Kevin Owens has climbed his way up to the top of the WWE ladder over the past few years and is currently the longest reigning WWE Universal Champion in history (yes, we find this funny).

Owens came through the ranks in NXT and is a former NXT Champion. His feuds with Sami Zayn and Finn Balor put NXT on the map a few years ago, and unsurprisingly last year WWE made the decision to bring Owens up to the main roster.

Owens then went on to feud with the likes of John Cena and more recently Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. In the process he has become one of the biggest stars of WWE's Raw brand.

The current partnership of Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho has become one of the best WWE formations in recent memory and the whole relationship between the duo has made the Raw brand the most must see show on WWE TV.

Owens may be one of the biggest stars on WWE's roster right now, but there isn't a lot known about Owens outside of the company. Owens has been around the wrestling circuit for many years, which means that there is a lot known about him, but there are not many of the WWE Universe that is fully aware of many of the following facts about the former Intercontinental Champion.

15 15. He Is Best Friends With Sami Zayn

During their recent feud in WWE, the WWE Universe chanted that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens should 'Fight Forever' and that is exactly what the duo have been doing. Sami and Kevin have wrestled all over the world for the past seven years and have become best friends while doing it.

Before they met in NXT, El Generico and Kevin Steen were two fierce rivals whose matches were absolutely mesmerizing to watch. And now they have made it to WWE, the company have made a point of ensuring that the Universe is able to see the sheer beauty of these two friends in a WWE ring. Somewhere down the line (assuming Owens continues as Universal Champion) a title program between the two could take place.

14 14. He's Been Wrestling Since He Was 16-Years-Old

Back when John Cena was feuding with Kevin Owens, Cena had the cheek to refer to Owens as a rookie. But the former NXT Champion has been wrestling for the past 14 years. Technically he is on par with John Cena, he just hasn't been doing it on the biggest stage in professional wrestling.

Owens began wrestling when he was just 16-years-old and made his official debut in Canada on his 16th Birthday. Owens didn't officially wrestle in the United States until 2004 and has been unstoppable ever since. Before coming to WWE he had already wrestled many of their roster during his time in Ring of Honor. Owens was an experienced wrestler before ever joining WWE, and he has more than proven that he belongs.

13 13. Steve Austin Helped To Shape His Career

'The Texas Rattlesnake' is one of the biggest stars to have ever set foot in a WWE ring, so advice from 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin when it comes to wrestling, is like gold dust. So it comes as no surprise that Austin's advice early in Owens career actually helped to shape him into the star he is today.

Owens met Austin at an airport and the two began a conversation about wrestling. As Austin said his goodbyes, Owens asked him for some advice and Stone Cold replied 'never stop running your mouth, kid.' Which is probably why Kevin Owens became so good at cutting promos. It seems that little bit of advice from one of his heroes allowed him to go the distance in his career.

12 12. He Is Married To Karina Elias

Kevin married Karina Elias before he ever made his rise to fame back in 2007. He has stated many times that his wife loved him long before he was rich and fampous and that is why she is not only a keeper, but he will always love her.

Karina has been voted as one of the sexiest wives of WWE Superstars many times and it is easy to see why; she is a very attractive woman and to be able to put up with Owen's banter on a daily basis. She must have an incredible personality. Karina and Kevin have managed to stay out of the spotlight which is difficult when you are a WWE Superstar. It's always nice to see a couple hide from the fame of the job.

11 11. He's Wrestled His Entire Career With A Knee Injury

Owens was part of a match much earlier in his career when an opponent botched a move and left his knee badly injured. He has had surgery on the injury multiple times but has been unable to fix the problem.

He has teased retirement from wrestling many times due to chronic knee problems, but somehow he has managed to make it to the biggest stage of all. And most of the time there is no reason why anyone would notice he has a knee problem. Despite this body issues, Owens still manages to perform some high octane moves in the ring and refuses to let the injury hold him back. Owens is a unique type of WWE performer who can be considered in a league of his own.

10 10. He Has Two Children

At 32-years-old, it comes as no surprise that Kevin Owens has already settled down. Despite the fact that wrestlers spend a lot of time on the road, Owens has a loving family waiting for him when he comes back home.

Owens and his wife Karina have two children, a little boy named Owen, who is named after Owen Hart and a little girl named Elodie Leila. Owens tries to be as hands-on as a father as he can whilst being away from his family a lot and often shares pictures of his children on Twitter. The cutest picture was of his little daughter dressed as Owens for Halloween. It was such a cute image of a little girl who was immensely proud of her father.

9 9. Jim Ross Taught Him To Speak English

It may be a shock to many of the WWE Universe given his incredible mic ability, but English is not Kevin Owens' first language. Owens grew up in Quebec, Canada (you can hear the native twang in his natural speaking voice) which is a French-speaking province, which means that French is Owens first language.

Owens has tweeted and spoke about the fact that Jim Ross actually taught him to speak English, many times. Kevin Owens grew up watching and listening to the legendary WWE commentator and that was the thing that allowed him to become bilingual. Owens cut many promos in French during his Ring of Honor days as a fantastic heel and has even used French in a promo while feuding with John Cena.

8 8. His Son Is Named After Owen Hart

Kevin Owens made the conscious decision to name his first born child after one of his favourite wrestlers from when he was a child. Owens named his son Owen after Owen Hart who tragically died back in 1999. Kevin then subsequently decided to change his ring name from Steen to Owens when he was signed to WWE.

Owen can be seen on Owens' Twitter page all the time as he shared stories relating to his oldest child. Kevin even used him as part of the feud he had with John Cena because his son was a huge John Cena fan at the time. As it turns out, Owen wasn't happy when he saw his father defeating his hero upon his most memorable debut on the main WWE roster.

7 7. He Loves His Fans

Owens is perhaps one of the most active WWE stars on Twitter and is often seen talking to fans on the social networking site. While Owens spends much of the time blocking people and pointing out their bad grammar as a way to remain in character, he still has a lot of time for his fans.

Owens used to make his own shirts for fans when he was working for Independent companies. He is also one of many stars who hasn't changed their approach to their fans since they were signed to WWE. Kevin realized that the fans are the reason he is where he is and they are the reason why he will continue to climb the ladder in WWE on his way to what will hopefully be a lengthy career.

6 6. His Son Once Pinned A Wrestler

As well as being a big part of many of his promos while he's been in WWE, Owen was also a part of his feuds when he was in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (an independent wrestling promotion where many Superstars cut their teeth).

Back in 2008, Owens was in a match against Excalibur at DDT4 Night One, when he referred to Owens' six-month-old child as ugly. This prompted Kevin to not only defeat Excalibur, but he hit him with three consecutive Package Piledrivers.  Kevin would then carry Owen into the ring so that he could pin him. This should be a message to every wrestler or even person out there, never insult any of Kevin Owens' children. Otherwise you may find yourself laid out and defeated by a child.

5 5. He Has Wrestled Many Of WWE's Biggest Stars

WWE has recently began taking advantage of the fact that places like Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling have some incredible talent. They have even gone on to sign many of them over the past few years. Finally proving that they can move away from their traditional process.

Kevin Owens was one of the stars who was signed from Ring of Honor, and given that he had come from the same promotion as many of WWE's recent signees', Owens had already wrestled the likes of Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn (all of which were great matches and worth checking out if you can find them). This easily helped him when he made the switch to WWE since he already had friends on the roster.

4 4. Weight Problems

Looking at Kevin Owens, he doesn't look like the quintessential wrestler that WWE would sign. Despite the fact that Owens can perform moves that many men his size are unable to execute, it seems that problems with his weight have plagued his entire career.

There were some rumours that when he first came to WWE, Vince McMahon wasn't actually happy with his size. Obviously, Kevin Owens has made it work for him and even if Vince didn't like his size when he first came to WWE, it seems he has warmed up to him and allowed him to now become one of the biggest Champions in the company. At this point, it is nice to see a wrestler with a different body type holding a place at the top of the company.

3 3. He Wrestled Under His Own Name For Many Years

When wrestlers are coming up with their characters and gimmicks in the early stages of their career, they usually come up with a cool name that will match their gimmick. Shockingly Kevin decided to keep his real name and managed to become a huge star known as Kevin Steen.

Kill Steen Kill became one of his famed chants until he joined the WWE roster and was forced to change his name. He then made the choice to keep his first name but much like his son's name, he decided to pay homage to his favourite wrestler and put Owen in his ring name as well. Owens seems to be working for him just as well as Steen did, which doesn't come as a surprise for seasoned Owens fans.

2 2. Kevin Is A Talented Wrestling Booker

WWE has a team of dedicated creative writers who script everything that they need the Superstars to do and say on their television programs. Independent wrestling companies don't actually have this, which means that many of the wrestlers have an input when it comes to their character and storylines.

According to Kevin Steen, he had a lot of input when it came to his feud with Sami Zayn/ El Generico during their time in ROH. Obviously. Steen must be really good since these feuds won Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award for Best Feud of The Year in 2010. It is also one of the best-remembered feuds from the Independent Scene at that time. Perhaps their rivalry in WWE was not as intense but it was great to see this feud play out on the main stage.

1 1. He Is A Dedicated Family Man

Kevin Owens has mentioned his family in promos many times, and he showcases them on Social Media as much as he can. Even though he spends more than 300 days a year on the road with WWE, he still manages to find the time to be an incredible father.

Owens has mentioned many times that he is a prizefighter and he will fight anyone because he is fighting for his family. He makes money for his family and it is often this that allows him to get over with the WWE Universe as they share his passion for the business and for his family at home. Owens may not appeal to the female fan base like John Cena but he can reach the working-class man, which is a huge portion of WWE's audience.