Kevin Owens recently spoke with Brian Campbell for the In This Corner podcast while promoting Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. You can read a few transcribed highlights (credit Bill Pritchard / Wrestlezone.com) as well as listen to the full show below:
Kevin Owens on what goes into making a great heel in 2017:
“You know, people throw these words around so much; heel, babyfaces… shoot, kayfabe, work, all of this crap that they hear wrestlers say. I can honestly, genuinely say that I am not trying to be a heel. I don’t know if that makes me a good performer or a bad performer, I’m sure many veterans of the industry will have their opinions on what I just said, but I try to do the best performance I can, and I try and achieve the goal that I know is required of me. That always leads to people hating my guts and makes other people loving what I do. I always try to get the loudest reaction I can, whether it’s being booed out of the building or being cheered… nothing I do is in hopes of receiving either reaction. I just want people to be loud, and I want to ellicit emotions and that’s what I always try for, so people ask me ‘how are you such a good heel?’ I don’t know the answer, I’m just being me and I just go with what I need to do to get the job done on any show that I’m on and on any particular evening what’s required of me I try to achieve that and I go from there. If people enjoy my work, that’s great, but I don’t set out with a goal in terms of getting a reaction, I just try to do what I can to do it as good as I can.”
Owens on where the headbutt to Vince McMahon ranks in his career achievements:
“I’ve said this before to my relatives and my friends, and I might have said it in an interview here or there… there are moments in my WWE career that I will forever remember. The Universal title, my debut at NXT, my debut on RAW, winning the Intercontinental title was a huge deal to me, but being in the ring with Vince McMahon and giving him the worst beating that he’s probably ever taken outside of a wrestling match, you know besides the times where he actually faced somebody in the ring bell to bell for a match. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody beat Vince McMahon how I beat him, and it was something that will stay with me for a very long time. When I look back at my accolades and the things I accomplished, when it’s all said and done, it’s going to be at the top of the list for sure, or very close to it.”
Owens on the headbutt to Vince McMahon taking his feud with Shane McMahon to the next level:
“He [Vince] talked a lot of smack, told me I was going to get my ass kicked by Shane and he would [expletive] me up. He wasn’t shy about making his feelings known as far as Hell In A Cell was going to go down, and then I cracked him in the head, and he stopped talking.”
Owens on if his mindset going into a ‘gimmick match’ type like Hell In A Cell changes:
“Well, matches that bring people out of their comfort zone are a lot of fun, whether it’s a Hell In A Cell or a no DQ match. You know, a tag team match, there’s something really special about a tag team match when you have guys that know how to do tag team wrestling. We’ve been seeing it for months now with The New Day and The Usos who kill it every single time, and nobody could follow them. They rock the house, and leave people wanting more, and it’s just awesome. Those guys are peak tag team wrestlers and when they get in there you see it because you can’t get enough and you say gimmick match; a tag team match is a gimmick match in a way. Every match that’s not a singles match is a bit of a gimmick match in a way, where it’s a stipulation. A tag team match is a stipulation, so there’s something exciting about a stipulation and I do think I perform best when I have stuff that I can use, whether it’s a cage or a Cell, you know, weapons, tables, chairs, whatever it is. I do think it brings out the best in me, and I don’t know why that is. It just gets my juices flowing and I’m not sure why that is. It just kind of happens and I noticed that early on in my career, so whenever I have that opportunity to be in that kind of match I’m always looking forward to it. I think I have a pretty good track record with those kinds of matches, honestly. I think I always deliver on that stage, and I’m looking forward to doing it on Sunday again.”
