He's loud, brash, entertaining and he's your WWE Universal Champion. On the face of it, there's not much to dislike about Kevin Owens. He’s a family guy, a 5* star wrestler and the best heel on Monday Night Raw.
Fans love him because he entertains them on TV and trolls them on twitter.
However, if you look at the RAW superstar through the eyes of the boss Vince McMahon, it's a whole different story. The boss has always been funny in his assessment of talent and if you don't fit his generic mould, he'll never accept you.
Here are 5 things Vince McMahon doesn't like about Kevin Owens.
#5 His popularity
Vince hates when superstars get over by themselves. If it wasn't orchestrated by his own hands, he resents it. If they do get popular in their own right, Vince loves to try and alter them so he can take part of the credit.
Owens has a following outside of the WWE universe because of his 15 years of wrestling across the globe. That graft and years of hard work have led to hardcore fans supporting him at live events, regardless of his heel persona.
Also read: 5 unique things about Kevin Owens that makes him compelling
Wrestlers like Owens that buck the trend of WWE booking, irritate the hell out of the creative team. Writers condition and book matches in specific ways to have faces cheered and heels booed, but when wrestlers like Owens always get cheered regardless of how they're booked, it winds them up massively.
#4 His Indy background
Vince despises the indy circuits and when he sees them he doesn't see competition, he sees a talent roster to exploit. Year after year, the WWE pluck the most popular superstars from the indy circuits and sign them to developmental contracts.
Haven't you ever wondered why veterans from the Indy scene don't just walk onto the main roster of the WWE? Besides exceptions like AJ Styles, all other veterans go into NXT for a sustained period of time before being allowed the privilege of gracing Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live.
They allow them to perfect their wrestling skills in the bingo halls and high school gyms and then completely re-train them in NXT.
#3 His tendency to go off-script
Like I've already said, Vince is a power-hungry control freak that doesn't give any leeway. Vince controls everything, from the lighting to the words coming out of the announcers. He offers limited creative freedom to all parties involved, especially wrestlers and their promos.
It's only the chosen ones like Cena and Rock that are allowed some freedom, the rest MUST fall in line. It's almost as if when Vince writes a show he sees himself in the ring at all times and if you don't follow his words letter by letter, you're in trouble.
Vince is controlling, he wants to own every aspect of his superstars. He wants to not only mould their characters but he also wants to take over their souls. A guy like Kevin Owens follows scripts but has the tendency to put his own spin on it.
He's quick on his feet and can react to any mishap live on television. You can even see during his entrances that Kevin is always talking and mouthing off, saying things he's not been told to.
Vince wants order, not volatility from his superstars, he wants what he can control, not fear the unknown.
#2 His look
It's no locker room secret that Mr McMahon has always had a fantasy with the bodybuilder type top guys.
Yes, there are the exceptions, but of every era, a muscle-head has been THE top guy. Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock and John Cena have all been THE top guys of their industry, it's what Vince wants.
Second-tier top guys like Edge, Shawn Michaels & Rey Mysterio have all done well but have never been Vince's golden performers. As good as Kevin Owens is and for as many fans as he has, Vince McMahon will never fully accept him as his guy.
His casual dress wear and plump belly in Vince's eyes make him look like an average Joe, but that's what fans love about him. He looks average but he's truly exceptional in the ring and on the mic.
#1 He's Hunter's project
Over the years, we've heard numerous rumours and constant speculation about the transitioning of the WWE. Transitioning from the vision of an egomaniacal billionaire to the vision of a more in-tune wrestling legend.
As much as he may resist it, Vince McMahon is getting older and there's only so many more years he still has in him to solely run the company. The time for Hunter to take over is coming soon and it's clear that Vince resents that inevitability.
The emergence of NXT is proof of the transition happening and a sample of the change the company will experience in the future. Superstars are graduating from NXT and rocketing to the top of the industry, not in the typical Vince way.
Kevin Owen epitomises this power struggle behind the scenes. He's the furthest thing from a typical top guy and perhaps that explains why he's been booked so badly throughout this championship run.
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