10 Wrestlers Fans Have No Idea What They're Truly Capable Of
Kevin Owens is no Kevin Steen, and Cesaro is no Claudio Castagnoli.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to simply watch WWE, much less discuss it.
Everything is tinged, stained, with the glow of a promotion, All Elite Wrestling, that almost doubles as an alternate reality in the case of the disillusioned wrestlers that have not yet made the jump. The differences between the sports entertainer and the professional wrestler are now too apparent.
Daniel Bryan was a fabulous sports entertainer who did incredibly well to broaden his style and emphasise his striking explosions to get over within the simplistic WWE framework. Much has been said of his wasted years, and while it should be noted that as the Planet's Champion his intricacy was outstanding, Bryan Danielson is something else. The struggle, viciousness, strategy, intensity, ring IQ: the American Dragon has already worked as many great matches as Daniel Bryan did from his 2018 return to his 2021 exit.
Dean Ambrose was a goof in WWE. Jon Moxley is a merciless, frightening killer in AEW (when he isn't the sort of kick-ass babyface WWE hasn't booked since the 20th century).
Andrade was just there on the main roster. Andrade El Idolo has a personal vendetta against his own body parts, such is his determination to get over as a star all over again.
WWE doesn't really do pro wrestling, which is less than ideal, since they contract pro wrestlers - some of whom might just make the same impression elsewhere...
10. Kevin Owens
We've seen glimpses of Kevin Steen in WWE.
In NXT, Kevin Owens was the unsentimental and ruthless prizefighter, but on the main roster, he has mostly played the each and every one of you heel drawn in the same bland image as most are.
We haven't seen the shockingly believable, misanthropic sociopath who cuts expletive-laden promos teeming with utter, unbridled disgust. Kevin Steen is an entity of pure loathing, pitched somewhere between sadist and mercenary, with an unsettling aura all the more frightening for its muted, naturalistic quality. His fury can explode - it's wrestling, it sort of has to - but he's as much a tremendous character actor as he is a killer heel.
We've also seen, on random and ultimately pointless episodes of television, Kevin Owens taking unhinged bumps on the ghastly, sharp edges of ladders - but we haven't seen him assemble the plunder with the meticulous, artful cruelty of a torture p*rn horror villain.
The rumours that Kevin Steen is virtually All Elite will not die down - likely because those with memories of his exceptional indie run do know the brutality of which he's capable.