Kevin Owens' Unique Character Being Threatened By WWE's Typical Heel Booking

Championship gold and the rich life it brings one's family: That was the motivation for Kevin Owens as he rose rapidly through the ranks in NXT.

He ruthlessly and relentlessly pummeled the competition, including his best friend Sami Zayn. His devotion to his family and achieving championship accolades drove him to the main roster, where he immediately set his sights on John Cena and the United States Championship.

After an unsuccessful attempt at dethroning wrestling's most visible star, Owens lost momentum and began exhibiting characteristics of the other generic villains that populate WWE programming.

Gone were the elements that helped him stand out, that made him one of the hottest stars in the entire industry. He had been neutered of his edge, and now, just three months after the program with Cena wrapped up, Owens is in danger of becoming just another heel on a roster full of them.

World Wrestling Entertainment's crack creative staff has a habit of taking wildly intriguing characters developed down in NXT and stripping them of any and all elements that could possibly help them break through the black cloud of monotony that hovers over Raw and SmackDown.

The same has happened to Owens. His motivations have been erased, and recently, anything that set him apart from other nondescript baddies has been removed, rendering him a shell of the character who captured the attention of fans earlier this year.

On the October 15 episode of SmackDown, the current intercontinental champion defeated Zack Ryder and proceeded to run away when Ryback hit the ring. Rather than portraying Owens as an intelligent villain, picking when and where to fight rather than risking injury or embarrassment, he was portrayed as a coward.

Just like everyone else in his position.

Then there is the fact that he has avoided confrontation on numerous occasions. He attempted to Monday night and was left lying by Ryback, further destroying some of the aura that surrounded him earlier in his NXT run.

Add to that the fact that his killer edge has been extinguished, the danger that once filled the arenas he walked into no longer present. No one is afraid to face Owens, scared of what he is capable of.

The air of invincibility is gone. He walks out of matches like any other heel avoiding contact and punishment at the hands of those babyfaces who are presented as superior and more important in every instance.

Sometime over the last five years, the emphasis on crafting quality heels evaporated. WWE Creative is so concerned with booking strong babyfaces to "send fans home happy" that it forgot that compelling villains are what make interesting stories.

Marvel Comics prides itself on having flashy and marketable heroes, but often their books and films lack a truly great villain to complete the equation. DC Comics, on the other hand, features a rogues gallery almost as intriguing as any of the heroes it has created.

The results are deeper and more complex stories that are easier to invest in emotionally.

The same can be said for classic rivalries from the annals of WWE.

Roddy Piper was as much a part of the success of the inaugural WrestleMania as Hulk Hogan in that fans wanted to see the loudmouth get beaten up. The same can be said about the controlling and egotistical Randy Savage during the explosion of The Mega Powers.

Today, villains are as equally important to the overall quality of any story as the heroes, something WWE has not quite picked up on.

Owens has the personality, the charisma and the in-ring ability to be the most complete heel the company has seen in quite some time. He is believable and, when he wants to be, the most unlikable man in the industry. He is cocky, arrogant and cunning, a potent mixture for any baddie.

But WWE has to allow him to be more than what it currently expects from its one-note villains. Otherwise, his time in the promotion will come and go without him ever fully realizing his potential, and the company will miss out on what is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime character.