"When I first signed with WWE they asked me: 'Who do you wanna get in the ring with?' I said John Cena, and here we are six months later."
NXT Champ Kevin Owens has been wrestling half his life. But while his career started out as a slow burn on indie circuits like Combat Zone Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerilla, his rise to the top of WWE’s developmental branch has been nothing short of meteoric.
Last December, Owens debuted at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution. Two months later, he became Champ. This Sunday marks his first match in the big leagues when he faces United States Champ John Cena at WWE’s Elimination Chamber.
How you feeling going into Elimination Chamber this Sunday?
Very excited. But mostly I feel like I’m right where I should be, so I’m pretty confident going into Sunday.
That confidence comes across in the ring. When it comes to that, whom do you look to for inspiration?
I don’t know if I looked to anybody for inspiration in terms of how to act, but my biggest influences coming up were.... I was always a big fan of Shawn Michaels. I was probably the biggest Steve Austin fan in the world at one point. I was a big fan of Owen Hart. I was also a big fan of Steve Corino from ECW. I actually ended up working with Steve for many years, and we’re very close friends now. He was a mentor for me for a very long time—still is. So those are probably the biggest and most apparent influences. But that side of me on TV is definitely there. I’m obviously not as abrasive in real life, but if you push the right buttons you will get that. We’ve heard that phrase many times: the best persona is yourself turned up ten times. But as cliché as it might be now, it’s really true.
You got into wrestling after watching a tape of the Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel match of WrestleMania XI, but were there any live events that stood out as being influential?
My parents took me for my first live WWE event at the Montreal Forum, which isn’t even a thing anymore. It was the last WWE event there. When I saw that live it just reaffirmed what I already knew: I had to be a part of this.
You’ve played both face and heel. Is it more fun being booed or cheered?
I don’t go out and hope to get booed or cheered. I just hope for a reaction. If people are making noise, either way, it’s good. I’m not going to cater what I’m doing because, obviously, I know what the end game is so I act accordingly. All I want is to elicit a response from people. If they’re responding, then I’m happy and having fun. I just like knowing that I’m creating emotions in people.
You’ve clearly created emotions on Raw—you’re getting good crowd reactions—but did you ever worry about being over with the NXT crowd and how that would hopefully translate to other audiences?
I’ve heard the NXT crowd is one thing and the crowds at Raw and SmackDown! are another. But while that’s true, I’ve always felt confident in my abilities. When I found out I was gonna be on Raw I was asked before if I was nervous, and the truth was I wasn’t because I felt that’s exactly where I belonged. I don’t think that’s arrogance; I think it’s confidence. I’ve been in that situation before—obviously not on as large a scale as showing up on Raw and taking out John Cena—but I’ve been presented to a crowd that didn’t necessarily know me very well, and I managed to walk out of whatever that was and make an impact. I felt confident I’d be able to do that, and I did. So I’m gonna keep doing what I do because it’s been working very well for me since I’ve gotten here.
I watched the video of your son Owen seeing you appear in the ring with Cena, and he seemed extremely excited. Will Owen be there on Sunday, and who will he be rooting for?
It’s a school night so he’s not gonna be there, but he’ll definitely be watching. I can’t tell you who he’s gonna be rooting for because I don’t think he even knows, but he’s very excited. And that, by far, is the biggest reward for me. Obviously, I want to provide for my family as good as I can, and I’ve always dreamed of doing this. I started doing this when I was 15-years-old. I didn’t have a family back then, didn’t know if I ever would have a family. This was my dream. So I get to provide for my family and live out my dream, but beyond that I’m doing this because I want my son to be proud of his dad. And I think he is.
If you could have a dream match against anyone, living or dead, whom would it be with?
There are so many guys I wish I could’ve gotten a chance to wrestle. Shawn Michaels was why I watched, the guy who made me want to be a wrestler. I got to tell him that a couple months ago when I met him at WrestleMania 31. But obviously, I don’t think I’ll ever get a chance to wrestle him. I’d love to wrestle Steve Austin—though I don’t think that’s gonna happen either—because he was a huge influence on me. I’d like to wrestle The Rock because he’s one of the biggest names in the history of wrestling, but I don’t know if that’s ever gonna happen.
So as far as possible dream matches that could happen, I’d love to get in there with Brock Lesnar just to see if I walk out alive. But the real dream match is happening this Sunday. When I first signed with WWE they asked me: “Who do you wanna get in the ring with?” I said John Cena, and here we are six months later. It’s happening this Sunday at Elimination Chamber on the WWE Network. And I’m very excited.
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