In one of the better signs for the "new era" of WWE and folks hoping wrestlers like Sami Zayn and Cesaro will break out from being smark faves to household names, Kevin Owens was Jonathan Coachman's guest on ESPN SportsCenter's Tuesday night "Off the Top Rope" feature this week.
Their chat was a good primer on the Prizefighter. It's definitely more of a shoot interview with "everyman dad" Kev than the kayfabe sociopath-with-a-victim-complex KO, but as he does pretty much whenever he's in the public eye, he either blends in just enough of his heel character or makes sure to emphasize the parts of his real personality he draws from to create that character.
Here it comes through as "I don't want to boast, but I'm awesome", as in this clip discussing his transition from NXT and introductory program with John Cena:
NXT was actually a pretty amazing experience on its own just because I went from wrestling in these tiny church basements and bars and stuff like that to finally, you know, NXT and the Performance Center which is this incredible facility where, if you want to train to be a professional wrestler and to do this for a living - there's no place like it. I first started training in a barn, so it's quite the upgrade there. And NXT is set-up in a way that it'll prepare you for when you come out on Raw on that stage and you make your debut on Raw and SmackDown and everything in NXT is to prepare you for that moment. I was in NXT for 6 - 7 months, and it really did prepare me. Which is why, on my first night on Raw, I laid out John Cena... which is not a bad way to start, you know?
Was he nervous? Psshaw...
I wish I could say I did, but to be honest - and this might seem a little cocky, but hey? I guess that's who I am. I felt very confident in my abilities. I felt like when I stepped foot in that ring with John Cena, on my first night on Raw, that's exactly where I belonged. To me, I belong at the top, regardless of how long I spent in NXT before
Hard to believe we're just now coming up on KO's one year anniversary of showing up in WWE, but Coach asked him to reflect on one of the accomplishments of that - opening the show at WrestleMania 32. Owens sounds humbled by the experience, but still plans to best it as soon as possible:
Anybody who decides to be a professional wrestler aspires to wrestle for WWE... that's the ultimate goal and I imagined that moment, you know, coming out at WrestleMania hundreds if not thousands of times throughout my career but even what I'd imagined - I wasn't prepared for that feeling. It's something I'll always remember...
I'm looking forward to topping it, because to me, that WrestleMania was only the beginning. I'm looking forward to bigger and better things over the course of the next few years at WrestleMania, but it was definitely something I'll never forget.
That clip also has a great insight into why he's able to be so mobile and even aerial at his size:
When I started training, I was 14 - 15 years old and maybe 150 pounds, which is why, my first favorite wrestler after I watched WrestleMania 11, the reason I wanted to become a WWE Superstar was because of Shawn Michaels, because I could really relate to him, because he was smaller than all the other guys on the show but he was the most impressive one to me. Obviously throughout the years, I packed on some weight and got a little bigger, but I never stopped performing those moves, I never stopped, you know, the segment's called "Off the Top Rope", I never stopped going off the top rope, I always did those things, I always kept up with that stuff and I think it's worked out because now I'm now I'm 266 pounds and I'm still able to do that stuff, which most guys my weight can't do. You know, I don't mean to brag or anything, but... pretty good.
See how he works in a plug for Coach's gimmick? What a professional.
You can't talk to the social media icon that is Kevin Owens without getting into his approach to Twitter - something Coachman says he's learned from:
As soon as I joined Twitter, back in... I don't know, 2011 maybe, before I even talked to WWE about coming here, I noticed a lot of people think their Twitter account gives them some sort of power, and it gives them the right to be disrespectful or offensive, and I just don't believe in that. I mean, yes, I'm a public figure, but I'm not just gonna sit there and take people's crap, for lack of better words, and I actually get a huge kick out of fighting back a little and I think the people that follow me on Twitter get a kick out of that as well.
I always try to stay respectful... as respectful as I can be, I guess, but you know, if you come at me, chances are... obviously, I get hundreds of Tweets everyday, I don't see them all, but, if yours catches my eye - you're doing it at your own risk, because chances are I'm probably gonna come at you, and I'm gonna win. Because I'm pretty witty. Again, I don't mean to brag, but...
The former NXT and Intercontinental champ closes with a plug for the GoFundMe he and Tyler Breeze set-up to help Alberta fire victims (learn more here).
Go ahead and boast, big man. It's not bragging when you can back it up.
How do you think KO did on SportsCenter? Is this a sign WWE main events are in his future?