After seeing his tag team with Sami Zayn unceremoniously come to an end on the season premiere of SmackDown thanks to the shrewd wheeling and dealing of new GM Nick Aldis, Kevin Owens was afforded an entire segment on the Blue Brand to continue his conversation with Cathy Kelley from his WWE Digital Exclusive segment the week before.
Addressing the elephant in the room, saying goodbye to Zayn after reaching the highest of highs a tag team can reach in the WWE Universe, KO expressed the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to a few million fans watching from home before revealing how excited he is for a “clean slate” on SmackDown.
“Uh, I mean, it doesn't feel great. We worked for a long time to get to where we got together this year, main-eventing WrestleMania and winning the Tag Team Titles. And that's just one of the things we did together, you know? The last 20 years, we experienced everything together, we traveled the world together, honed our craft trying to get here together, so to be separated that way, especially after we just lost the tag titles and I kind of feel like we didn't get a fair shot at winning them back, that hurts,” Kevin Owens told Cathy Kelley and the WWE Universe.
“With that said though, I'm excited to be here on SmackDown, it's kind of a clean slate, which I am looking forward to, so, it's bittersweet. ”
Would it have been nice to see Zayn make his way to SmackDown alongside KO? Sure thing, but then again, considering the drama that has already taken place on RAW from the decision, the concept of Owens fighting his way through SmackDown while Zayn gets introspective might not be too shabby after all, especially considering all of the new match combinations now presented to the “Prize Fighter.”
Kevin Owens is excited to punch a few new faces on SmackDown.
Continuing his conversation with Cathy Kelley, Kevin Owens was asked about what he looks forward to doing on SmackDown, and by what, she really meant who he looks forward to fighting moving forward.
Surprisingly enough, Owens actually has a few new match combinations that he would like to wrestle, as, even after roughly a decade in with the promotion, there's always something new going on in the WWE Universe.
“Well yeah, obviously I have a lot of history with The Bloodline, you know? I'm sure they hope we don't cross paths again but we will, there's no way we won't, and yeah, there's a lot of new faces and even not necessarily new faces. Like I've never had a singles match with Rey Mysterio, which is something I have to do before my career is done. I've never had a singles match with Sheamus, I've never really been in the ring with the Brawling Brutes or LWO, so I'm looking forward to… there's a lot of new faces I can punch,” Owens announced.
“But let me ask you this, you've been on SmackDown for quite a while; surely there's someone back there that you'd like to punch. I can punch people for ya, is there anyone I can put on my list? Okay look, I respect your professional integrity but come on, you're telling me there's no… like, you don't look at Austin Theory and Grayson Waller back there and think, ‘Man, I wish I could punch them in the face?'”
When Kelley admitted that A-Town Down Under does, in fact, have very punchable faces, Owens came to life, vowing to add them to the list.
“See, perfect, see, so those guys are on the list,” KO declared. “But look, the point is, RAW, SmackDown, no matter where I am; all I try to do is make sure people go home knowing that this is the Kevin Owens show, so that's where I'm at.”
After officially joining WWE in 2014, you'd think KO has pretty much done it all, from working tag team matches to winning the Universal Championship and pretty much everything in between, but after some 900 matches, nine title reigns, and more heel-face turns that one can reasonably count off-hand, Owens has plenty still to accomplish in the WWE Universe, as, decade after decade, the promotion has proven itself a living organism that can grow, develop, adapt, and change depending on the talent who are employed and the creative minds running the show. Considering Owens' history in NXT and his status as the first-ever “Aldis guy” on SmackDown, the future is looking bright for the “Prize Fighter.”