On Monday night’s RAW, John Cena came out to issue his weekly U.S. Open Challenge for the United States Championship. The most unlikely of people responded ... Kevin Owens, the current NXT champion. NXT, of course, is the developmental system for WWE, so Owens wasn’t technically making his WWE debut, but was appearing on WWE national television for the first time, in part to hype his title defense against Sami Zayn on Wednesday on the live NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable special on the WWE Network.
Kevin Owens makes WWE debut, will face John Cena at Elimination Chamber
The NXT champ made a huge impact in his first appearance on “RAW.”
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
Owens declined the U.S. Open Challenge, saying the next time he faced John Cena, it would be on his terms. He then attacked Cena and left him lying, then stepped on the United States title and taunted Cena with his “You Can’t See Me” gesture. Later during RAW, it was announced that Owens would face Cena at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view on Sunday, May 31.
If you’re unfamiliar with Owens, he was previously one of the most praised wrestlers on the independent scene, wrestling under his real name, Kevin Steen. Here’s something worth watching from his time on the indies.
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