7 Mistakes WWE Have Made With Kevin Owens As Universal Champion
2. Treating Him As A Secondary Player
Becoming WWE Universal Champion hasn’t reduced Kevin Owens’ Raw airtime, but rarely has a supposed “top champion” felt so unimportant. He should theoretically be the rock around which the brand is built, but that’s just not the case, and there are a number of athletes ahead of him in the pecking order.
Even though he was technically “relegated” to the United States Title division for a while, Roman Reigns has remained Raw’s focal point despite his suspension last year. He is unquestionably treated as the most important full-time performer on the brand, and his record greatly outclasses the champion’s.
Then there are Goldberg and Brock Lesnar, two protagonists in wrestling’s biggest ongoing feud. In fairness, their rivalry was always going to reach this level of prominence, but their success only strengthens the idea that WWE have forgotten how to build new stars. They are two wrestlers whose credibility was created in a bygone era, yet they stand far above Kevin Owens.
Add Seth Rollins and Triple H to the list, and KO, at best, becomes the sixth most important person on Raw. He has been presented as an unimportant, peripheral player when, as champion, he should be topping the food chain, and it’s not getting any better.