Levin: When Will WWE Let Kevin Owens Steal The Show?

Kevin Owens is never at a loss for words.

The brash, outspoken, and always slick Canadian superstar has bullied his way into WWE and embarks on his first WrestleMania experience in Dallas. The current WWE Intercontinental Champion should be a bigger deal on the company’s radar, but he is saddled with working a 7-Man Ladder match with his title on the line.

Owens is one of WWE’s brightest stars, but the threat of having to carry the title in tow may eventually hurt his chances of making it to the main-event scene and a chance at Roman Reigns or whomever walks out of WrestleMania 32 with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Owens is every bit a breath of fresh air for the promotion that has lived by the mantra of bad booking and stagnation. If ever there was a time for a superstar heel—or another babyface—to unite the masses, this would be the moment, and Owens—for all he is as a super villain—could very well be the fly in a less than sticky ointment as a fan favorite who could carry Vince McMahon’s jumbled circus on his back and lead a new generation of superstars to the Promised Land.

In an interview last week with Chad Dukes of CBS DC’s 106.7 The Fan and ChadDukesWrestling.com, Owens waxed on about a great many things, which included his first WrestleMania event. He wasn’t short on opinions, which is refreshing in a day of reality crap and unfulfilled prophecies.

“I watched a tape when I was eleven years old of WrestleMania XI and that’s what made me decide that I was going to be a wrestler and that I wanted to be a WWE Superstar,” Owens said. “So to be a part of it this year and to have my first WrestleMania be the biggest one of all time, it’s obviously pretty special. I’m really psyched and I’m just gonna do everything I can to make sure that my part on the show stands out and that people are talking about me when the night is over.”

WWE has a way of bringing in talent, letting them steal the spotlight, and then quickly allow them to become absorbed in the wrestling machine. It happened to Wade Barrett. It engulfed Rusev and Lana. It destroyed wrestlers like Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes, and now Dolph Ziggler. If Owens has any hope of becoming the top dog he is capable of, he must relinquish the Intercontinental Title, for it has become a curse of sorts for those who had aspirations of walking around with the company’s top honor around their waists.

In a company owned by the McMahons and a business that is as predictable as the words coming out of Donald Trump’s mouth, this idea of Owens carrying a mid-card title can only mean disaster.

The sooner he lets it go (in Frozen style) the better off he will be.

I liken Owens to a combination of Bam Bam Bigelow, Vader, Nick Bockwinkle, and Ole Anderson. All four were great champions and wrestlers who knew how to handle heat when it was thrust upon them.

Now that WrestleMania 32 is five days away, Owens’ “moment” is almost upon him and undoubtedly about to be stolen by someone else who will attempt to climb that ladder and take what isn’t rightfully theirs.

Owens has bigger fish to fry, and while a feud with the likes of Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, or even Randy Orton upon his return would be a solid move on the part of the creative writers in the company, it is a foregone conclusion that AJ Styles will be the new “enemy” of the Owens onslaught.

It’s WWE’s way of giving fans something to salivate about while everyone waits for the return of John Cena and Seth Rollins. Owens tends to shine in these moments, as he has proven to be every bit as good as his veteran predecessors. All the while, the Intercontinental Title has become something of a joke and a reason Dean Ambrose dropped it like a hot potato, only to be teased with the idea he could unseat Reigns as the company’s top babyface.

Whatever Owens’ plans are this year, my hope is that a WWE World Title shot is part of them. A feud with Reigns would not only solidify the former NXT Champion as a top heel on the main roster, but it would push Reigns to be a better performer. That’s the Owens effect—one this company has been missing for some time and is on the verge of misusing it because booking dictates when something good comes along, you can be sure this company will run it in the ground.

Owens should be the new leader of a better WWE era, not the guy who holds a title for the sake of holding a title. That’s just bad business and bad for a superstar who is one moment away from stealing the show.