WWE: Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

WWE: Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 23, 2017

In only about two years in the WWE, Quebec, Canada native Kevin Steen, better known by his ring name Kevin Owens, has put together a resumé that would make more than a few current and former WWE superstars envious. Already one of the most popular and most gifted performers despite a body shape that's in many ways the antithesis of the average shredded wrestler, Owens has held all of the major titles -- Intercontinental, United States, and Universal -- in that short time. He debuted against, and defeated, John Cena. His rivalry with Sami Zayn delivered unparalleled excitement and narrative excellence. He's fantastic on the microphone, his body language is above reproach, and his signature moves -- cannonball and popup power bomb -- are amongst the most recognizable in sports entertainment. Kevin Owens has it all, on track for greatness, and already established as one of the best on the roster. Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story explores his life and career in one of the best of the ~60-miniute WWE profile documentaries the home video division has released in some time.

The film follows the basic WWE wrestler profile cadence, exploring Owens' youth through his present-day success. Owens found himself drawn to professional wrestling when his father, on a whim, rented a copy of WrestleMania XI during which Owens fell in love and would find his calling. Supportive parents ensured he received good training, and his work ethic and natural gifts in the ring propelled him through the lower ranks. The film explores key moments in his young career -- earning advice from a chance meeting with Steve Austin, performing for a scouting William Regal -- and also showcases how the native French speaker learned English by listening to Jim Ross, critical in building his persona and abilities on the microphone. The film focuses on his relationship with Sami Zayn (who once wrestled under a mask and by the name of "El Generico"), his rise through the ranks of NXT, his WWE debut, first WrestleMania appearance, and winning the Universal Championship.

The film is typically excellent of the WWE Home Video documentary. Certainly it's the subject who allows it to shine brightest, but it's slickly put together, too, in a way that accentuates the man, his story, and his abilities. Owens' interviews are well spoken and honest, insightful (with plenty of gaps filled in by a healthy collection of deleted scenes in the supplemental section). It's very well paced at an hour and, while there are no earth-shattering revelations, this paints a rather full overview portrait of its subject. Support interviews from a wide range of individuals from the wrestling world include Sami Zayn, A.J. Styles, Neville, Seth Rollins, Triple H, William Regal, John Cena, and Dean Ambrose.

Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story contains the following matches and moments across both Blu-ray discs:

Disc One:

• Career Match: Kevin Owens vs. CJ Parker. NXT Takeover: R Revolution -- December 11, 2014.
• NXT Championship Match: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. NXT Takeover: Rival -- February 11, 2015.
• Career Moment: Kevin Owens Confronts Sami Zayn. NXT: San Jose Live Event -- March 27, 2015.
• Career Moment: Kevin Owens WWE Debut. RAW -- May 18, 2015.
• Career Match: Kevin Owens vs. John Cena. Elimination Chamber -- May 31, 2015.
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Kevin Owens vs. Ryback. Night of Champions -- September 20, 2015.

Disc Two:

• Last Man Standing Match for the Intercontinental Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose. Royal Rumble -- January 24, 2016.
• Career Match: Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler. Main Event -- April 12, 2016.
• Career Match: Kevin Owens & Triple H vs. Sami Zayn & Dean Ambrose. Paris, France -- April 22, 2016.
• Career Match: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. Battleground -- July 24, 2016.
• Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match of the WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Big Cass. RAW -- August 29, 2016.
• Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens. vs Seth Rollins. Hell in a Cell -- October 30, 2016.
• United States Championship Match: Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho. WrestleMania 33 -- April 2, 2017.

Disc Two Blu-ray Exclusive Matches:

• NXT Championship Match: Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville. NXT -- February 18, 2015.
• Career Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens. Payback -- May 1, 2016.
• If Roman Wins, He's Added to the WWE Universal Championship Match at Clash of Champions: Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns. RAW -- September 12, 2016.
• No Disqualification Match for the WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins. RAW -- November 21, 2016.

WWE: Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story features an unsurprisingly standard 1080i 1.78:1 WWE image. A few older clips are stretched out to that aspect ratio, but the vast majority of content within is native HD. Details are fine, with a good, clean digital image yielding fine-point definition on Owens' beard and skin. The image is sharp and various interviews are presented with commendable clarity and definition on skin and clothes alike. A number of arena shots, both wide-open and backstage, reveal pinpoint textures along varied surfaces. Colors are well saturated, neutral and true, and presenting various examples of ring attire, decorations, digital signage, and the like with a pleasing level of punch and vitality. Occasional background banding is evident on interview shots, mild aliasing (Neville's glasses, for example) is present, and a few intentionally crushed blacks are visible, the former two bordering on distracting in a few places but never debilitating the image enough to knock it too badly. This is a very strong all-around image from WWE, at least within that company's confines and expectations.

WWE: Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As for the Dolby Digital 5.1 track, it suits the material well enough and doesn't do anything to dazzle, but neither does it ever need do so. The presentation is almost exclusively front-heavy. Music, which usually plays underneath in support, offers enough distinct clarity and spacing to satisfy. Various support elements backstage and in arenas is adequately spaced and defined, too, recreating places and moments with ease. Dialogue is by far the most critical and dominant aspect here, though, and it's presented with commendable clarity and prioritization from its natural front-center home.

WWE: Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story contains the following extras on disc one, most of which could effectively be classified as deleted scenes. All are presented in 1080i high definition.

• WWE Tryout Match? (9:55): A closer look back at part of Owens' training career in his younger days.
• IWS (3:51): Owens gains exposure and opens new opportunities by wrestling in IWS, Montreal's ECW equivalent.
• Steve Corino (3:29): Owens discusses his favorite ECW wrestler.
• Reflections in Brooklyn (2:09): Owens recalls watching a match from the stands 2012.
• No Singlet (3:29): Enzo Amore offers fashion advice, and Owens' wardrobe gets some help from Finn Balor's face paint.
• The Name Kevin Owens (2:28): Because "Kevin Steen" wasn't going to fly.
• Six Months (9:59): The family lives in Florida for a time.
• WWE Debut (5:53): Owens shares some more memories about his first time in WWE.
• Grandfathers (6:21): Owens remembers his late grandfather's influence on his life.
• Superstar Ink (6:03): All about Kevin's tattoos.
• Unfiltered (12:33): Renee Young interviews Kevin Owens.
• Teaser #1 (0:32).
• Teaser #2 (0:26).

WWE: Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fight Owens Fight - The Kevin Owens Story is another terrific WWE profile video. Don't let the relatively brief run time be a deterrent; between the main program and the deleted scenes, there's about two hours worth of Owens content here, never mind the hours of matches. It's one of the finer two-disc sets WWE Home Video has release in some time. Video and audio are reflective of the WWE Blu-ray baseline. Very highly recommended.