#KOwensWeek – Top 10 Future Opponents

10. Roman Reigns

If I was running the show, I’d run hold off on this one… but definitely keep the card in my back pocket.
Owens is cool right now, and Reigns is still recovering from the heat-killing babyface run he had earlier this year. Putting this on the show NOW would cut Reigns’ legs out from underneath him.
But…
When these guys DO go at it (and, make no mistake about it, they WILL go at it) it’s going to be pretty decent. It will probably be somewhat of a simple match (or series thereof), but it will be good. It will also have the crowd’s attention, which will be even better.
The trick to this one? Don’t make the crowd sit through it in 40 separate TV matches within a year. We’re all tired of the Reigns vs. Big Show  formula.

9. Dolph Ziggler

He’s here to show the world, steal the show (and your girlfriend)…blah blah blah.
You know what I want to see?
I want to see Kevin Owens decimate Dolph Ziggler.
Ziggler is the king of the over-sell. It’d be great fun to watch him flop and flail around the ring, selling Owens’ powerhouse moveset, and that pop-up powerbomb. Hell, I wouldn’t mind a few powerbombs on the apron in this one, either.

8. Luke Harper

Remember Harper’s singles push, that saw him win the Intercontinental title, and have great match after great match? Remember how he was slowly but surely gaining the support of the crowd?
Yeah. Now put him in there against the newest bruiser to hit the main roster.
As long as you’re alright with either Harper or Owens turning face, you put this match out there, and you watch it steal the show.  Period.

7.  Randy Orton

The promo work would be simple… but this would be a story best told in the ring.
Take everything you like about the current Orton-Sheamus feud. (SHUT UP, you like it. Especially with Orton as the face.) Take out the pale guy screaming FELLA for no real reason, and eliminate the MitB briefcase. Add in a personal beef and a title.
The brawls alone would be incredible, and worth the price of admission.
Now, imagine Randy Orton launching himself about 15 feet in the air for a pop-up powerbomb.
You’re welcome.

6.  Daniel Bryan

The best underdog wrestling has seen since Shawn Michaels. The best brash brawler to hit the seen in…well, shit. A long time.
I shouldn’t even have to sell this match to you. It should be pretty self-explanatory. But if I assume that you know what I’m talking about without explaining it, I’m not really doing my job, am I?
If there’s someone Daniel Bryan does better than anyone, it’s take an incredible beating, and then rally.
Watch his matches with Orton, Batista, Triple H, Bray Wyatt… you know the crew. Watch how Bryan takes an absolute ass-kicking, and then gets the full support of the fans with an incredible (though predictable) comeback.
Kevin Owens is a friggin murderer (watch his Sami Zayn matches in NXT for evidence). He would brutalize Daniel Bryan in a way, that only Daniel Bryan could properly sell…and have the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand the entire time.
This is the kind of matchup and simple booking that made Bret Hart the biggest star in the mid-90s WWF, and my favorite wrestler when I was growing up.
Think about it.

5.  Cesaro

Besides the fact I think these two guys would have some pretty good matches together, this choice is a bit masturbatory in nature for me.
Quite simply, I want to see Cesaro swing Kevin Owens, hit him with the Swiss Death, and hit the dead lift superplex. The matches will be good, but those spots will be incredible to witness.

4.  Seth Rollins

This one requires a babyface turn by the current reigning & defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and I’m okay with that.
My logic here is quite simple.
Rollins pulls out his flashy, high-flying offense which he’s largely had to shelve, thanks to his run as a top heel. Rollins also sells like a goddamn god for Kevin Owens’ powerhouse offense.
The fans cheer the underdog, and both men look like goddamn gods.

3.  Dean Ambrose

Go back and watch anything Dean Ambrose, especially since the Shield split up.
Watch his matches with Seth Rollins.
Watch his matches with Bray Wyatt.
Watch his matches with Sheamus… and Luke Harper… and Bad News Barrett… and Cesaro….
All guys with super-physical styles. All guys who can deliver in the ring, and tell a great story. All guys like Kevin Owens.
Owens and Ambrose would main event the House Show circuit. They’d main event Raw. And, when one of them gets their hands on the WWE Championship, they will main event pay-per-views.

2. Bray Wyatt

This is one of a handful of rivalries on this list that would require someone to make a face turn. I’m not sure who would be the one to embrace the WWE Universe, but I’d guess it’d be Mr. Wyatt. Embrace those fireflies, y’know?
Anyway.
I’d like to see this feud for two very simple reasons.
First off, the promos would be pretty epic. We were all drawn to Bray from the beginning, thanks to his mic work. He captivates the audience…even when he really doesn’t say anything of actual substance. And Owens… Owens (looks and) speaks like the every-man (if every man had a French Canadian accent) and delivers simple, believable promos on a consistent basis. These two in a war of words would approach Kevin Smith-movie levels of dialogue.. with slightly fewer dick jokes.
The other reason? Both Bray Wyatt and Kevin Owens work a devastatingly-physical style in the ring. Watching both guys put it all on the line in a series of pay-per-view Network exclusive matches will be well-worth your $9.99. I’d bet on accidental blood, broken noses, and a lot of “this is awesome” chants.

1. Sami Zayn

I know what you’re thinking, right now. “Andy, we’ve seen this already. We saw it on the indies. We saw it on NXT. How could this possibly be your number one pick?” Well, ya Mark, let me explain.
If you paid attention to this week’s Essential Viewing, or if you’ve watched literally anything Kevin Owens has done since arriving in WWE… you know a couple of things to be undeniably true. For starters, these two men have amazing chemistry together, both as tag team partners and opponents. Secondly, you’d know that these guys have absolutely brutal, yet amazing matches together. Sami Zayn is a masterful underdog babyface, and Kevin Owens is a fantastic big-bruiser heel.
Now, take that dynamic, and bring it to the main stage. Have a fully-recovered Sami Zayn cost Kevin Owens his chance at a WrestleMania main event by eliminating him from the Royal Rumble. Have them square off, inconclusively, at Fast Lane. Then have them square off, with the United States title on the line, at Wrestle Mania.
It’d be magic, and you know it. Now start tweeting, buy your Zayn/Owens merch, and make it happen.