Kevin Owens had a Q&A session with Brian Fritz of Sporting News and the former WWE Universal Champion talked about several ongoing topics in the WWE including the wildness of the wild card rule, WWE Stomping Grounds and touches upon his longtime friendship will fellow Quebecer, Sami Zayn. Quotes are below:
The wild-card rule is in effect rule right now and keeping some guys busy, yourself included, being on both “Raw” and “SmackDown.” You’re a “SmackDown” guy and you were on “Raw” (on June 17). What are your thoughts on the wild-card rule so far, and how do you think it’s been working to this point?
I guess the whole point of the wild-card rule is to add a sense of unpredictability to all the shows and I guess it definitely has achieved that because you never know who is going to show up where. The wild-card rule itself was very loosely defined when it was first announced and it’s been loosely enforced since it’s been announced (laughs). I guess it was supposed to be four guys at first and now, really, 10 guys show up one night, three guys show up the next night, whatever. But like I said, I think the whole point is to give a more unpredictable feel to the show itself and its definitely achieved that.
Do you go into every week now assuming you’ll be on both “Raw” and “SmackDown”?
Yeah. It’s just kind of what you have to do because and, to be fair, I would prefer being on “Raw” and “SmackDown” both just because if I’m not on “Raw” that week, I’m on the road and not working. Any day I’m away from home, I’d rather be working because spending time away from my family to do nothing is not something that jives well with me. I certainly prefer being on both “Raw” and “SmackDown” both of the same week as opposed to having the night off on Monday.
You’ve known Sami Zayn for such a long period of time and your careers have been intertwined. What does it mean to still be working with him this closely at this point in both of your careers?
Yeah, I’ve known him since 2002, so that’s been 17 years now and we’ve really been joined at the hip as far as our careers go since 2004. You know, it’s great because here’s a guy that I’ve shared so much with as far as my wrestling career goes and experiences around the world. We know we can always bring the best out of each other whether that’s as rivals or partners. It’s always cool to see where we’ve come and where we started and where we are now.
Considering how unique that the wrestling business is, what’s it like having someone that is a good, longtime friend there with you?
Yeah, we’ve been on the road for so long. It’s great to go back and look at the experiences we’ve shared. Obviously, when one is not doing too well, we can try to lift each other up, and that’s a positive. He’s definitely the guy I’m closest with on the roster just by default because of how long we’ve known each other and everything we’ve experienced together. It’s always good to have someone like that around.
