Former WWE Universal and United States Champion Kevin Owens recently did an interview with ESPN ahead of his Hell In A Cell match against SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon. During the interview “KO” discussed what it was like to work with “The Chairman Of The Board” Vince McMahon, getting mixed reactions from the WWE Universe much like John Cena and Roman Reigns do, and how being a top guy in the promotions doesn’t necessarily mean he needs to be champion. You can check out the highlights here below:
What it’s like working with Vince McMahon:
“There’s a lot of things in my WWE career I’m very proud of, things I accomplished that not many people get to live out in their careers. I’ve done it in a relatively short period of time, so that’s really cool. But being in the ring with Vince McMahon and the ensuing situation there was definitely at the top of the list of things I’ll look back on when I’m older and I’m not wrestling anymore. When I was 11 years old, I started watching WWE. He’s been the figurehead of this company. He’s been the man behind the thing I was obsessed with for years and years and years.”
Getting mixed reactions from the WWE Universe like stars such as John Cena and Roman Reigns:
“Whether it’s one way or another or a mix of both, I feel like those kinds of reactions are the most interesting. The kind of reactions Roman Reigns elicits. The kind of reactions John Cena elicits. They’re the strongest because you can almost have crowds competing with themselves. People cheering ’em, people booing ’em, people trying to be heard louder than the people next to them.That creates for this really special atmosphere. That’s what I’m striving to, that’s what I’m hoping to get one day. I’m well-aware that no matter how big of a jerk I am, some people will cheer me, and no matter what I do, some people will boo me, and that’s fine. I just need to elicit emotion. That’s all I care about.”
How being a top guy in the promotion doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be a champion:
“I used to say that even on the independent scene, I remember a specific incident where one particular wrestler was really worried about being world champion. It’s the company that I used to wrestle for on the independent scene, and I remember telling him that it didn’t matter who the champion was because no matter how many times he became champion, I’d always be the top guy [there]. I feel like that’s true in WWE as well. Not that I’m the top guy, but I’m saying I don’t necessarily think the WWE champion, or the Universal champion, or any kind of champion, equates to being the top guy in WWE.
“I think that’s determined by performances and attitude. Consistency is very important. Obviously, being WWE Champion, or a Universal Champion, is as big as it gets as far as winning titles goes. And that goes a long way to helping somebody become top guy, be viewed as top guy, but I do think that there’s a difference between being a champion and being a top guy, for sure. I obviously value being a top guy more than being a champion, but one helps the other; they kind of come hand in hand.”
You can check out the full interview between Owens and ESPN here.