Kevin Owens is challenging for the Intercontinental championship in a fatal 4-way match on tomorrow night’s (May 21) episode of SmackDown.
Owens is normally all about winning the big prize, but he told WWE’s The Bump that he’s totally fine with not winning the title tomorrow night:
I would love to be Intercontinental champion again...but if I don’t win the title, I won’t be that heartbroken. Because, there’s a good reason. As everybody knows, Owen Hart had a very positive influence on my career. I was a big fan of his. I named my son after him. My wrestling name ‘Kevin Owens’ is obviously a tribute to my son and Owen Hart. And what some fans have pointed out to me in the past is that me and Owen Hart share a birthday. We were both born on May 7. But also, what’s cool is we were both Intercontinental champions twice. And if you add the total amount of days from both those reigns, we have the exact same amount of days as Intercontinental champion as well.
So I almost don’t want to break that streak. But I will allow it, because if I win the Intercontinental title now, it’s a brand new title. But when I was [previously] the Intercontinental champion, it was the same title that Owen Hart held, the actual design of the title. So on that technicality, I guess if it comes down to it on Friday, sure, I’ll just win the Intercontinental title. Fine. But only because they’re twisting my arm, you know?
That’s pretty neat.
The next time someone mocks a wrestling fan for taking worked wrestling statistics too seriously, keep in mind that many of the wrestlers are just as enthusiastic about kayfabe numbers as some fans are. And in this case, Kevin Owens is quite content with sharing his Intercontinental title history with the late, great, Owen Hart.
Who are you rooting for in tomorrow night’s championship match between Owens, Apollo Crews, Big E, and Sami Zayn?