7 Mistakes WWE Have Made With Kevin Owens As Universal Champion

In theory, the WWE Universal Champion should be positioned as Raw’s best wrestler. He’s the brand’s top dog, and if he’s holding the belt, he should be the brand’s strongest competitor at that point in time. Every superstar fights with the goal of eventually becoming the best in the business, and the belt should symbolizes the qualities that make them better than everyone else.

The Universal Champion should be close to unbeatable, but that just isn’t the case for Kevin Owens. He has amassed a 12-9 record since acquiring the Universal Title, and while that doesn’t look too horrendous on paper, it falls apart on analysis.

Owens has 12 wins, but how many of those came through clean finishes in singles matches? Two, and they were both against Sami Zayn on Raw. Everything else is tinged by interference, distraction, or somebody else picking up the pinfall in tag team action.

Sketchy wins aside, nine losses is far too many for a “top champion” to take in a five-month period. In having Owens lose almost as often as he wins, WWE have presented him as someone who isn’t all that hard to defeat, particularly if you get him one-on-one, without Chris Jericho lurking around. He’s almost a non-factor at this point, and far from Raw’s most dominant superstar.

Contrast this with his next challenger, Roman Reigns, who has just one clean loss on television since returning from his Wellness Policy suspension, and the issue is all too apparent. Rarely has a champion ever withstood such a lack of protection, and it’s no wonder that KO’s credibility is in the dirt.