7 Reasons WWE Should Build Around Kevin Owens

1. Hardcore Fans Accept Him

This is a huge problem that WWE has created for themselves: they’ve scared off the casual fans.

Part of this issue has been 16 years in the making, as the booking for Raw and SmackDown has been erratic and underwhelming for closing in on two decades. Another big problem is that WWE has made becoming a new fan a huge time investment that millions of people are no longer willing to take on.

The comic book industry has faced this problem as well. Someone who is interested in getting into comics is faced with an overwhelming number of possibilities. Where would one even start to get the full story of a superhero? How many hours would be needed to catch up to speed and stay up to date? Which books are cannon and which are not? WWE has made things a nightmare for someone to jump into their product by demanding a minimum of five hours a week of their time to know the full story.

While you still see a fair amount of families at WWE shows, the rise of the hardcore fan seems to be everywhere, and they are flat-out rejecting much of what is being offered up. The most recent example has been Roman Reigns, as the thunderous amount of boos he receives largely falls on deaf ears for Vince McMahon, which may also be a factor in chasing casual fans away as well.

Imagine going to a show as a kid, and half the people around you are jeering your favorite wrestler for reasons you wouldn’t understand. You came to see your hero defeat the villain. They came for the workrate. You’d have to think that would have a detrimental effect on their experience. That’s not an admonishment on the passionate fan out there, but it's a statement on WWE’s failure to cater to them in an effective way by giving them someone to rally around.

If Owens was the top face, he may not connect with children and families in the way Reigns does (though he certainly might), but he would definitely receive less of a negative crowd response than what we’ve seen from top faces in the past. That can lead to a better experience for all involved.

WWE was too afraid to go all-in on CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, but hopefully they won’t make that same mistake a third time.