Daily DDT
Fansided

Red Arrow Column: Kevin Owens’ Loss at WWE Battleground Should Have Been Expected

By Sherron Watson

facebooktwitterreddit

Did the wrestling community set themselves up from failure with Kevin Owens?

You all thought he was different. Going into WWE Battleground, fans all over the world were convinced that Kevin Owens would do the unthinkable and defeat John Cena, to become the new WWE United States Champion. Of course, that didn’t happen. Owens has joined the long list of guys that has tried to dethrone the great John Cena, but ultimately failed. Owens is just another guy.

WWE.com

Fans all over the world were a bit scared to pair him against Cena, but the lasting image of Owens standing tall over Mr. Hustle, Loyalty and Respect, had fans convinced that he was different. Die-hard Cena haters actually believed WWE was going to give Owens the ultimate rub of being the one to beat him for the United States Championship.

As the feud progressed, Owens vs. Cena was set for Elimination Chamber, which was Owens’ WWE in-ring debut. He would go onto beat Cena. Not only did he pin the man, he did it clean! Let me explain how huge that truly is.

Since 2005, here are the only times Cena has been beaten clean, without inference or shenanigans:

  • Shawn Michaels – RAW, April 23, 2007
  • Great Khali – Saturday Night’s Main Event, June 2, 2007
  • Triple H – Night of Champions 2008
  • Batista – SummerSlam 2008
  • Big Show – RAW, March 30, 2009
  • Randy Orton – Hell in a Cell 2009
  • The Rock – WrestleMania 28
  • Daniel Bryan – SummerSlam 2013
  • Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam 2014

WWE.com

Before losing to Owens at Elimination Chamber, Cena has only been beaten cleanly 9 times in 10 years. That is almost once a year…almost. So when Owens beat Cena clean, we thought that maybe Owens was getting some kind of mega-push that we’ve never seen before. After WWE Elimination Chamber, Owens bragged and boasted that he Cena all by himself. Fast forward to the rematch at WWE Money in the Bank. This time, Cena defeated Owens.

WWE.com

The stage was set for a rubber match at Battleground. This time for the WWE United States Championship. Many were convinced that Owens would win the US Title. But instead, Cena made Owens submit. The internet reaction has been mixed since the match’s ended.

For years, we’ve seen talent get placed into a feud with Cena, and come out looking worse. I’m not saying that this loss to Cena will doom Owens’ career, but I think if this is the end to their feud, Owens does not look any better than when he came in.

Throughout this entire feud Cena has talked about how Owens needs to back up what he was saying by his actions. In the end, Owens has lost twice in a row to Cena. So in reality, Owens looks like “just another guy” that is all bark and no bite.

So where does the former NXT Champion go from here? Does he go back to NXT to regain the championship against Finn Balor? Will he go after the U.S. champion one last time? Bottom line, many fans in the IWC put their faith in Owens to be the one who ends the face that runs the place. Those believers found out the same-thing Bray Wyatt found out in 2014 and Rusev in 2015: to be the man, you have got to be the man and as long as Cena’s in WWE he will always be the man.

Next: WrestleMania Card Projections 2.0

More from Daily DDT

Home/John Cena