8 WWE Champions Who Were Successful After Changing Brands

8. Kevin Owens (2017 Superstar Shakeup)

Upon his arrival on SmackDown following the 2017 Superstar Shake-Up, Kevin Owens had moderate success with the US Title. As the ‘New Face of America’, he dropped the title and regained it against likes of Chris Jericho and AJ Styles. However, his shining moment as the top heel in the brand came after he left the US title scene.

After a vicious attack to Vince McMahon, Owens would square off with Shane McMahon inside Hell in a Cell. Towards the end of the match, Sami Zayn returned to save Owens from Shane’s dive off the cell.

Together, Zayn and Owens became the most hated duo of the brand, doing whatever they can to get under McMahon’s skin This included interfering in the main event of Survivor Series. The duo also feuded with Styles over the WWE Championship in early 2018.

Owens and Zayn would finally getting their comeuppance when Daniel Bryan successfully returned to in-ring competition. While Owens and Zayn lost their WrestleMania match against Shane and Bryan, their impact on SmackDown was felt.

• draft
• lists
• Superstar Shakeup
• wwe

Share this article with friends