Introduction
Chase Owens (born March 7, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, currently working most notably for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as a member of Bullet Club. Owens has also worked for various promotions under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) umbrella, winning the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship three times.
Professional wrestling career
National Wrestling Alliance (2007–present)
Owens made his debut at CWA's Snowed the F Out, where he was defeated by Tony Givens. Owens participated in the 2007 Best of the Best tournament, but he was defeated in the first round by The Jin, and the tournament was eventually won by "High Risk" Robbie Cassidy. On November 14, 2008, Owens had his first title match, but was defeated by the AWA World Heavyweight Champion Tony Givens. Owens spent the following years in various NWA territories. He participated in the 2009 and 2010 editions of the Best of the Best tournament, but was unsuccessful, with Robbie Cassidy winning again for the second time and Alyx Winters in 2010, respectively.
On February 26, 2011, Owens defeated Sigmon to win his first title, the NWA Mid-Atlantic Junior Heavyweight Championship. The following month, he defeated Jason Kincaid in a ladder match to win the NWA Mountain Empire Championship. On April 1, Owens won the Smokey Cup tournament, and later competed in the Chikara Young Lions Cup IX, but he was defeated by Jakob Hammermeier. On October 7, Owens participated in a tournament for the vacant NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated in the final by Kevin Douglas.
On October 13, 2012, Owens won a tournament for the vacant NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Owens retained the title for 301 days until he lost it to Jason Kincaid. Two months later, Owens regained the title. On January 4, 2014, Owens lost the title to Ricky Morton, but won it back from Morton two months later.
May 9, 2015, Owens lost via pinfall in the co-main event against IWGP Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles at NWA Smokey Mountain's Collision Course 10.
WWE (2012)
On the May 25, 2012 episode of SmackDown, Owens competed in a handicap match along with Ricky Reyes on the losing end of a two-man team versus Ryback. Owens worked under the ring name Kevin Bendl.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2014–present)
On October 13, 2014, Owens made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) at King of Pro-Wrestling, successfully defending the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship against Bushi. After the match, Owens challenged Jushin Thunder Liger. On November 8 at Power Struggle, Owens lost the title to Liger. Owens returned to NJPW on February 11, 2015, at The New Beginning in Osaka, where he and Rob Conway defeated Liger and Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a tag team match. Three days later at The New Beginning in Sendai, Owens unsuccessfully challenged Liger for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Owens returned to NJPW in May to take part in the 2015 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He finished the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.
Owens returned to NJPW on October 23, 2015, when he joined Bullet Club. The following day, Owens and new stablemate Kenny Omega entered the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, but were eliminated in their first round match by Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero). Owens returned to NJPW in May 2016 as a late replacement for an injured Nick Jackson in the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He finished second to last in his block with a record of three wins and four losses. At the end of the year, Owens took part in the 2016 World Tag League, teaming with Bullet Club leader Kenny Omega. The two finished second to last in their block with a record of three wins and four losses. Around this time, Owens was quietly promoted to the heavyweight division.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Package piledriver
- Rolling elbow
- Signature moves
- Dropkick
- Flipping neckbreaker
- Slingshot double knee facebreaker
- Swinging slingshot backbreaker
- Nicknames
- "The Crown Jewel"
Championships and accomplishments
- Carolina Wrestling Showcase
- CWS Legacy Championship (1 time)
- Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- MACW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- National Wrestling Alliance
- CWA Television Championship (1 time)
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Junior Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- NWA Mountain State Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Tournament (2012)
- NWA Southern All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling
- NWA Mountain Empire Championship (2 times)
- NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Richards
- NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Richards
- Smoky Mountain Cup (2011)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him 222 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
- Twin States Wrestling
- TSW Championship (1 time)
Lucha de Apuesta record
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Owens (Morton's career) | Kid Kash (career) | Kingsport, Tennessee | The Finale (2015) | 000000002015-12-19-0000December 19, 2015 | Owens competed for Ricky Morton's career |