Kevin Owens is one of the top wrestlers in WWE today.
He ranks high on the greatest Canadian wrestlers of all time and takes inspiration from wrestlers of the past.
One man who inspires him the most in the late Owen Hart, the brother of WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart. But is Kevin Owens related to Owen Hart?
Is Kevin Owens Related To Owen Hart?
Despite both being Canadian wrestling legends, Kevin Owens is not related to Owen Hart.
Kevin Owens real last name is Steen and comes from Quebec, while the Hart family are famously native to the Calgary region of Canada.
Their father Stu Hart ran Stampede wrestling out of Calgary and become one of the largest in Canada before being bought out by Vince McMahon.
However, Kevin Owens was a huge fan of Owen Hart growing up and he was his favourite wrestler, being one of the best in-ring talents at the time with the added bonus of coming from the same country as a young Owens.
Kevin Owens takes his last name in WWE (Owens) from Owen Hart and even named his son after the late star, who passed away during a tragic fall at WWE Over the Edge 1999.
Owens also revealed that he believed in speaking to the people who have passed on.
He revealed in an interview with Argus Leader that he will “speak” to Owen Hart before every match, seeking guidance from a man he revered from his time as a young child as all the way up to main eventing WrestleMania against Stone Cold Steve Austin (a man who actually had his neck broken by Owen Hart).
Speaking with Argus Leader, the former Universal Champion said;
“The only thing I’ll do every single time… not to get into the whole topic of religion here, but some people believe in God and some people believe in all kinds of things.
I don’t have many particular beliefs, but I do believe in people who we’ve lost. I’ll speak to Owen Hart; he was a big influence on me as a young wrestler, and when he passed, I felt a great sense of loss. Ever since then I just talk to Owen Hart before every match and I ask him to be with me and make sure I don’t get hurt.”
Kevin Owens is a noted huge fan of Owen Hart. He had the chance to win his third Intercontinental Championship last year, but was happy to miss out on the honour.
He revealed on The Bump that the reason for this that Owen, whom he shares a birthday with, also had two Intercontinental reigns and he wanted to keep his record the same as his idols.
Because, there’s a good reason. As everybody knows, Owen Hart had a very positive influence on my career. I was a big fan of his. I named my son after him. My wrestling name ‘Kevin Owens’ is obviously a tribute to my son and Owen Hart. And what some fans have pointed out to me in the past is that me and Owen Hart share a birthday. We were both born on May 7. But also, what’s cool is we were both Intercontinental champions twice. And if you add the total amount of days from both those reigns, we have the exact same amount of days as Intercontinental champion as well.
Kevin Owens main evented WrestleMania for the second time in a row in 2023.
He tteamed with fellow Canadian Sami Zayn in the main event of WrestleMania 39 Night 1, beating The Usos to become tag team champions for the first time in WWE.