WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens recently appeared on “Talk is Jericho”, which you can listen to at this link. Below are some interview highlights:
On How He Feels Being WWE Champion:
It’s essentially the WWE Championship. It’s called something else, but over the years, when you won the Undisputed title, for me it all goes back to the title that I saw Shawn Michaels win at Wrestlemania 12, which was the first title match that I really, it wasn’t the first title switch I saw as a fan. I saw Bret Hart beat Diesel, at Survivor Series. I started watching wrestling because my dad brought home a tape of Wrestlemania 11, so I started watching then, it was a couple of months after Wrestlemania had taken place obviously, because the tape came out on VHS. I saw Shawn Michaels and Diesel at Wrestlemania 11, that’s the match that made me want to become a wrestler. Then my dad started buying the PPV’s for me and everything, so I started watching religiously in the summer of 95. I saw Bret Hart at Survivor Series beat Diesel. I remember Bret Hart going through a table, it blew my mind. I had never seen anything like it. I was just a kid, I was 11 years old, I said to myself, oh my God, that is the craziest thing I have ever seen in my life; and then he small packaged him and still beat him, like this is unbelievable. The first title switch that I really went crazy for was Shawn beating Bret at Wrestlemania 12. Then, Wrestlemania 14, I saw Austin beat Shawn for the title; like, those are the things that, to me, it’s still that title, or even when you [Jericho] won the Undisputed title, it’s still that title, to me, it wasn’t lost that you beat Austin and Rock on the same night. I remember telling my dad, he beat Austin and Rock on the same night, my dad was like, yeah, so, and I responded with, no, but it’s Austin and the Rock, my dad got it, but I was like, this is huge, so through all the different names and variations of the title, and seeing Shawn win at Mania 12 and saying to myself, someday, I want to be champion, and here we are.
On Jim Cornette the Critic:
I got that all the time, the shape you’re in, or the gear, get a singlet. I wrestled in a singlet for a while, but it just wasn’t me, or my attitude. People would say, I have a bad attitude. The thing is, the people would say that I had a bad attitude were the people who I didn’t see eye to eye with, so today, I know Jim Cornette says that the reason why I’m successful now is because I changed my attitude and I listen to what people tell me now, and I used to not listen to him, but the thing is, I used to not listen to him, or question his methods because I didn’t agree with them, and I didn’t share his vision. I really didn’t change who I am, I mean, even you, when we’re working on something and I don’t see it, I’ll say, I don’t know about that. I don’t do anything blindly, which is what Jim Cornette would want me to do back then. For what it’s worth, from the moment I’ve gotten here, everyone from the Producers, to the Writers, everybody…I have a really good relationship with everyone. I remember one specific time that I didn’t like the idea they had for me that night, and I spoke up about it and ultimately did it the way they wanted it, and it turned out fine, you know what I mean? Like, I was told, it’s really not a big deal, and I would respond with, no I think it is a big deal, and they would say, no it’s really not, and they were right, it wasn’t a big deal, but I still voiced my opinion, but I really haven’t had any encounters where my bad attitude would take over. I remember, actually, it was Kevin Kelly. I might put some blame on Kevin Kelly. I remember he came into Ring of Honor to do Commentary and work behind the scenes as well. I remember him telling me that he used to work with Rock and Austin and he would see how I would react if there was a pre-tape and I didn’t like how it was, and I would ask for a re-do, which would annoy some people, and the production guys or whatever, or even you know, whoever wrote the pre-tape, and Kevin said look, that might be viewed as you being hard to work with some people, and I’m not going to put you in their league, but I’m saying Rock and Austin used to do the same thing. To me, that was a huge compliment, so listening blindly to what people are telling you, if it’s not you, it won’t work. Somebody can have a very precise vision of what they want, but if you can’t alter it just a little bit, in the smallest way to being you, in a way people will want to watch, so him telling me that, it really prompted me to, not set my ways, but question something of Jim that I didn’t like, but that was the first example where I felt like, being me, is important and motivated me to see that since the top guys are doing it, why not me?
Read Also: Kevin Owens Reveals What Happened Backstage in WWE After His Universal Title Win
On Vince Russo the Critic:
People immediately went to Jim Cornette and saying you were wrong, because Cornette was on record to say that I’m not the kind of guy who would never wrestle with over 200 people in the crowd. From what I know, I don’t think Jim said anything negative about me winning the title, he just said, I don’t care about it, I won’t watch it, whatever, but he did it because he changed his attitude, but whatever. The one person that kept hearing about was Vince Russo, because Vince Russo is very vocal about how I don’t look like a star or whatever. He said this stuff about Finn Balor and Sami Zayn. He wants me to respond to him and I don’t because the thing is, I truly believe, I just know that Vince Russo doesn’t believe what he is saying. He knows I’m good. He knows Sami Zayn is good, he knows Finn is good, he knows that me being champion is good. He’s just saying that because he wants to piss people off and that is what gets him ratings and attention, and it’s true, because when he says it, I get a million tweets about it. I don’t think he believes in anything he says; he’s just really upset that I blocked him on Twitter years ago, like he made one comment about the Young Bucks and I blocked him, and then I remember somebody showing me last year when he started talking crap about me, he would say that he knows that I blocked him on Twitter.
On Having a Staff to Help His Product Expand:
I always felt that my look set me apart. In people’s eye, it can be negative or positive, but look, I’ve said this before, to me, since I came to WWE, people kind of ask me, what’s the craziest part, what’s the one thing that stands out since you came to WWE; I’ve had great moments of winning the title on top of the list, but before that, honestly, the one thing that sticks out the most for me was when I was working with John Cena. I’m talking, not PPV’s or TV’s, but even Live Events, in a tiny town in Illinois, in Danville, IL, I’m in the middle of the ring, his music hits, the noise, no matter how big the building is or the crowd is, or if they’re tired because it’s been a long night, the noise, because it’s boos and cheers, it just hits the middle of the ring, it’s the crazy sound, and that’s when it hit me, that is what I want someday. I don’t want to be Universally loved or hated, I want to have people going at it with each other, that is what John has and that is what Roman has. I had the same experience in the ring when I wrestled Roman in New Jersey, his first match back after his suspension, when his music hit, it was the same thing, it’s the coolest sound that I find. You know, my look had people on polar opposite on sides; whether it looks horrible or sets me apart, to me, I like it, I like that some people hate or love it. I love the confrontation.
To listen to this entire podcast, subscribe to Talk is Jericho on Podcast One.
