Kevin Owens' 2019 babyface turn seemed, at long last, to suggest a change in luck for the deeply unfortunate 'Prizefighter'.
Switched out of WrestleMania plans thanks to the KofiMania movement, he lost his shot at Daniel Bryan's WWE Championship and missed the 'Show Of Shows' entirely as a result, then turned heel on The New Day to get a revenge programme that also ended in defeat.
Expressing his frustrations via promos resembling the "pipe bombs" legendarily dropped by CM Punk, his path of rage went straight through heel General Manager Shane McMahon until 'The Money' used just that to turn him into a simpering, apologetic mug.
A Steve Austin clone in attitude and moveset, the rejuvenated Owens was brought back down to earth with an unpleasant thud by a company never more detached from what makes a great babyface.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
