Wrestling On FanNation

Kevin Owens Reveals The Origin Of His WWE Ring Name And Dusty Rhodes' Initial Reaction To It

He's been Kevin Owens for well over a decade now, but coming up with a new name upon signing with WWE was a bit a difficult process for KO.

Rick Ucchino

Kevin Owens has been with WWE for over a decade
Kevin Owens has been with WWE for over a decade / wwe.com

After wrestling for the past decade plus as Kevin Owens, the former WWE Universal Champion has hearkened back to his final days as Kevin Steen.

Owens signed with WWE in the summer of 2014. He arrived as one of the more established and decorated stars in Ring of Honor history, but he would be required to make a new name for himself in WWE. In the most literal sense of the phrase.

KO was a guest on Insight with Chris Van Vliet Thursday, and discussed the difficult process of selecting a new in-ring name.

"It's actually Triple H who suggested I be Kevin Owens. We were going back and forth on names and nothing really sounded right. Then one day Hunter just said, because I had pitched Owen something, and he's like, What about Kevin Owens? I'm like, Yeah, I love it. So we went with it."

- Kevin Owens

It's well documented that Kevin has long been a fan Owen Hart. He and his wife named their son Owen as a tribute to the late great former Intercontinental Champion.

MORE: Chris Jericho 'Leaves' AEW With Just Months Remaining On His Contract

"In 2007 my wife got pregnant and thankfully she was on board with calling him Owen," KO told CVV. "Which was even crazier, because we visited an apartment that we were going to move into while she was pregnant, and the tenants that lived there previously had left some stuff behind. On the door of what was going to be our son's bedroom was wooden letters that they put on the door was the name of the kid that was there previously, and the name was Owen. So she was like, that definitely has to be his name. So [his name is] actually more of a tribute to my son, but my son's a tribute to Owen [Hart].

News about Steen's switch to Owens started making the rounds after WWE had filed to trademark the name 'Kevin Owens' in the summer of 2014.

While the trademark didn't outright confirm Kevin's surname change, it wasn't a difficult leap for fans and news outlets to make after WWE had announced his arrival to the company not long beforehand.

"I got to the Performance Center, and for some reason I forgot my key cards. Had to go through the front and I'm waiting for somebody to open the door. The door swings open and it's Dusty [Rhodes], and he's walking in front of me. He goes, 'Kevin Owens huh?' I go, 'Yeah, you like it?' And he goes, 'Nope. Who came up with it?' I go, 'Triple H.' And he goes, 'I love it.' Yeah, he was the best. So that was it from then on."

Owens was set to compete against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 next weekend, but he unfortunately will not be cleared for that match. Kevin will soon undergo surgery to correct a pretty serious neck injury he suffered back in January.

There is currently no timetable for his return to WWE. We here at The Takedown wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.

The Latest On WWE, AEW & More

Britt Baker Responds To Adam Cole Winning The TNT Championship At AEW Dynasty

Tiffany Stratton Addresses Off Script WWE SmackDown Promo Exchange With Charlotte Flair

Gunther Reveals The Special Perks He Negotiated In His New WWE Contract

Multiple Matches For Night 1 Of WrestleMania 41 Revealed

Published
Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino has been covering professional wrestling since 2019, but his broadcast career has spanned over 15 years. He can be heard every weekday morning on 700WLW radio in Cincinnati, OH. You can also read his work over on SI's Cincinnati Reds Talk. Follow Rick on X and Instagram: @RickUcchino

Home/WWE