Why Kevin Owens as WWE Universal Champion Makes Sense
By AJ Balano
Ever since the announcement of the WWE Universal Championship, the title has been scrutinized for its name and its appearance. However, Kevin Owens as its holder may be just the right guy to get the belt over with the audience
Injury notwithstanding, the match between Finn Balor and Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for the right to be named the first-ever Universal Champion was incredible. However, a bit of the magic was taken away by the Brooklyn crowd who incessantly heckled the Universal Championship itself; booing at its name and jeering whenever it was seen on screen.
Balor would ultimately win the title and despite the vocal dissenters, it was for the most part a celebratory occasion that Balor was crowned the new champion on Raw. The title was not going to take away from the fact that Balor in and out of WWE is a tremendous wrestler, one of the best in the world, and has garnered the respect of fans the globe over. But then Balor would be forced to relinquish the title after he suffered the now-infamous injury at the hands of Seth Rollins. All of a sudden, the criticisms levied towards the Universal Championship seemingly went away after the magnitude of the shocking announcement settled in.
Say what you want about the title itself, but both Finn Balor and Seth Rollins busted their rear-ends for a decade-plus each trying to make it to the WWE and win the company’s most prestigious titles. For Balor to literally reach the summit and then have to give it up in a span of 24 hours was gut wrenching and heartbreaking. The title may have a silly name and a bland look, but at the end of the day, it’s still a championship belt whom the most elite compete and vie for at the highest level.
This past Monday night, a Fatal 4-Way elimination match was held to crown a new Universal Champion between Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Big Cass, and Kevin Owens. And at the end of the night, under the most shocking and controversial circumstances, Kevin Owens found himself with one hand raised in the air and the other holding the Universal Championship.
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Kevin Owens is exactly the right person to hold the Universal Championship for several reasons. Since arriving in WWE, Owens has essentially been a runaway train of success, capturing the NXT Championship within half a year of his debut. He would headline several TakeOvers as the NXT Champion, and in the meantime, make an indelible imprint on the main roster when he emerged and not only challenged John Cena, but pinned him clean, in a trilogy of matches.
From there, Owens, no longer the NXT Champion after being defeated by Finn Balor and having lost his opportunity at Cena’s United States title, set his sights on the Intercontinental Title and would win his second major title in the company. Owens would lose the IC title at WrestleMania, but not before having a tremendous first year on the main roster. His trajectory only seemed to be going upward and onward, and in the process, cementing himself as arguably the most entertaining superstar in the entire WWE.
For those reasons alone, Owens deserves the Universal Championship for the decade-and-a-half he spent on the indies honing his craft. He then came to WWE and practically taking over the company through hard work, consistently putting on great matches. And perhaps most telling, he got over with every arena on a weekly basis with his high entertainment value.
Kevin Owens is also the right guy to carry the Universal Championship because he had already labeled himself as ‘the champion of the universe’ in his ‘Mount Rushmore’ promo with Adam Cole and the Young Bucks. Only somebody with the charisma as Kevin Owens could make such a claim, and because of this, he can get the Universal Title itself over with the crowd week in and week out by reiterating his point. Kevin Owens as the Universal Champion technically is by definition, the champion of the universe.
Owens hammering that sentiment home on a nightly basis coupled with his comedic approach to being a heel is exactly what the WWE needs to quell the disdain the fans had towards the name and look of the title. Rollins couldn’t have pulled it off because in the eyes of many, the Universal Championship is a step down from the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that he proudly held prior to getting injured. Balor doesn’t have the presence on the mic just yet to downplay fans’ displeasure with the title despite how great of a wrestler Balor is. Putting the title on Roman would’ve exponentially gotten him even more hatred from the audience. Kevin Owens is the right guy, the right superstar to hold the Universal Championship.
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It was the New Era, but now it’s the Kevin Owens Show as we head towards KO-Mania 2. The Headlock Master, sole resident of Chinlock Island, is now the champion of the universe. Owens routinely reminds everyone ‘that’s why he’s the man’, and to echo the sentiment made by his friend, Tommaso Ciampa, it all makes perfect sense.