Kevin Owens’ Best WWE Matches, Ranked & Reviewed By Quality
Kevin Owens has been among WWE’s most consistent and relied upon stars for over a decade, putting in countless strong matches in the process – in fact, you’d find it tough to find a “bad” Owens match in WWE. His recent return provides us with a good opportunity to take a look back over the course of his career in the promotion to determine his best ever matches.
TheSportster’s rating system will take a look at Owens’ exploits on RAW, SmackDown, PLEs and beyond to determine which of his matches stand out as being the absolute best of the best. These ratings will be compared to those from Cagematch.net and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
8
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Vs. Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa (WWE Night Of Champions 2023)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10
|
Storytelling |
2/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.41
The main event of Night Of Champions 2023 carried with it a big fight feel as Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn teamed up to take on the pairing of Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa in the next chapter of the Bloodline saga. In front of a red hot crowd, these four men delivered a match that had great heat, pretty good in-ring work, and an authentic sense of struggle as Owens & Zayn rallied as babyfaces to overcome the dominant force of The Bloodline.
The latter stages of this match in particular were very entertaining as it featured The Usos finally turning their backs on Roman Reigns in a shocking moment, leading to Zayn & Owens winning the match to successfully defend their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships.
7
Kevin Owens Vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE Royal Rumble 2016)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10
|
Storytelling |
2/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.45
To kick off the 2016 Royal Rumble event, Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens battled for the Intercontinental Championship in a tirelessly fun spot fest featuring a whole host of weaponry, wacky bumps, and a crowd who loved every minute of what they were seeing.
Owens & Ambrose had strong chemistry and developed a nice level of intensity throughout this Last Man Standing match. Ambrose stood tall and retained his gold, but not after a very tough back-and-forth effort with Owens.
6
Kevin Owens Vs. Finn Balor (WWE Beast In The East 2015)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10
|
Storytelling |
2/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.54
WWE headed to Japan for the Beast In The East event in 2015, featuring a big match between Kevin Owens & Finn Balor for the NXT Championship. There was a special atmosphere in the building as Owens & Balor battled in front of a different WWE audience, putting together a well-wrestled and high stakes matchup.
For the most part things were kept simple, but it was executed to near perfection, allowing it to hit all the high notes on the way to Balor’s crowd-pleasing NXT Title victory.
5
Kevin Owens Vs. Cesaro Vs. The Miz Vs. Sami Zayn (WWE Extreme Rules 2016)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
|
Storytelling |
2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.00
In what is among the greatest fatal four ways in WWE history, Kevin Owens stepped into the ring with Cesaro, The Miz and Sami Zayn in a chaotic, energetic, and red hot contest for the Intercontinental Championship. The feud between Zayn & Owens gave his match an added layer of storytelling in and amongst the urgency from all men to win the title, on top of the high level of in-ring work too.
Everyone got a chance to shine in this match and they worked together perfectly with great sequences, multi-man spots, and an audience who were carried along for the ride. The Miz escaped with the victory but everyone was a winner in this one.
4
Kevin Owens Vs. John Cena (WWE Elimination Chamber 2015)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
|
Storytelling |
2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.76
Kevin Owens’ main roster debut is still one of his greatest ever matches in WWE. The NXT Champion took on United States Champion and number one star John Cena at Elimination Chamber in a match where he not only looked like Cena’s equal, but he was shown to even have the edge over Cena from an in-ring perspective too.
In a beautifully wrestled match that made Owens an instant star, the two hit each other with their best as the crowd got more and more into the action, getting behind Owens and buying in to his quality. Owens’ victory over Cena, which came clean as a whistle, is among the best debut matches in WWE history.
3
Kevin Owens Vs. John Cena (WWE Money In The Bank 2015)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9/10
|
Storytelling |
2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.00
On the back of their incredible bout at Elimination Chamber, John Cena & Kevin Owens met again at Money In The Bank for what was arguably an even better matchup. They built on their previous meeting, showcasing a greater understanding of one another’s moves in a match that had smooth sequences, crisp action, and plenty of enjoyable counters.
Cena sold the frustration of not being able to get the better of Owens perfectly, leading to him needing to delve deeper into his locker to get the job done and finally beat the newer star. The audience was very hot, the in-ring was stellar, and even in defeat Owens was made to look strong with a post-match attack.
2
Kevin Owens Vs. Sami Zayn (WWE Battleground 2016)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9/10
|
Storytelling |
2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.5/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.22
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn can have a show-stealing match in their sleep, but this match of the year contender at Battleground 2016 was an example of what they can do when they’re wide awake. The in-ring work and technical side of this match was flawless, with both men displaying the natural chemistry they have always had.
Despite the pair not having a particularly strong storyline heading into this show, with the creative team on the main roster failing to truly capture the magic of their NXT feud, Owens & Zayn won the crowd over with a show-stealer than got more and more intense the longer it went on, leading to the iconic double Helluva Kick ending which saw Zayn stand tall.
1
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Vs. The Usos (WWE WrestleMania 39)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
|
Storytelling |
2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 9.19
- Cagematch.net Rating: 5 Stars
The greatest match in Kevin Owens’ WWE career brought about arguably his greatest moment too. In the main event of WrestleMania 39 Saturday, Owens & Sami Zayn teamed up to take on The Usos in an absolutely electric Undisputed Tag Team Championship match.
In front of a thunderous audience these four men went all out for a fast-paced, action-packed main event that featured countless great sequences and moments but strong near-falls and stirring emotion too. Zayn’s Helluva Kick and victory for his team is among WrestleMania’s best ever moments, capping off a years worth of storytelling in The Bloodline storyline.
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