5 Former ROH World Champions who have achieved success in WWE

#4 Kevin Steen (Kevin Owens)

Owens is a former Universal Champion

One of the hottest babyfaces on RAW, Kevin Owens was one of the most celebrated independent wrestlers before his arrival in WWE. The former Universal Champion has performed for a whole host of independent promotions all across the globe under his real name, 'Kevin Steen'. The Quebec-native's feud against a long-time friend turned rival, El Generico was one of the best ROH feuds of the 2010s.

Steen became the first Canadian wrestler to hold the ROH World Championship after he defeated Davey Richards at Border Wars 2012. He would hold on to the title for days defending it against the likes of El Generico, Rhino, Eddie Kingston, Jay Lethal and Michael Elgin. The Prizefighter lost the ROH World Championship to Jay Briscoe at Supercard of Honor VII during WrestleMania 29 weekend. His final match for the company took place on July 19, 2004, during an ROH TV taping where he defeated one of his long-time allies, Steve Corino.

One of the most pivotal moments in the rise of NXT was Owens showing up to RAW to confront John Cena. Owens would lay out Cena with his patented powerbomb and proceed to mock The Cenation Leader whilst holding the NXT Championship. This was in many ways the very first step in establishing the Black and Gold brand as much more than a 'developmental territory'. Owens would defeat Cena in his debut match on the main roster at Elimination Chamber.

Owens has held numerous championships during his run on RAW and SmackDown. As mentioned before, he is one of the top babyfaces on Monday Nights and is currently on a collision course with Seth Rollins with the feud potentially culminating in a match between the two at WrestleMania 36.