Ḻ̵̢̗͇̜͕̥̥̆͆̚͜ě̸̠͇͚̗͙̻̪̘͛͠ť̴̖̭͕ ̴͇͕͋̊̀͜H̸̯̖̪̯̉͊̂͐̕̕i̸̬̮̮͆̏m̴̨̱̞̗̜̉̿̽̿́̂̀̐̕͘ ̷̬̪͉̗̃̉̊̌̌͒̀͘̚͜͝Ì̴͈̬͚̟͔̓̚͠͝͝n̸̲͙̮͛̅̈́̅̌͑̇̐̕͘: a thread on Kevin Owens, character development, and the Fiend.

For months Kevin’s been spending a lot of time talking about his past bad behavior, his regrets, and his desire to be a better person and succeed without cruelty or betrayal.

He's been trying to really change--not just act better now, in the moment, but to look back on his past and feel remorse and resolution about it. It's a level of reflection that isn't common in wrestling.

Given that, the Fiend is Kevin’s almost-literal worst nightmare. Kevin has always been one of the most genre-savvy of wrestling characters, and as such he *knows* what it means to wrestle the Fiend. (That nose twitch, by the way, is pure heel Kevin).

He knows that the Fiend causes people to revert to their past selves. He knows the Fiend is trying to return him to a place of anger, agony, and dread.

His fear--nearly terror--of the Fiend is clear from the way he recoils and flinches from the Fiend’s unstoppable approach. It’s not merely a physical fear, but an existential fear.

If Kevin “lets him in,” he’ll lose all the work he’s done to evolve as a human being, undo all the effort he’s made to be a better person. It's not easy to change for the better! He's really struggled with it.

For Kevin Owens, the Fiend’s inexorable attack is basically his own past self, all his cruel and bloody betrayals, refusing to let go of him. It’s the darkest parts of his heart no-selling his attempts to redeem himself.

Those are the stakes--not a title, but any hope Kevin has of changing, of breaking the cycle of betrayal. They’re high stakes, and it’s far from clear what the outcome will be. He may have already lost! It’s hard to know with the Fiend.

At the story level, it’s not about “heel turns” or “booking.” It’s the story of a flawed man trying to transcend his past and change his heart. Can you Just Keep Fighting when it’s your own past you’re struggling to overcome?