Know Your Indie Wrestlers: Kevin Steen

Mr. Wrestling

Who: Kevin Steen
Also Known As: Mr. Wrestling IV
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 238 lbs.
Hometown: Marieville, QC

Promotions: PWG, ROH (alumnus), C*4, IWS, CZW (alumnus)

Affiliations: His most current affiliation is in the Nightmare Violence Connection in PWG with Akira Tozawa. Even though Tozawa will be leaving America for the time being, I assume the bond will remain strong. In ROH, he was last seen palling around with Steve Corino, and the rumor is he'll be returning a changed man with Corino and Jimmy Jacobs to combat the House of Truth. His most classic pairing was with El Generico, but that was shattered at Final Battle 2009 with a chairshot to the head.

Twitter: @SteenIsChange

Signature Moves:
Package Piledriver


Steenalizer


Apron Powerbomb


CAAAAAANONBALLLLLLLL


The most impressive 450 splash I've ever seen


Moonsault


Accolades:
PWG World Heavyweight Championship
PWG World Tag Team Championship (2x, w/ El Generico)
ROH World Tag Team Championship (w/ El Generico)
IWS World Heavyweight Championship (3x)
IWS Canadian Championship
C*4 Championship
C*4 Tag Team Championship (w/ Mike Bailey)
CZW Iron Man Championship
2010 Wrestling Observer Best Brawler
2010 Wrestling Observer Feud of the Year (vs. El Generico)

Promos:

Promo to Sylvian Grenier en Francaise


Pre-Survival of the Fittest 2010


2005 Promo for PWG as Champion


Interrupting AJ Styles


C*4 Promo


Steen vs. Southwest


Post-match promo with Akira Tozawa


All About Kevin Steen:

His Matches - If you've never seen a Kevin Steen match, then I feel like you're missing out. Seriously, he's one of the best all-around grapplers in the game today, indies, mainstream, American or foreign. You have this guy, and he's not a bodybuilder or a beanpole, and yet he flies around more gracefully than most spot machines anywhere. I mean, did you see the moonsault and the 450 I posted above? They're among the best in the business. He also is among the best brawlers in the industry. Dave Meltzer and his readers weren't full of shit here when they voted him Best Brawler last year. I've seen him in person tearing it up with Colt Cabana and El Generico.

The best part about him isn't the flying or the brawling. No, he's a bona fide head dropper. That package piledriver, taken by the one and only Bryce Remsburg TWICE, is one of the best moves going today. And if that weren't all, the guy's so expressive and emotive in the ring. His facial expressions are top notch. As a heel, his taunting is excellent and adds so much to his matches. Hell, he even COMMENTATED his own match a couple of time last year in ROH. Seriously, you want to talk about the "Best in the World" moniker now that Danielson's left the indies, don't look at Davey Richards. Don't look at Eddie Edwards, or Low Ki or even Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero or Akira Tozawa. It's Kevin Steen. It's always been Kevin Steen.

His Character - The meme among Internet fans is guys are always better heel than face. While I think that's bullshit in most cases, in this one, it's true. While Steen's an alright face character, his best work comes as a heel, a sadistic almost psychopathic heel with silly undertones that only serve to bolster his sickness in-character. Just go back to the feud with Generico last year; Steen played his character perfectly.

As a face, he can be a little dry, but then again, there have been some great moments of him as a babyface in promos where he'd just deadpan lines or look at the guy in the segment with him like he was nuts, totally making the scene work. Still, while his face work isn't bad, as a younger Hannibal Lecter, he shines brightest.

Why You Should Know Him - Steen is one of the most versatile wrestlers out there in the indies today. Why he's not on WWE's radar is beyond me, but if I were in Johnny Ace's or Jim Ross' spot, I'd be throwing a developmental deal at him faster than you can say l'etats, c'est moi. Be that as it may though, he's definitely one of the best guys on the indie scene, which makes it that much more baffling why ROH let him go at the end of last year, just to replace him with guys like Homicide (who's good, but a retread) and Rhino (who blows).

Regardless, we're lucky for having Steen on the indies. He's a treat to watch, and I'm not alone in this. Steen is among the most fan-favorite wrestlers among the indies, garnering huge positive reactions despite his alignment. The fact that he's so over means that feds want to book him. If he comes to a promotion in your town, buy tickets as soon as he's announced. Seriously, he's that good.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!