Former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens appears to be languishing right now in WWE.
After toiling in the mid-card of Friday Night SmackDown for several months, the former Intercontinental Champion switched brands during the 2021 WWE Draft as he was drafted to Monday Night RAW.
KO began 2021 by feuding with Roman Reigns over the WWE Universal Championship on Friday nights. But since that feud concluded, he has largely been involved in less meaningful angles on WWE television.
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There is also speculation surrounding Owens' WWE future. It has been reported that the former United States Champion's contract with the company is set to expire in January 2022. With rumors suggesting that the former Kevin Steen could become "All Elite" in the future, many are wondering what is next for Kevin Owens.
Now that Owens is back on RAW, there could be a significant change in character or direction to "freshen up" KO. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at five possible directions for Kevin Owens on WWE Monday Night RAW:
#5 Join the WWE RAW commentary team
Kevin Owens is a multi-facited WWE Superstar. In addition to competing inside of a WWE ring, the former Intercontinental Champion has also hosted his own talk-show, The KO Show, for several years on both RAW and SmackDown.
Kevin Owens has also performed as a color commentator on Friday Night Smackdown in recent months. When regular commentator Pat McAfee was absent due to COVID-19, Owens filled in for him alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves on FOX.
With rumors suggesting that the former Universal Champion could depart WWE next year, perhaps WWE could decide to switch KO to a commentary position on Monday Nights.
The current RAW announce team of Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves has been widely praised since forming earlier this year. But Kevin Owens could bring something to the announce team that was lost when Samoa Joe departed the booth earlier this year.
Corey Graves and Byron Saxton are both former in-ring competitors. However, Owens brings with him a wealth of experience, including being a former Universal Champion.
#4 Change his look on WWE Monday Night RAW
WWE has a history of changing a talent's physical appearance and presentation in order to give their character a "fresh start." Kevin Owens has even done this himself in the past. When Owens was drafted to SmackDown in 2017, he adopted a new look as part of his "Face of America" gimmick.
This involved the former United States Champion cutting his hair and trimming his beard. However, the new look was quickly abandoned for his former and best known appearance.
With Owens seemingly lurking in WWE pergatory right now, perhaps another change of look could be on the horizon. Be it in the form of a haircut, different facial hair or new ring attire. It could just be the refresh that Kevin Owens desperately needs.
#3 Form a tag team with a WWE RAW Superstar
Kevin Owens has achieved a significant amount of success so far in his WWE career. The Monday Night RAW star is a former Universal Champion, Intercontinental Champion and United States Champion. However, Owens has never held tag team gold during his WWE career.
KO was briefly a part of a tag team with his best friend/bitter enemy Sami Zayn in 2017 and 2018. But the team was never able to capture tag team gold. Perhaps Owens can go the route of AJ Styles and Randy Orton on Monday Night RAW, being a former World Champion that forms a tag team and chases the RAW Tag Team Titles.
Kevin Owens has historically not played well with others during his WWE career, infamously turning on former "friends" such as Sami Zayn and Chris Jericho. Nevertheless, Owens chasing tag team gold would certainly be an interesting proposition to see.
#2 Turn heel on WWE Monday Night RAW
Throughout his WWE career, Kevin Owens has portrayed both a babyface and heel to significant success. KO was initially a villainous heel on NXT and Monday Night RAW during his early career. This saw Owens capture the NXT Championship, Intercontinental Championship, United States Championship and Universal Championship.
However, Owens eventually switched to babyface in 2019 and has largely remained so since. With the former Universal Champion not potraying a villain in close to three years, it certainly feels like a change in attitude is needed.
Kevin Owens' best work in WWE has been as a heel, winning the bulk of his championships as a bad guy. With the move to Monday Night RAW now official, perhaps it's time to see the evil prize fighter return.
#1 Challenge for the WWE Championship
Kevin Owens made history when he became the second ever Universal Champion in WWE history in 2016 on Monday Night RAW. To this day, it remains the only World Championship that Owens has held during his WWE career.
Despite all the titles won by KO, he has never held the WWE Championship. With it's 50 year plus lineage, the WWE Title is without a doubt the most prestigious championship in World Wrestling Entertainment today.
Now that Owens has switched Friday Nights for Monday Nights, perhaps the former Universal Champion will begin his chase for the most prestigious prize in the company.
Current champion Big E is in desperate need for main event level stars to face off against on the red brand. Maybe a heel Kevin Owens would be the perfect opponent to defend the WWE Championship against.