25 WWE Champions Who Never Got Their Rematch

22. Kevin Owens

 The Rock Raw WWE Championship
WWE.com

Title Lost: WWE Universal Championship Lost Title To: Goldberg

Fans who had been longing to see Kevin Owens break through in WWE got their wish last summer when he won the WWE Universal Championship and then proceeded to hang onto it past the Royal Rumble this year.

Owens’ reign alternatively could be applauded and criticized, as a wrestler who cleanly beat John Cena in his first WWE match constantly needed outside interference to hold onto the title, but he clearly established himself as a threat at the top of the card.

All of that came crashing down at Fastlane, when Goldberg took advantage of a Chris Jericho distraction to spear and Jackhammer KO and end his title reign. Less than two months later, Goldberg would in turn lose the Universal Championship to Brock Lesnar, and Owens would be drafted to SmackDown.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.