Kevin Steen

Kevin Steen (May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler from Marieville, Quebec. Originally trained by Pierre-Carl Ouellet and Jacques Rougeau in Canada, Steen is currently performing for several American promotions, most notable Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Ring of Honor, where he is the current ROH World Champion. Steen is also known from his time in Combat Zone Wrestling, where he held the CZW Iron Man Championship one time.

Professional wrestling career
Steen first developed an interest in professional wrestling after watching a match between Shawn Michaels and Diesel at WrestleMania XI at the age of 11. Three years later, his parents allowed him to start training with Serge Jodoin, a wrestler based in Quebec. The following year, he began training with Jacques Rougeau. Steen had his first match on his sixteenth birthday in L'Assomption, Quebec on May 7, 2000. Steen trained with Rougeau and wrestled for Rougeau's promotion for four years, before beginning to wrestle with several other Canadian promotions, including the International Wrestling Syndicate.

Combat Zone Wrestling (2004–2006, 2008)
Steen made his Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) debut on September 10, 2004 at the High Stakes event. He lost in a fatal four-way match featuring El Generico, Excess, and SeXXXy Eddy, the latter of which was victorious in that match. He continued to make appearances with CZW and soon began teaming with El Generico against Super Dragon and Excalibur.

On May 14, 2005, Steen took part in the "CZW Best of the Best tournament" and he advanced to the finals after defeating Kenny The Bastard in the first round and Chris Hero in the second round. He was unable to clench the trophy, however, as he lost in the finals, which was a fatal four-way match involving B-Boy, Super Dragon, and Mike Quackenbush. Quackenbush won the match.

A few months later in August, Steen won his first championship in CZW. He pinned Franky The Mobster to win the CZW Iron Man Championship. He went on to defend the championship in individual matches against Nate Webb, El Generico, Chris Sabin, and Super Dragon. He also defended it in a match involving Necro Butcher, D.J. Hyde, B.J. Whitmer, and The Messiah.

In a cage match held at CZW Trapped involving The Canadians, The Blackout, The Forefathers of CZW, and Eddie Kingston, Steen lost the Ironman Championship to female wrestler LuFisto. He lost the championship one day shy of having a year long reign. He then departed for a tour with Dragon Gate, and didn't return to CZW until February 2008 when he made a one–time appearance and fought Vordell Walker to a no contest.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2005–present)
While wrestling in CZW, Steen also began competing for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). On May 13, 2005, at Jason Takes PWG, Steen was entered into his first feud in PWG, when he helped Excalibur defeat Super Dragon in a Guerrilla Warfare match, in the process revealing himself as the fake Super Dragon, who had been attacking the real one the past few months. On August 6, 2005, Steen won the PWG Championship after defeating A.J. Styles at Zombies [Shouldn't Run]. Steen would hold the title for nearly four months before losing the championship to Joey Ryan at Chanukah Chaos (The C's Are Silent), following interference from Super Dragon. Steen's feud with Super Dragon ended on December 16, 2005, at Astonishing X-Mas, where he was defeated in a Guerrilla Warfare match.

In 2006, Steen began teaming with El Generico and they began to pursue the PWG World Tag Team Championship. On July 29, 2007, at Giant Size Annual #4, Steen and Generico defeated the reigning champions PAC and Roderick Strong to become the PWG World Tag Team Champions. They successfully defended the belts for almost three months before ultimately losing them to the team of Davey Richards and Super Dragon on October 27 in England as part of PWG's "European Vacation II" tour. The next night, Steen teamed with PAC in an attempt to regain the belts from Dragon and Richards, announcing before the match that if he lost, he'd leave the company indefinitely. Steen and PAC lost, leading to Steen leaving PWG.

However, Steen returned to PWG and, along with El Generico, won the titles for a second time, this time from The Dynasty (Joey Ryan and Scott Lost) on March 21, 2008 in an impromptu match. Steen and Generico became the first team in PWG history to be a part of the annual "Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament" to defend the belts in each match they had. In the tournament finals, they lost the titles to Jack Evans and Roderick Strong, thus ending their second reign.

On December 11, 2010, Steen wrestled Akira Tozawa for his first PWG win in two years. He has since returned to a more prominent role in the company after a few sporadic years (having only made five appearances between 2009 and 2010). On January 29, 2011, Steen was defeated by Chris Hero at PWG's annual WrestleReunion-sponsored event. Later that evening, after a four-way tag team match to determine which of four teams would enter the 2011 DDT4 tournament, Steen ran out to attack the eventual winners, the RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma), before declaring his intention of winning the DDT4 tournament. On February 2, 2011, it was announced that Steen would be teaming with Akira Tozawa for the tournament, which took place on March 4. In their first round match, Steen and Tozawa, known collectively as the Nightmare Violence Connection, scored an upset victory over the Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe). After another upset victory over the ROH World Tag Team Champions, The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli), Steen and Tozawa made it to the finals of the tournament, where they were, however, defeated by The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). On July 23 at PWG's eighth anniversary show, Steen first defeated PAC in a singles match, before teaming with CIMA to defeat PWG World Tag Team Champions, The Young Bucks, in a non-title match. After Claudio Castagnoli had defeated Chris Hero in the main event of the evening to retain the PWG World Championship, Steen challenged him to a match and, in his third match of the night, defeated him to win the PWG World Championship for the second time. At the following event on August 20, Steen entered the 2011 Battle of Los Angeles, defeating Dave Finlay and Eddie Edwards in his first round and semifinal matches. Later that same night, Steen was defeated in the finals by old rival El Generico. On September 10, Steen made his first PWG World Championship defense, defeating former champion Davey Richards. On October 22, Steen lost the PWG World Championship to El Generico in a ladder match, following interference from The Young Bucks. After the match Super Dragon made his first appearance in over three years by saving Steen with the two accepting The Young Bucks' challenge for a Guerrilla Warfare match. On December 10, Steen and Dragon, known collectively as "Appetite for Destruction", defeated The Young Bucks in a Guerrilla Warfare match to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship. On March 17, Steen defeated El Generico and Eddie Edwards in a three-way match to win the PWG World Championship for the third time. Steen made his first title defense on April 21, defeating Sami Callihan in an open challenge.

Teaming and feuding with El Generico (2007–2009)
On February 17, 2007, Steen returned to Ring of Honor, teaming with El Generico in a losing effort to the Briscoe Brothers. On April 14, Mark Briscoe returned in the middle of a match between Steen and Generico and his brother Jay and Erick Stevens. Mark was attacked by the duo, however, and was pinned by Steen after a package piledriver. On May 11, Steen (as a heel) and Generico (as a face) defeated Jason Blade and Eddie Edwards. At Respect is Earned, Steen and El Generico defeated Irish Airborne (Jake and Dave Crist), Pelle Primeau and Mitch Franklin, and Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce in a Tag Team Scramble dark match. That same night, Steen and El Generico brawled with the Briscoe Brothers, ending with Mark Briscoe suffering a mild concussion from a steel chair shot. At Driven, the Briscoe Brothers defeated Steen and El Generico to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Steen and Generico then suffered three consecutive losses to the Briscoes at Caged Rage in a Steel Cage match, Manhattan Mayhem II in a two out of three falls match, and Man Up in a ladder match. Their only tag team win over the Briscoes was at Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 in a non–title Boston Street Fight.

On June 6, 2008, Steen and Generico participated in a one night tournament to crown new ROH World Tag Team Champions. They defeated Go Shiozaki and ROH World Champion Nigel McGuiness in the first round and Chris Hero and Adam Pearce in the second round before losing to Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black in the finals.

On June 27 in Dayton, Ohio, Steen and Generico defeated The Age of the Fall's Tyler Black and Joey Matthews when Steen pinned Matthews following the package piledriver. The next day in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, Steen and Generico were defeated by AOTF members Black and Necro Butcher when Butcher pinned Steen following a roll up and a chair shot to the face from Black. On July 25, Steen faced off against ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness in a title match for the company's debut show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but Steen lost the match.

At a pay-per-view taping in Boston on September 19, Steen and Generico beat The Age of the Fall to finally win the ROH World Tag Team Championship.

On December 19, 2009, at Final Battle 2009, ROH's first live pay-per-view, after a loss to The Young Bucks, Steen turned heel by attacking his tag team partner El Generico. Steen has since found a new partner in Steve Corino. At the following pay-per-view, The Big Bang!, Generico and Cabana defeated Steen and Corino via disqualification, when Steen used a chair on his former partner. On June 19 at Death Before Dishonor VIII, Steen defeated El Generico in a singles match. On September 11 at Glory By Honor IX Generico and Cabana defeated Steen and Corino in a Double Chain match, when Cabana forced Corino to tap out. After the match Steen attacked El Generico and unmasked him. On December 18 at Final Battle 2010 Steen and Generico ended their year–long feud in an unsanctioned Fight Without Honor, where Steen put his ROH career on the line against Generico's mask. In the end El Generico won the match and thus forced Steen out of ROH. Prior to the outcome, on November 4, 2010, Kevin Steen's contract agreement with Ring of Honor ended due to financial budget concerns, which ultimately played a role within the stipulations of the match.

Wrestling's Worst Nightmare (2011–2013)
When Steen was pulled out of ROH events, ROH President Cary Silkin paid him every month. Cornette told Steen he would be brought back a few months later, so Steen lost 40 lb, but when ROH was sold, Cornette told him to wait another six months. Steen was unhappy and ate a lot and gained a weight of 291 lb. His contract expired on February 2011. After signing a new contract with the promotion, Steen returned to Ring of Honor on June 26, 2011, at Best in the World 2011, being introduced by Corino, who had turned face shortly after Steen's departure from the promotion and claimed that he needed redemption as well. However, ROH officials forced him to leave the arena before he could show that he was a changed man. After Corino was defeated by Michael Elgin, Steen ran in to save him from a beatdown at the hands of the House of Truth, but ended up turning on him and his sponsor Jimmy Jacobs. Afterwards, Steen was dragged out of the arena, while Jim Cornette swore that he would never again wrestle for ROH. The original idea was to introduce Steen as a rehab wrestler. However, Steen turned down the idea, because he did not "want to look like The Bravado Brothers". Though Steen was booked as the heel of the storyline, the fans took his side and instead booed Cornette. The storyline continued on July 22, when Steen invaded ROH's official message board, writing posts praising Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. On September 15 ROH's message board was "hacked" to redirect to a video, where Steen announced his intention of attending ROH's Death Before Dishonor IX the following weekend.

At the pay-per-view on September 17, Steen interrupted a match between El Generico and Jimmy Jacobs and called out Steve Corino, who was at the time wrestling in Japan, before powerbombing Jacobs on the ring apron. Steen was then confronted by Jim Cornette and ROH president Cary Silkin, whom he tried to Package Piledrive, before being ushered out of the arena by the security. On the November 5 edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Steen reappeared with Ohio Valley Wrestling talent Christian Mascagni as his legal adviser, threatening Jim Cornette and Ring of Honor with legal action unless he was reinstated within three weeks. On the December 3 edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Steen was granted a match with Steve Corino at Final Battle 2011, with his ROH future on the line. At the event, Steen defeated Corino, thus granting back his career in ROH. Afterwards, he would proceed to deliver a package piledriver to Jimmy Jacobs, before putting El Generico through a table with the same maneuver. At the end of the evening, he confronted Davey Richards and promised to become the ROH World Champion in 2012. On March 4, 2012, at the 10th Anniversary Show, Steen defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a No Holds Barred match and ended the pay-per-view by having another confrontation with Davey Richards. Steen continued his win streak during the Showdown in the Sun weekend, first defeating El Generico, with help from Jimmy Jacobs, in a Last Man Standing match on March 30 and then Eddie Edwards in a singles match on March 31. On May 12 at Border Wars, Steen defeated Davey Richards to win the ROH World Championship for the first time, making him the first Canadian to hold the championship.

Following the match, Steve Corino entered the ring and hugged Steen and Jacobs; the three men went on to form a stable later named S.C.U.M. (Suffering, Chaos, Ugliness, and Mayhem). Steen made his first successful title defense on June 15, defeating Eddie Edwards. On June 24 at Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis, Steen defeated Davey Richards to retain the ROH World Championship. At the following pay-per-view, Boiling Point on August 11, Steen successfully defended his title against Chikara Grand Champion Eddie Kingston. On September 15 at Death Before Dishonor X: State of Emergency, Steen made another successful title defense against Rhino. On October 6, a title match between Steen and Jay Lethal ended in a no contest in Lethal's home state of New Jersey, after which Steen spat at Lethal's parents, who were sitting at ringside. Seven days later at the following internet pay-per-view, Glory By Honor XI: The Unbreakable Hope, Steen made a successful title defense against Michael Elgin. Afterwards, Steen was delivered a box, which contained El Generico's mask. On December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday, Steen successfully defended the ROH World Championship against the returning El Generico in a ladder match. On March 2, 2013, at the 11th Anniversary Show, Steen defeated Jay Lethal in a grudge match to retain the ROH World Championship. On April 5 at Supercard of Honor VII, Steen lost the ROH World Championship to Jay Briscoe.

Final run (2013–2014)
At the following night's tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, S.C.U.M. turned on Steen, with Corino announcing that he would not be seen in ROH again. Steen, however, returned to ROH on May 4, now working as a face and replacing Jay Lethal in a tag team match, where he and Michael Elgin faced S.C.U.M.'s Cliff Compton and Jimmy Jacobs. The match ended with Jacobs pinning Steen for the win, after which Elgin walked out on him. Steen continued his rivalry with S.C.U.M. on June 22 at Best in the World 2013, where he was defeated by Matt Hardy in a No Disqualification match. The following day, Steen replaced The Briscoes due to injuries in a Steel Cage Warfare match and forced his former stable out of ROH, despite interference from Corino and Hardy, when he pinned Jimmy Jacobs to win the match and disband S.C.U.M. On August 3, Steen entered a tournament for the vacant ROH World Championship, defeating Brian Kendrick in his first round match. On August 17, Steen advanced to the semifinals of the tournament with a win over Roderick Strong. On September 20 at Death Before Dishonor XI, Steen was eliminated from the tournament by Michael Elgin. Following the tournament, Steen started feuding with Michael Bennett. The two faced off on October 26 at Glory By Honor XII, where Bennett was victorious, following a distraction from his girlfriend Maria Kanellis. On December 14 at Final Battle 2013, Steen defeated Bennett in a Stretcher match, where the loser would be forced to stop using the piledriver. On February 8, 2014, Steen earned a shot at the ROH World Championship by defeating Jay Lethal, Michael Elgin and Tommaso Ciampa in a four-way number one contender's match. Steen received his title match on May 10 in Toronto at Global Wars, but was defeated by the defending champion, Adam Cole. After losing to Shinsuke Nakamura at the Ring of Honor/New Japan Pro Wrestling co-produced War of the Worlds iPPV on May 17, Steen announced he was leaving ROH. This led to him being insulted and attacked by Silas Young. After defeating Young on June 22 at Best in the World 2014, Steen announced that his contract was up in a "month and a half". At the July 19 Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings, Steen defeated Steve Corino in his final ROH match.

WWE (2014-Present)
In August 2014 he signed a contract with WWE and was sent to their developmental territory NXT.

Personal life
Growing up in the province of Quebec, Canada, Steen participated in a lot of sports such as hockey, polo, soccer and baseball. Never considered to develop a career out of any of those sports, especially soccer after suffering an injury at age 11, he considered becoming a professional wrestler after watching a VHS tape of WrestleMania XI with his father. web|url=http://www.steenwrestling.com/bio.htm%7Ctitle=Biography}} Steen is married and has a son. In May 2008 at the end of the event DDT4 Night One, his then–six month old son recorded his first professional wrestling victory by pinning Excalibur. Steen delivered three package piledrivers in a row and then placed his infant son on top of Excalibur and a three count was made.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Combat Zone Wrestling
 * CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)


 * Elite Wrestling Revolution
 * EWR Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 * 2005 Elite 8 tournament winner


 * International Wrestling Syndicate
 * IWS Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
 * IWS Canadian Championship (1 time)


 * North Shore Pro Wrestling
 * NSPW Championship (1 time)


 * Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
 * PWG Championship (3 times)
 * PWG World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with El Generico (2) and Super Dragon (1)


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI Ranked him #54 off the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010


 * Ring of Honor
 * ROH World Championship (1 time)
 * ROH Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with El Generico


 * SoCal Uncensored
 * Wrestler of the Year (2005)


 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Best Brawler (2010-2011)
 * Feud of the Year (2010) vs. El Generico