I remember the day I became the World Heavyweight Champion of the WWE. Not literally. I’ve never stepped in a ring. I’ve never risked my body for the entertainment of rabid fans. I’ve never performed for a half empty gym or a football stadium filled with loyal customers. But I have been a WWE Champion before, and it was amazing by every sense of the word.
It was February 14th, 2004. A sold out “No Way Out” Pay Per View. My favorite wrestler of all time, Eddie Guerrero, was in the Main Event, fighting a young stallion named Brock Lesnar. Eddie Guerrero had received a heavy push to that point. He worked hard to fight through injuries, chiseled his body and proved to be one of the greatest talents to ever step into the ring.
But the best don’t always win it all. Like Dan Marino, Charles Barkley, Barry Sanders and even Ted Williams, sometimes being great is not enough. But that night felt different. That night, in 2004, as a 17 year old Senior in High School, I ordered the No Way Out Pay Per View, paid the $49.99 and knew that I was going to watch something magical.
The card was decent, with the likes of Rikishi, The World’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas), APA, Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero all giving quality performances throughout the night. A great Triple Threat match took place between John Cena, The Big Show and Kurt Angle, with Angle making John Cena tap to secure a title match at WrestleMania.
Then came the Main Event. Eddie Guerrero versus Brock Lesnar. This is what I paid to see. This was a match that I paid extra attention to. You see, as a young, Latino male, seeing Eddie Guerrero get pushed to the Main Event, was a prideful moment for me. I wasn’t 100% sure he would win, but I knew he would give a great performance. Like Eddie always did. Eddie was always at the top of his game. Eddie always put on a show when he was in the ring. But February 14th, 2004 was different.
Fast forward throughout the match, Goldberg interferes, Eddie turns the F5 into a DDT onto the belt, Frog Splash and you have a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion in Eddie Guerrero. A Champion that the PEOPLE wanted. A Champion that I wanted. A Champion that literally paid his dues through the ranks of New Japan Pro Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, paved the way for the Cruiserweight’s in WCW and the beautiful booking of The Radicalz invasion in WWF, Eddie was someone who WE wanted to see as champion. Someone who we knew deserved a spot at the top of the company, but someone who we realistically never thought would get to the top of the mountain.
That’s what made February 14th, 2004 just as special as August 29th, 2016.
12 years later, here we are on RAW, 4 men competing for the WWE Universal Championship that has since been relinquished by Finn Balor due to injury. Of those 4 men, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens and Big Cass, all, in that order, was our perceived winners of the match.
Just like Eddie Guerrero, Kevin Owens is someone who had a very strong following as Kevin Steen, who rose from Combat Zone Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, Ring of Honor up to NXT.
Of the 4 men competing for the Universal Championship, Kevin Owens is the wrestler who WE wanted to be champion. Kevin Owens is the wrestler who I wanted to be champion. Much like Eddie Guerrero, Kevin Owens paid his dues as he rose the ranks in the WWE.
Much like Eddie Guerrero, Kevin Owens wouldn’t be your typical WWE headliner. As accomplished as Eddie Guerrero was in the ring, he didn’t necessarily check off all of the Vince McMahon boxes of his prototypical face of the company. Much of the same can be said for Kevin Owens.
Owens, often referring his shape to that of a meatball, also doesn’t necessarily check off all of the Vince McMahon boxes of his prototypical face of the company. But much like Eddie Guerrero, Kevin Owens is who WE wanted to be the face of the company.
You see, we’ve been down the Seth Rollins road. Seth Rollins had one of the greatest moments in WWE history when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to defeat Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. Seth Rollins has the talent to headline and Main Event any Pay Per View he is on. But what would your reaction have been to Seth Rollins winning the Universal Championship? Meh.
Roman Reigns, who is unfairly vilified by WWE fans while continuing to improve his in ring work, needs more time. That is now apparent. Placing the WWE Universal Championship on Roman Reigns would have been a mistake, unless (in my opinion), Triple H came out and assisted Roman Reigns win the title. This would have sparked the heel turn we have all been craving for from Roman. But, given his recent suspension, putting the Universal Title on Roman would not have been the right move.
Then there’s Big Cass and Kevin Owens. Big Cass needs more polishing in the ring, as his move set is limited to a big boot, a power slam, a running elbow and a corner splash. Kevin Owens? Kevin Owens is the man that people pay to see. Kevin Owens is the man who can stand toe to toe with the best of them on the microphone and in the ring. Kevin Owens is the man that the crowd pops for, regardless of his stance as a heel or a face in whatever feud he is in. Kevin Owens is who WE wanted to see as champion BUT, how many of us realistically thought this would happen?
On August 29th, 2016, Kevin Owens (@FightOwensFight) tweeted:
“Tonight I teach a 7-foot tall monster that height is irrelevant. I show an architect that his vision is all wrong. I destroy an empire. #RAW”
What WWE taught us? They taught us that the look is irrelevant, that going with the same is all wrong. That the empire still needs to be built. WWE taught us that they listened to US and gave us, the PEOPLE, the Champion that WE wanted.
From the booking, to Triple H’s surprise off screen entrance, to his turn on Seth Rollins, WWE created a moment that we will never forget.
I remember exactly where I was when I became a champion on February 14th, 2004. I remember the emotions that ran through me as Eddie Guerrero became the face of the biggest company in sports entertainment.
12 years from now, I’ll remember that feeling, as I hoisted up a red leather championship and celebrated becoming the face of the biggest company in sports entertainment.
Kevin Owens is the peoples champion, exactly who we wanted.
By: Elliot From Boston (@TheEFBPodcast on Twitter, The EFB Podcast available on iTunes and SoundCloud)