Every Kevin Owens Title Reign In WWE, Ranked By Quality

Kevin Owens has been in and around the top of the card ever since his debut in WWE, whether that be in NXT or on the RAW and SmackDown brands. Throughout his spell in the promotion he’s won championships across every division, though some of these title reigns have been way better than others.

Whether it be midcard title reigns, world championship ascensions, or runs in the tag team division, it is interesting to look back at all of Kevin Owens’ title reigns in WWE to determine the best, the worst, and how the others have stacked up in between.

7

United States Championship (3rd Reign)

• Owens’ held the US Title for two days.
• This was the most pointless reign of Kevin Owens’ WWE career.
• His match with AJ Styles & Chris Jericho was fun.

At Battleground 2017, AJ Styles defended the United States Championship against Kevin Owens in what was a decent match… until the finish was botched. Styles accidentally didn’t kick out during the latter stages, handing Owens an unexpected third reign with the US Title.

Just two days later, WWE rectified that mistake by handing AJ Styles the United States Championship back in a triple threat which also included Chris Jericho. This was a solid match but it ended Owens’ reign with a complete dud.

6

United States Championship (1st Reign)

• Owens’ first US Title win came at WrestleMania 33.
• Owens vs. Jericho was a decent match at the show.
• His reign as United States Champion was only a month long.

In one of the most anticipated matches at WrestleMania 33, Kevin Owens defeated former friend Chris Jericho for the United States Championship. This was a poor consolation prize considering fans expected this to be for the Universal Title before plans were changed and Goldberg was thrust into the mix, leading to a match that didn’t quite hit the high notes.

Owens embarked on a gimmick change which saw him try to become the new “Face Of America”, dressing in a suit and presenting himself differently… only to then drop the championship back to Jericho one month later at WWE Payback 2017. For WWE to repackage Owens with this new gimmick centered around the belt, only to then take it off him, was a strange choice.

5

United States Championship (2nd Reign)

• Owens defeated Chris Jericho to win back the US Title.
• WWE played hot potato with the United States Championship.
• Owens spent a couple of months with the midcard belt.

After pointlessly losing the United States Title to Chris Jericho, Owens won the gold straight back just days later. He would then embark on a two month reign with the championship, though it wasn’t anything overly special.

He had a couple of decent defenses against the likes of AJ Styles and Chad Gable, but his storylines and character work was lackluster and nothing special. The only real highlight came in the form of his title loss, coming in a shocking moment on a live event.

4

Intercontinental Championship

• This was Owens’ first main roster championship in WWE.
• He defeated Ryback at Night Of Champions.
• Owens was Intercontinental Champion for 84 days.

After an emphatic few months on the main roster in WWE, Kevin Owens was rewarded with his first main roster championship by defeating Ryback to become the new Intercontinental Champion. His feud with Ryback was pretty basic, but Owens was decently presented as a titleholder.

He picked up some solid wins before a strong feud with Dean Ambrose began, leading to his loss of the gold before his reign had truly gotten a chance to define itself.

3

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships

• WrestleMania 39 featured an all-time great title win.
• Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn won the WWE Tag Team Titles.
• Their reign featured ups and downs on WWE programming.

After one of WWE’s best storylines in modern history, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeated The Usos in the main event of WrestleMania 39 Saturday in a match of the year candidate, winning the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships in one of the best moments of the whole year (and one of the best in WrestleMania history).

Their subsequent reign had plenty of defenses and good matches against the likes of The Usos, The Bloodline, Imperium, Pretty Deadly, Judgment Day, and many others, though their booking and character work didn’t get enough spotlight during this period. It was a fun reign but it was far from perfect.

2

Universal Championship

• This is Kevin Owens’ only world title in WWE.
• He helped to elevate the Universal Championship.
• His reign in WWE ended in an awful way.

In a shocking moment in 2016, Kevin Owens was handed the vacant Universal Championship in a chaotic match, leading him to becoming RAW’s number one heel for the next six months and carrying himself superbly as both a character and in the ring. Some argued that his partnership with Chris Jericho (which was hugely entertaining) saw him overshadowed by Jericho’s work, but there is no denying that his feuds were fun.

He had strong matches with the likes of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, but things came to an end with his awful squash match loss against Goldberg, bringing to an end his one and only reign with a world title in WWE.

1

NXT Championship

• This was Kevin Owens’ first ever reign in WWE.
• Owens’ dominant heel run in NXT was fantastic.
• Owens’ matches were quality in this reign.

Just a couple of matches into his WWE career, Kevin Owens decimated his former friend Sami Zayn in a star-making moment, winning the NXT Championship. He went on a dominant run through WWE’s developmental brand as the number one heel, facing the likes of Neville and Finn Balor in the process.

At the same time, Owens began working on the main roster as NXT Champion, beating John Cena clean in a stunning debut match on a WWE PPV. Owens’ run with the NXT Championship was fun, he felt like a major star, and it is still his best reign ever.