Examining Pre-WWE History of Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro Rivalry

Since Kevin Owens and Cesaro have been clawing at each other during their days on the independent circuit, their rivalry has always felt like it was on the verge of greatness, but it never actually got there.

The two bruisers crossed paths several times on their respective journeys to WWE. Owens and Cesaro met in crowded matches and in bouts focused on other feuds. They battled in gyms and banquet halls, in Chicago and in Canada. 

No classics came of any of it.

It didn't take a pro wrestling expert, though, to see that if these rivals were to stand on a stage alone and be at the heart of their own story, something amazing would happen. Besides these two both being all-world wrestling talents, there has always been big sparks when they've met.

At WWE SummerSlam, Owens and Cesaro have a chance to turn those sparks into a fire.

WWE has renewed a rivalry that has popped up at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Ring of Honor, Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South and Capital City Championship Combat (C*4). What began as two challengers for John Cena's United States Championship butting heads has trailed off in a new direction, one filled with animosity, one promising to capitalize on chemistry that their previous encounters never did.

Back then, Cesaro was known as Claudio Castagnoli and Owens went by Kevin Steen.

Often the roles WWE fans see today were reversed. Owens was the resilient babyface; Cesaro was the heel with the loose moral code, the vicious predator.

And unlike at SummerSlam, where they will step between the ropes to meet one-on-one, several of their indy contests saw them compete against each other as part of opposing tag teams.

Not Quite Colliding

At PWG's (Please Don't Call It) The O.C. in 2006, Steen went from his career being in jeopardy to main eventing in the same night.

A few hundred fans sat inside The Gym at The Park in La Habra Heights, California, to see The Kings of Wrestling (Castagnoli and Chris Hero team with Scott Lose, Chris Bosh against El Generico (now known as Sami Zayn), Quicksilver, Super Dragon and Steen.

Steen and Castagnoli barely battled here.

Bodies flew around the ring. Finishers landed again and again. In all of that chaos, there was little focus on Steen and the Swiss strongman. 

The decision didn't involve either man. Instead, Bosh pinned Generico for the win.

Strangely enough, Steen's most memorable contribution to the show came courtesy of him dancing. He lost to Daniel Bryan (then American Dragon) with his career on the line. American Dragon gave him an out, however.   

 To stay with PWG, all he had to do was dance.

Two years later, Castagnoli and Steen met in another tag team contest. At ROH Tag Wars 2008, the man now known as Cesaro teamed with Nigel McGuinness to face Steen and Generico.

The narrative mostly centered on all things not Steen vs. Castagnoli. The feud between Steen and McGuinness was a major focus. Generico spent much of the match taking a beating. Castagnoli was more interested in earning a title shot against McGuinness than taking down the Quebec native.

At ROH Caged Collision 2009, the rivals met in singles action, but the spotlight still pointed elsewhere.

For one, the match was way down on the card. Austin Aries, Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black (Seth Rollins) and McGuiness were in higher-profile bouts.

Their match itself had plenty of other moving parts as well. A distraction from Larry Sweeney ended up deciding the outcome. Even with Generico there to chase him off, that allowed Castagnoli a chance to hit a low blow and get the win.

In a story that will sound familiar to WWE fans, Castagnoli played the heel here, but it was clear the crowd wanted to root for him. He did his best to show his nasty side, but the audience cheered him.

As for the action, it wasn't tremendous or electric. There was good chemistry here, but the rivals weren't able to punch the match into a higher gear. 

The Clash in Canada 

When Cesaro and Owens face off at SummerSlam it will be miles apart from their 2009 showdown at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Ottawa, Ontario.

At C*4's Wrestling Rise Above event, a smattering of fans sat in chairs set up around the ring. One woman yelled through much of the action. Another fan heckled both wrestlers, mocking Steen for rolling too slowly.

The crowd's restlessness got so bad that it disrupted the flow of the match. The combatants stopped at several points to try and make use of the reactions.

(Warning: Contains NSFW Language)

Still, Castagnoli and Steen managed to pace the match well. They turned a back-and-forth mat-wrestling clinic into a frenzied fight. 

Steen showed off his heel expertise throughout the matchup. He bit Castagnoli in the head, exposing a cut at the top of his bald dome. Later, Cesaro showed some dastardly tendencies, too. He asked that the match be stopped on account of Steen's knee being hurt, only to pounce on his foe.

It was not clear who the villain in this story was, unless you count the uncouth fans. What was obvious, though, was that both of these guys had a future in the business. And if they don't stop mid-match to cut promos or bark at fans, they would be plenty capable of producing something special together.

Other Stories Take Precedent 

Ring of Honor booked Steen and Castagnoli a number of times but not with the intent to further that feud; rather, the matches served as a pathway to Steen vs. Generico.

Castagnoli dominated Steen at ROH Reverse the Curse in 2009. Chicago fans watched on as Steen hobbled to the ring with a knee injury before his merciless foe zeroed in on that very weakness.

The bulk of the match featured Castagnoli torturing Steen by attacking the leg. At one point, he used the Giant Swing on just the bad leg. The Sharpshooter ended the contest, Steen unable to withstand the pain.

In retrospect, this beating was a means to create some pathos for Steen en route to him betraying Generico.

Writing for PWInsider.com, Stuart Carapola said of the story, "They pulled out every trick they could to make Steen a sympathetic figure and get everyone to love him and get behind him so that when he turned on Generico at Final Battle, everyone was left with their jaw on the ground."

The following year, Steen and Castagnoli met again, but for only the briefest of moments.

Both men were part of the ROH Survival of the Fittest 2010 event. The night featured qualifying matches to advance to the final six-man clash. Like any good heel, Castagnoli was gratingly confident going into the event.

Early on, he had reason to be. With Generico on his mind, Steen found himself ousted from the main event early. Castagnoli nailed him with a bicycle kick just eight seconds in to put him away.

The Generico rivalry would seep into a tag match between the men set to meet at SummerSlam 2015 as well. 

Steen had a shot at the ROH tag team titles at Fate of an Angel II in 2010. Steen and Steve Corino teamed up against The Kings of Wrestling. Still occupied with Generico, the brawler brought out security to prevent interference. 

It didn't help. Generico distracted Steen; the champs retained.

Once again, the Steen-Castagnoli part of the equation was of minimal importance. Once again, it was an asset largely untapped.

Final Battles

Four years before they would clash on the WWE stage, the Canadian and the Swiss powerhouse collided twice for PWG. Keeping up with their previous bouts, Castagnoli and Steen didn't ever fully go to war on either night.

At PWG's DDT4 2011, the two rivals once again met in tag team action. Akira Tozawa and Steen joined forces (calling themselves The Nightmare Violence Connection) against The Kings of Wrestling.

The battle was the semi-finals of a tag team tournament. Each team had already won one match prior. This time out, Hero and Castagnoli tasted victory in a really fun contest.

Pro Wrestling Torch's Sean Radican wrote of the bout, "That was amazing, especially the last 10 minutes of the match."

Towaza was the star here, though. He took a glut of punishment as Hero and Castagnoli took turns whipping on him. It was the Japanese star's gutsiness and high-flying ability that produced much of the fireworks that night.

Steen and Castagnoli barely touched.

The same was true of their meeting at PWG Eight in 2011 despite it being a singles match for the company's top title. The rivals didn't meet in a scheduled bout but instead an impromptu meeting post-main event. 

Castagnoli had just won a grueling, enthralling match against Hero.

Steen congratulated him and issued a challenge. Castagnoli landed some cheap shots before accepting and before the action began. The plan failed.

(Warning: Contains Brief NSFW Language)

A Sharpshooter from Steen, a move Cesaro now uses as a tribute to his injured tag team partner Tyson Kidd, forced the Swiss strongman to tap out. That battle lasted just under two minutes.

It figures. It seems that throughout their pre-WWE meetings, they never had much to work with, be it in terms of time or space. That changes at SummerSlam.

There will be no tag team partners in the way. There will be no El Generico. There will be no eight-second elimination.

The four-hour pay-per-view will be Cesaro and Owens' chance to do what they were close to doing so many times previously—churn out a classic.

Match information courtesy of CageMatch.net.