Kevin Owens Must Face Brock Lesnar After Losing IC Title at WWE TLC 2015

Dethroning Kevin Owens at WWE TLC 2015 needs to elevate the former intercontinental champ, the bruiser letting go of a strap of leather and gold in order to grab the brass ring.

Rather than make him just another former champ, mired in the midcard post-reign, WWE must catapult Owens upward, namely toward a showdown with Brock Lesnar. He's too exceptional of a talent to let slide out of the spotlight following his title loss. 

Defeat must breed opportunity or else his IC title reign would have been a waste.

Owens faced Dean Ambrose at Sunday's TLC pay-per-view in one of the night's only matches that didn't feature chair shots or tumbles off ladders. Champion and challenger had to rely on animosity and intensity as they churned out a quality match.

At its close, Ambrose provided the biggest surprise result of the night. He knocked off Owens to become the new IC titleholder.

And with that, Owens' reign that seemed to just be gathering momentum, that seemed destined to stretch well into the next year, ended.

Ambrose and his fanbase celebrated. Many of those who watched the title change wondered if the result wouldn't also end up being reason for Owens to celebrate eventually.

The folks at Turnbuckle Magazine were among those hoping it leads to bigger and better things:

Kenny Herzog had similar thoughts. He wrote for Rolling Stone, "Interesting to see where Owens goes from here. Up, I'm thinking." IGN's Matt Fowler pointed to that possibility when he wrote, "Owens may win the belt back, or he may move on to bigger things (hopefully)."

Indy wrestler Gran Akuma sees Owens moving up, too:

There's plenty of reason to agree with all of them. Owens is one of the more captivating performers on the roster right now. He's the kind of battle-tested in-ring performer who wins over the diehard portion of the audience, but also has the charisma to pull in the casual fan. 

Moving him higher up the card makes a ton of sense, and standing opposite Lesnar is about as high up as you can go.

If WWE puts Owens in the same spot that recent IC champs Ryback, Luke Harper and Dolph Ziggler now sit, it will be making a mistake. All three men lost momentum after their reigns ended, to the point where they are generally afterthoughts heading into any PPV.

Owens can't be that. He's too special.

So why then take the title away from him so soon? 

Credit: WWE.com

Owens was only champ for a touch over two months. Recent IC title history has seen myriad champions only briefly hold onto the belt. There have been 12 title changes in the past two years alone.

That doesn't leave nearly enough time for anyone to truly dig in as champ and make a lasting impression. If WWE isn't going to let Owens do that, it better be to free him up for a bigger stage.

One may be awaiting him soon.

There are early rumblings that he and Lesnar could face off at WrestleMania. Former WWE Creative member Court Bauer mentioned on MLW Radio that WWE has been discussing the idea of having Lesnar take on Owens at WrestleMania 32.

That's a potential career-altering match, a way to have Owens climb onto the top tier. It's a smart usage of established talent against the emerging variety. 

The Beast Incarnate can have Owens leave WrestleMania a made man.

And that's something WWE should be looking to pull off. It needs new stars that aren't part-timers like Lesnar. The company had to rely on Sting, Undertaker and Lesnar in the past year. John Cena has been the No. 1 option for a long time. 

For WWE to shake off his recent ratings slump and forge ahead with a new era, it needs new blood. Pushing Roman Reigns is part of that. Putting Seth Rollins on the marquee as soon as he gets back is as well. Having Owens hang with Lesnar, haymaker for haymaker, at the biggest show of the year is a means to accomplish that shift, too.

There's no way that Lesnar would be going after the IC title, so perhaps WWE is just setting up the future by having Owens lose.

Lesnar vs. Owens is a money matchup that helps build toward the future. That's light-years better of a plan than having Owens wander around the midcard as Ryback has done since his title reign. It's a far smarter use of the former NXT champ.

While Ambrose attempts to showcase the IC title, to get the reign that Owens was on his way to having, it's best to start laying the bricks to Owens' bout with Lesnar.