The rise of Kevin Owens in the wrestling world has been an incredible one to see, going from promising young independent talent to being one of the biggest names in wrestling. He has consistently been a brilliant in-ring talent, but KO also has tons of charisma and personality, which has allowed him to have some great gimmicks along the way.
Owens has changed up his character plenty of times along the way to the top of WWE's mountain, and while not every single gimmick has worked, the vast majority have. That has allowed KO to become a fan favorite whether he's a babyface or a heel, which is something that very few wrestlers are able to do.
11 Face Of America (United States Champion)
During his push as United States Champion, Owens claiming to be the 'Face Of America' was a gimmick that just didn't connect at all.
The fact that his matches with AJ Styles were quite disappointing also didn't help matters. People had incredibly high expectations for this storyline, but for whatever reason, it simply didn't work.
10 Championship Pursuits (2018/19)
Towards the end of 2018, things started to take a turn for Kevin Owens' career, with WWE no longer pushing him quite as much. Owens hit a real bump in the road and it didn't make him seem like the major name he once was.
The best period of this run for Owens came during his feud against Kofi Kingston. After initially working with New Day, it didn't take long for Owens to show his true colors, and he and Kingston did work well together, but he was only ever there to put Kofi over.
9 Fighting The Messiah
One of the most recent versions of Kevin Owens saw him compete against Seth Rollins, pushing to try and pick up a WrestleMania victory along the way. This storyline is what brought some real purpose back to KO's character, which certainly made it a hit.
Owens took on The Monday Night Messiah, trying to take down his group no matter the problem. KO took a beating after beating during this period which didn't always make him look like a star, but the fact he ultimately won this feud helped round it out well.
8 Feuding With Roman Reigns
This is the current storyline that Kevin Owens is working on, and it is one that is working really well at the moment. It has taken Owens back to the top of the card and the fire that is within him and the momentum behind him should take KO back to the very top as champion at some point.
Owens is working on another level right now, both in his promos and in the ring, being truly back at his best. It is just a matter of time to see whether or not he gets the World Title once again.
7 Battling Shane McMahon
Seeing wrestlers go against an authority figure isn't anything new in WWE, but Kevin Owens pushing against Shane McMahon was fun. Seeing him work as a heel against a babyface authority at the start was something different, with Daniel Bryan's return also being part of this storyline.
However, this continued when Shane turned heel, allowing KO to keep up his hate for Shane as a babyface as well. They had some great matches and really had strong chemistry together, which made for some great moments.
6 Feud With Chris Jericho
Kevin Owens working alongside Chris Jericho was very entertaining, but it was always going to end in a fallout. That eventually came during the incredible Festival Of Friendship segment which saw KO put Chris on his list, as he turned on his friend.
Kevin Owens thrived in this role, being the bad guy once again, which really allowed him to step up on his own, without Chris. Unfortunately, their matches together weren't quite as entertaining as people had hoped though, which slightly held back this period of his career.
5 Intercontinental Champion
Kevin Owens' first title reign on the main roster came via the Intercontinental Championship, and he was a brilliant holder. KO was hot at the time, coming into WWE with tons of momentum, and his in-ring work helped elevate both him and the title.
This period saw Owens feud with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler, who were perfect opponents for him. Owens was brilliant on the microphone and strong in the ring which made this part of his career an excellent one.
4 Battling John Cena
Kevin Owens' debut on the main roster was done in a fresh and interesting manner by having him come out and confront John Cena. Appearing as NXT Champion, Owens was instantly shown as a star, putting NXT on a pedestal, he was given a real moment.
The fact he was able to defeat Cena made him an even bigger name and proved that he was someone that the wrestling world needed to keep an eye on, no matter what.
3 Kevin Steen
Prior to making it to WWE, Kevin Owens became one of the biggest names on the independent scene working as Kevin Steen. Whether it was in PWG or ROH, Steen was a huge name that everyone was talking about due to his impressive in-ring ability and confident attitude.
His matches working with El Generico and against him were truly incredible, as they would go to war with each other to put on a show. His storyline against his best friend/rival was epic and helped to grow each of them in the process.
2 Universal Champion (Working With Chris Jericho)
The partnership between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens was a truly special one, and it is something that brought out the very best in each man. KO rose to the top of WWE in this period, becoming Universal Champion, and he dominated the company during that period.
The two men were incredibly entertaining and they were certainly very over-the-top with everything that they did, but it worked well. It didn't matter if it was a promo or a match, they would always win over the audiences, and even though they were heels, that didn't stop them from being the funniest parts of each show.
1 NXT Champion
While this might have been the first version of Kevin Owens in WWE, this was certainly the best version of him in WWE to date. KO came into NXT and took the show by storm, being a prizefighter who wanted to provide for his family, no matter what.
It was something different by having him be a heel who was doing things for the right reasons. It made him relatable, but his trash-talking and arrogance, plus the fact he betrayed his best friend immediately just made him a top heel.