Main Event Radio with Kevin Owens
Host: Ryan Rider
Interview conducted for MainEventRadio.com
Returning to his hometown of Montreal to wrestle a main event match against Sami Zayn: It’s nice not to have to be on a flight this early to go somewhere in the United States. It’s nice to wake up in my own bed the morning of a WWE show. We are so busy when we’re on the road; it’s kind of a whirlwind as soon as we leave. We travel so much and everything is so fast-paced. To get to main event with Sami [Zayn] after so many years of wrestling all over Montreal in church basements and bars and high school gyms, to get to do it at the Bell Centre one-on-one makes it that much more special. It’s a great feeling. Everybody in Montreal watched my time as champion with a lot of pride. It feels like everyone who watched me coming up in the independent circuit was watching and really pulling for me. I would’ve loved to have made it to Montreal with the Universal championship. I plan on being Universal champion again; I plan on winning the WWE World championship. I plan on bringing it home eventually for sure.
On what an honor it was for him to be WWE Universal champion on Raw for over six months: Smackdown’s a great show but Raw will always be the flagship show. It’s been around for so long and even people who don’t know WWE very well they know what Raw is. To be able to represent that brand as champion, it’s so surreal. My entire time in WWE has been surreal because I never stopped being a fan. To be able to carry the championship and represent Raw, it was extremely special. I always feel pressure doing anything whether being champion or trying to get back to the point of getting back the championship, I want people to remember what I did every night and to be memorable. I feel like I perform well under pressure.
On his feud with Chris Jericho: We’ve been doing some entertaining stuff together and it’s going to keep going that way for the foreseeable future. I had my first WrestleMania match last year, it was a 7-man ladder match and that was an incredible experience and unbelievable feeling. As someone who never stopped being a fan, being on TV every week with Chris Jericho and to get to have a one-on-one match with him at WrestleMania, it’s pretty surreal as well. I think Chris [Jericho] and I have a good shot at having the best match on the card. I actually think it’s the match that people are most invested in. The story we’ve told over several months and everything that’s happened between us. Everyone’s excited for the match, it’s going to make for a great time, and I plan on walking out as United States champion. Now when I come out to the ring without a title I always feel naked. It’s legitimately a very odd feeling for me. I don’t know what to do with my hands; it’s legitimately an odd feeling for me. I want to be the new face of the United States. I think it’ll be a big upgrade.
On a potential faction with Triple H and Samoa Joe: I don’t know anything about a faction to be honest. I know that Triple H has shown a lot of faith in me when he helped me win the Universal championship. Samoa Joe happens to be a fortunate ally. I’ll never turn down someone like him for help. It’s interesting to see where it goes.
Who he’d like to see called up from NXT: I think a fellow Canadian, Tye Dillinger, would be great on Raw or Smackdown. We can’t go anywhere without the “10-10-10 chant”. The guy’s been at it for so long I think he deserves a break. Also, Shinsuke Nakamura. He’s got an undeniable charisma and to have him on the main roster would make the show better. He transcends the language barrier better than anyone I’ve seen probably ever.
On fellow Montreal wrestler Dru Onyx recently having a stint as a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center: Dru was instrumental to me even getting to WWE. When I heard I was getting a try-out I hadn’t trained in a ring and roll around in a very long time even though I was wrestling several times a way. I asked Dru [Onyx] if I could come to his wrestling school and did that for around 2 months before my WWE tryout. Without him, I don’t know that I would have made it to WWE. He had so many trainees and he works so hard to do that. To allow me to join that class and help me get there it really helped and the least I could do to pay him back is help him get front and centre. He’s very passionate about giving his trainees the best training possible so I helped him get in to the performance centre and I heard he did great; he gave a great impression to everyone there.
Does he believe that this will be the Undertaker’s final WrestleMania: I don’t, I really don’t. Every time I see the Undertaker he has this presence. I can’t imagine him not being at WrestleMania; I don’t think it’ll be his last one.
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