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There aren’t many superstars who get the kind of start that Kevin Owens did upon his debut on the WWE main roster, but he rose to the occasion when there was a huge spotlight shone above him. The current success he has today, and the role he has been on over the last seven years on the main roster can be put down to this strong start, and more specifically, the feud he had with John Cena. The impact of this rivalry and the way it set him up means that out of all the rivalries he has had in his career (even the ones of perhaps more story and substance than this one), this one is the most important.
NXT Wrestlers Have Found It Hard To Make The Main Roster Transition
Kevin Owens made his WWE debut in NXT, arriving to a huge ovation at the Takeover R Evolution show. He was instantly made into a star by turning heel on his long-time friend Sami Zayn, restarting a feud which had existed in the likes of ROH prior to this. In terms of his rivals, Zayn will always be the best, but when it comes to him becoming the star he is today, it may not be the most integral to his rise. Sure, it did see him jump to the top of the brand in NXT, but the WWE main roster is completely different place, and when looking at the likes of Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Samoa Joe, it is hard to translate being at the top of NXT to reaching the top of Raw or SmackDown.
In terms of NXT transitions though, Owens may be up there with the biggest success stories, and that was because he was given the backing to rise up the card. This was before Vince McMahon seemingly made it his mission to do all he could to bury those who emerged from NXT, even though that was his very own developmental brand. Owens rose through the ranks early on during the success of the black & gold era of NXT, becoming an instant hit, and those in power clearly saw potential in him.
Kevin Owens' First Main Roster Feud Was Against John Cena
In 2015, John Cena’s United States Championship reign was one of the more entertaining parts of WWE television. His weekly open challenge saw him face an array of opponents in a selection of hugely entertaining matches, going up against Rusev, Dean Ambrose, Neville, Stardust, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and more. One week, it was Owens who came out to confront Cena. However, with the subdued reaction, it was apparent that not everyone watched NXT, and that there were several people in attendance who were unsure of who he was.
He made an immediate impression, disregarding the fans who didn’t know who he was. Cena made the decision to introduce him, but Owens showed no fear of Cena in his response, talking down to him and cutting a terrific promo of how hard he has worked to get where he is today. In a complete twist to how Cena’s open challenges had gone, Owens didn’t answer it, and instead laid Cena out. He stood on the US Title, and held his NXT belt high. The fact that his very first taste of the main roster saw him stand tall over the number one face of the era made fans take note immediately.
Kevin Owens Defeated John Cena Clean
From there, Owens and Cena found themselves in a match at the Elimination Chamber PPV, and they put on a Match of the Year candidate which saw Owens win clean as a whistle. Again, this established him as someone who was a huge threat and star, and fans responded to that too, treating him as such. He would go on to lose the feud to Cena after two more matches, but the fact that he was in the ring with him, wrestling a fantastic trilogy, made him look on Cena’s level.
Due to WWE presenting him as someone who wasn’t scared of Cena and even defeated him without cheating, the audience bought it. It just goes to show that when given the backing and strong booking, stars can be made in WWE. It didn’t matter that Owens went into the midcard for a little while from there, as he was now already an established act. He went on to win the Intercontinental Title, feud with the likes of Dean Ambrose, and then go on to become Universal Champion the following year. He wouldn’t have reached that point so soon had it not been for this rivalry with Cena, making it pivotal to the multiple championships and eventual WrestleMania main event against Steve Austin in WWE.