Kevin Owens Reportedly Set to Appear on NXT's Premiere Episode on the USA Network

NXT will make the jump from the WWE Network to the USA Network starting with Wednesday episode, and it appears the Yellow and Black brand is bringing a familiar face back to the roster. According to PWInsider's Mike Johnson, Kevin Owens is expected to appear on Wednesday's episode live at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida.

The former NXT Champion made his debut as a WWE wrestler back at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in December 2014. After a quick win over CJ Parker (now Juice Robinson in New Japan), Owens made a shocking heel turn by attacking Sami Zayn mere moments after he won the NXT title in the main event. This kicked off a bitter rivalry between the two, which included Owens winning back the NXT title via referee stoppage at NXT TakeOver: Rival. He'd use his dominant reign as the brand's top champion to propel him to the main roster, where he beat John Cena in his debut match at the 2015 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

Owens would continue to pull double duty for both Raw and NXT until he lost a ladder match to "Demon" Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. But after he was "fired" by Shane McMahon at the end of last week's SmackDown, the former Universal Champion took to Twitter with a coded message: 14-24-20 (N-X-T).

The Canadian Superstar turned babyface over the summer to feud with the likes of Dolph Ziggler and McMahon on SmackDown. As he explained in a recent interview with Lilian Garcia, Owens felt he could thrive as a babyface after playing a villainous role on television for so long.

"Only because I've been a heel for so long now, I personally am ready for something different," Owens said. "And I also would love to see how successful I can be as a babyface. My ego tells me I'd be great. But I got a tiny taste of it and then for reasons beyond my control for what the show needed, I had to go back the other way. And I'm trying to make it as good as I can. But I still have this need to find out if I'm right."

What Owens does if and when he arrives in NXT is anyone's guess, though he has popped up at TakeOver events in the past wearing an Undisputed Era shirt. The faction will look to fulfill their "Undisputed Prophecy" on Wednesday when Roderick Strong challenges Velveteen Dream for the NXT North American Championship. If he wins, Undisputed Era will hold every men's title on the show.