[Kingpin]

Before you come rushing in to defend your darling, this isn't an Owens bash thread. I'll admit I've never thought of Owens as "the guy" but he's definitely got the people behind him and it's time to give someone new a chance at being the top babyface on Raw, so I welcome the decision.

However, I just can't get into Owens using the Stunner. I can't. It will NEVER be his finisher, because it will always be immortalised by arguably the biggest star in the history of professional wrestling, Stone Cold Steve Austin (note the word arguably - if you're going to start talking about Hogan or Rock being bigger, go make a separate thread.)

Don't tell me Austin's been retired since 2003. He could show up tomorrow and get a bigger pop than anyone on the roster. Don't tell me someone else used the move before him, no one gives a fuck; the Stunner was immortalised by Stone Cold Steve Austin, period. And don't tell me that even Austin gave Owens approval for it, of course he was going to give it, but it doesn't change the fact that when Owens uses it there will be a subconscious comparison to Austin.

Imagine any other superstar deciding they're going to use the Tombstone Piledriver. Or the Rock Bottom. Or the Leg drop. Or the Pedigree. The only time in recent memory it kind of made sense was when Rollins adopted the Pedigree and that was because he was Triple H's protege, and since then, Rollins had changed it. He didn't adopt it as his permanent finisher.

I don't get what was wrong with the Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens is obviously a big enough guy to make that move look powerful, and I can't see anyone around using the powerbomb right now (I don't watch WWE religiously so correct me if I'm wrong.) It also looked different to other finishing moves. Plus, even a standard powerbomb is similar to a chokeslam - it's a generic enough move to be used as a finisher, but not so specific as a Stunner to be compared to a major star.

Don't rehash the past or try to relive it. Owens is the fresh face on Raw. Give him a fresh finisher.

 

[MontyCora]

The way I see it, if nobody uses the move anymore it dies off and becomes another lost memory that the generation of kids who never saw Austin have no frame of reference for.

But the tombstone style piledriver isn't going away. Okada uses it. The Bucks do it as a team move. Imagine if after Page made the Diamond Cutter such a massive finisher it got unofficially retired and we never had the RKO. I see it as a good thing to keep moves alive.

Obviously I'm arguing from the perspective that if you keep a move alive, it's actually honoring the legend more than if you let the move die off. That being said I prefer the RKO approach. Randy jumps into his cutter, which was a small thing but it was a setup to the move that was entirely his own thing made the RKO different from the Diamond Cutter. I wish Owens could use the stunner but find some unqiue Kevin Owens thing to make it his own. Perhaps he can do an inverted stunner facing the guy, aka a jawbreaker. Or like when he jumped into it on Roman Reigns without the kick to setup. A Stunner out of nowhere so to speak.

It's a small thing but I think unique flair would help smooth this out for you.

 

[DJ Punk]

As a huge Owens fan who believes he is the best talent in WWE today, even I have to admit it's odd that they brought the stunner back. If anyone was going to have it, it should be Owens. But it does feel kind of...wrong.

Then again everyone and their mom are spamming superkicks nowadays which was Michaels' finisher. So at least the stunner is being used as a finisher by the best current talent. The Pop-Up Powerbomb is gold and he should just stick with that imo.

 

[MontyCora]

Another thing I forgot to mention, I like when a heel turns face and they change their finish into something less heelish. A pop up powerbomb is a big bad heel power move. Not really a baby face pop when the audience has been trained to see it as a bad guy thing.

 

[Hangman]

Owens is damaged goods.

They tried to portray his as an anti authority figure but had him pussy out when it came to being fined.

The stench of Sami Zayn clinging to his coat tails still hasn't washed out.

Almost every fan knows him as the guy Braun pushed over in a port-a-loo.

Three reasons right there he will not make it as a main eventer.

 

[MontyCora]

Almost every fan knows him as the guy Braun pushed over in a port-a-loo.

Literally nobody but you remembers this. I'm actually not entirely sure you didn't just make it up.

 

[TommyWCECM]

Given we have Cole pulling off the Panama sunrise Owens should use the package piledriver. But monty said it best if he makes it his own there's no problem. Though I'm just happy to see the stunner being used again. Brings back memories from my childhood.

I think it's way more egregious buddy pulled off the V ttigger. With Kota being in Japan I don't care about him using the kamigoye. With Kenny being in aew there's no way he should use the v trigger. I swear if he names his knee finish as the B trigger I might get upset

 

[TheAppler]

With Rollins doing the pedigree and Owens doing the stunner it ends up looking like two marks in their backyard stealing their favorite wrestlers moves. Comes off terribly.

 

[arch.unleash]

He's a fucking tool, just like the above poster said he feels like a mark living his dream and doing his favorite movez. This clown will do a Superkick, then a Frogsplash and end it with a terrible Stunner in the span of 30 seconds. 3 stolen moves that don't even fit in one moveset, one of the worst wrestlers on the planet.

 

[LIL' WINNING FOOT]

Yeah, I don't like Owens using the Stunner either. Comes off as cosplay from a better era and Owens is better than that as well.

 

[Rankles75]

I don’t really have a problem with it, although I’d like to see him put his own slant on it.

 

[RBrooks]

He needed an out-of-nowhere move to pull off, and the Pop-Up Powerbomb isn't working in this situation. I feel like I would like him to use Powerbomb more, but I've gotta admit Stunner looks cool when he does it. So I'm fine with it.

Owens is damaged goods.

No. He is the most over babyface on RAW.

They tried to portray his as an anti authority figure but had him pussy out when it came to being fined.

And his charisma made up for it. He returns on RAW and is beloved by the crowd. It's like nothing changed.

The stench of Sami Zayn clinging to his coat tails still hasn't washed out.

Ugh. I see you're one of those.

Almost every fan knows him as the guy Braun pushed over in a port-a-loo.

No. And that sounds made up.

Three reasons right there he will not make it as a main eventer.

He's a ready main eventer whenever they want him to be. I'm not sure you understand what's going on.

With Rollins doing the pedigree and Owens doing the stunner it ends up looking like two marks in their backyard stealing their favorite wrestlers moves. Comes off terribly.

And Austin with Triple H came off like backyard marks stealing other wrestlers moves two, right? Because you know, they didn't INVENT these moves, fyi.

And does Rollins even use the Pedigree anymore? I can't even tell. He has the Stomp and that knee strike, I thought he used Pedigree long ago.

 

[RapShepard]

I get it, but you just have to kind of get over it. That move wasn't just going to go away because Austin was popular. Variations of the stunner in the cutter are being used in a nightly basis anyway.

 

[ellthom]

Yea he needs to get rid of it, he lacks to height to pull it off, and it looks awkward. The pop up power bomb was always far better for him. Although he does do a better Stunner than Cena

I get that moves are stolen all the time, I understand that, but they need to be applied to the right people who can pull it off.

Some moves just look horrible performed by others. Miz doing the figure four is one other example and an unpopular opinion but I always hated Edge's spear (outside of his spear from the top of the ladder that will always be awesome)... Goldberg and Rhyno were the best spear wielders.

 

[Dulce Libre]

Yeah it doesn't look right when he hits the stunner but I will take it over his frog splash attempt.

If using the stunner can help get KO over as a top guy on Raw then I will be all for it.

 

[Death Rider]

He's a fucking tool, just like the above poster said he feels like a mark living his dream and doing his favorite movez. This clown will do a Superkick, then a Frogsplash and end it with a terrible Stunner in the span of 30 seconds. 3 stolen moves that don't even fit in one moveset, one of the worst wrestlers on the planet.

Nearly every move is done by someone else. This logic confuses the fuck out of me.

On topic I would rather people had multiple moves to win a match personally so I am fine with it

 

[M1M2M3M4M5M6M7M8]

 

[TheAppler]

And Austin with Triple H came off like backyard marks stealing other wrestlers moves two, right? Because you know, they didn't INVENT these moves, fyi.

And does Rollins even use the Pedigree anymore? I can't even tell. He has the Stomp and that knee strike, I thought he used Pedigree long ago.

If Austin used the leg drop as his finisher and sold a shirt that said "leg drop austin" then yeah he would. Same with Triple H if he did the flying elbow off the top rope as his finisher. You can steal moves but when they are so commonly associated with certain wrestlers that have recently retired and are still featured on your program every now and then it looks silly. If Owens stunner was a secondary move like Cena use to do I would have no problem with it but the fact that they are actually making it his main go to move and selling merch off of it screams desperation.

Seth used it vs Braun so yeah he does bring it out every now and then. It made sense for him to use it when HHH was in his corner because his character was suppose to be a chicken shit HHH suck up but since he turned face hes looked silly doing it. Owens on the other hand never had any business doing the stunner at any point in his career

 

[Rookie of the Year]

My thing is, someone should use it. The idea that the Stunner lives and dies with Austin... nah, that's not cool. It'll always be HIS move, but it's too good a move for it to just sit on the shelf, except for when Stone Cold makes a cameo appearance once a year max.

It makes sense for KO to be the guy using it too. Owens growing up as an Attitude Era mark has essentially been built into his character, from the Jericho feud where they showed pics of him doing the Y2J pose in front of a Trish Stratus poster, to his Kevin Owens Show merch that's based on the Raw Is War logo.

 

[arch.unleash]

Nearly every move is done by someone else. This logic confuses the fuck out of me.

On topic I would rather people had multiple moves to win a match personally so I am fine with it

Moves like the Stunner or the People's Elbow are not just normal wrestling moves, they're very special "gimmick" moves associated with iconic wrestlers and any geek who does them will automatically be compared to the originals, and don't get me started on the idea of that fuck being compared to the greatest wrestler of all time. He's not only using it, he's copying Austin's gimmick also as an anti-authority badass, a fucking teddy bear looking badass. It's just a shameless robbery and doesn't suit him even if Austin gave the ok.