Did Kevin Owens Deserve To win the WWE Universal Title??
Let me keep this very simple. Yes. The answer is yes. He deserved it. He deserves it. He should have won the title previously. Now, I can end the article right here, but that's not the right call to make. Let's look at the history of Kevin Owens in WWE, and why he deserved to win the Universal Title and why he honestly should be positioned as the no. 1 wrestler in the business going forward. There's been a ton of criticism for him, and I think it's not warranted at all, but let's get into why Kevin Owens was the best choice for WWE Universal Champion.
The first thing is essentially the most important. The other participants in the match didn't need the title or the win. When Finn Balor got injured, to be honest, it truly positioned Owens in the perfect position, like it or not. With a fatal four way between Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, Big Cass, and Seth Rollins to determine the new champion, many people were buzzing that it would be time for Owens to finally take it. The first pick for most would be Roman Reigns, due to knowing and understanding WWE and their terrible logic. Though Reigns would have been the worst choice in the whole match, it seemed like a given that WWE would take us back to the soul crushing status quo.
Big Cass was not going to be a serious choice for the title, for a few reasons. He's in a very popular tag team, but Cass isn't really the solo star type. He relies on Enzo mostly and Enzo is the more over of the two. Sure, Cass has the size, which Vince and Kevin Dunn are probably going crazy over as we speak, but he isn't ready for the title. He isn't ready for anything of that sort really. Cass has to show and prove that he's able to compete in a solo role more frequently before we even consider him in a main event singles role. Though Cass could have been a different and shocking choice to win, he just wasn't the smart choice. Working with a limited roster is tough for the WWE anyways, but if they would have gave Cass the belt, it would have been the 2nd biggest possible mistake they could have made in the match.
Reigns needs to be away from the title for months and months and months, maybe even a year or so. He's not working in his face role and Vince is so stubborn that he doesn't want to turn him heel. The forcing of Reigns has backfired every time and it still continues to backfire. Reigns went into that Fatal Four Way and he really had no business being in there. Rusev should have interfered in his qualifying match against Jericho and ran with that. Rusev cost him the match and then we have Reigns vs Rusev continuing. Regardless, Reigns was the worst choice here, as he had been the focus of the title picture off and on for the last 2 years and he's just not working. Why force him into a title reign that isn't going to work? Again? After the strange beginning to 2016 that saw Reigns enter the year as champ, battle HHH, main event Mania again to a crowd of indifference, and be Superman Reigns for so long, it's about time he takes a backseat. Not just for a few shows, but for a few months. He needs to languish in the upper mid card and not the RAW main event.
Seth Rollins would have been a fine choice, but he's been the focus of the title picture in some way for the last 3 months since returning. Seth is the no. 1 guy in the company essentially on a full time basis. Regardless of his criticism for being a dangerous worker, he is the MAN and should certainly get a feud and a title shot at Owens going forward and a tweener turn as well. Seth is a great heel, but no one really wants to hate him. He needs to be face. He couldn't have gone face or even developed his character some more if he won the title. For Seth to grow in a different direction, he needed to lose and get screwed over essentially. That's exactly what happened and it was the right decision. So, I told you why his opponents were the wrong choice, so why was Owens the right choice?
He deserved it. Simple. After the last 2 years since he signed with WWE, Owens has come out with match of the year candidates each year, whether on RAW, NXT, or live on PPV. His innovative offense got a chance to shine in NXT against Neville, his arch rival Sami Zayn, and Finn Balor as well. When he came to the main roster, he took John Cena to the limit with two straight classics and even picked up a clean victory on him. He should have been given the US Title for a while, but instead he was passed over for that distinction and moved down the card some to fight Cesaro. Cesaro and Owens put on consistently good matches, but it felt like both men were being wasted in the company already. This is where Owens all of a sudden beat Ryback to become the Intercontinental Champion and held the belt for a few months, before taking consecutive losses to Dean Ambrose to lose the title. It was strange to see Owens misused like this, but once again, he led Ambrose to a near classic at the Royal Rumble this year for the IC Title. Ambrose and Owens made the IC Title feel somewhat important.
Then, he continued his saga with Sami Zayn on the main roster, and put on two classics at Payback and Battleground with him. Still, it felt like he wasn't being used properly. Then, they stuck him with Jericho in a tag team and they instantly became over, as expected. For a company with so much talent at their disposal, WWE doesn't know how to use them effectively at times. In this case? They were wasting both Owens and Zayn, and Owens seemed to just be content in his role with Jericho as a team. Then Finn got injured. And it all seemed like the perfect storm. Owens, who had been misused and not promoted fairly in the company, would help build the fatal 4 way perfectly and let it be known that he was ready for the task at hand. Owens walked into the Fatal 4 Way as the most gifted performer in that match (he's better than Seth IMO), the most gifted talker, and the most relatable of them all. Labeled as a prize fighter, Owens just wants to feed his family and taste success. Who in America couldn't relate to that? He's not an architect. He's not superman. He's not 7 foot tall and a giant. He's your everyday guy with extraordinary talents that busted his ass for a decade plus to get to this point in the wrestling business.
Vince Russo, Jim Cornette, and the usual babbling idiots have criticized the decision to put the belt on Owens, saying the business is suffering if this is what they do. Well, Russo is an idiot. Cornette is too. Owens has always been a top merch seller in WWE since arriving, he is likable but also easy to hate, and he has all the tools to be an epic heel if need be. That's what makes him the right choice. He could give you what you need and want in that ring and then some. Night after night, Owens busted his ass and pushed forward to make things happen for the company and entertain the audience as best he could. Sure, Triple H helped him. Sure, a lot of questions haven't been answered, but with Triple H returning and aligning with Owens so to speak, this could he the beginning of a career year and huge moments for Kevin Owens going forward. When you look at the RAW roster, no one deserves this title more than Kevin Owens. Now, let's sit back and watch The Kevin Owens Show and where it goes from here. Congratulations Kevin.
-True
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