Having had the chance to interview many of Kevin’s friends and colleagues, they all had confidence that Kevin would be a success. In speaking with people since there is a lot of just genuine happiness for how well things have gone for Kevin.
If I have learned, anything about Kevin is how much not just his fans but also many of the people he has shared a ring with love and respects him. It has been a dream like start for Kevin Owens in WWE and the man Kevin Steen is very deserving of it.
Fight Owens Fight…..is something very easy to root for. Even if he is playing the bad guy as he said on the most recent NXT he has not told a lie about anything since arriving in WWE. He is really at his core someone that you can’t help but root for him to succeed.
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