ZBlogN

10 Backstage Stories About Kevin Owens We Can't Believe

Kevin Owens’ journey from the independent circuit to NXT to the WWE main roster has inspired countless fans and wrestlers all over the world. Many people in the industry went on record betting against Owens ever making to WWE, but he thrived when making it to the big scene. Owens became an independent wrestling legend due to his remarkable runs in Ring of Honor and PWG.

RELATED: The Kevin Owens Show: 10 Best WWE Matches of KO's Career

The move to NXT and WWE helped Owens continue to grow as a performer all the way to the top. Quite a few noteworthy stories have come out about Owens behind the scenes. The topics range from beef with other talents, funny road moments, and anything in between during the era where more information leaks than ever before. Find out more about the backstage element with surprising stories about K.O.

10 Planned to wear singlet in WWE until Enzo conversation

Kevin Owens was considering ditching the look we now associate with him when starting his WWE career. The polarizing response to the t-shirt and basketball shorts gear saw Owens having a singlet made when starting out at the Performance Center.

RELATED: 5 Ways Kevin Owens Is Better As A Heel (& 5 Ways He's Better As A Face)

Enzo Amore of all people talked Owens into wearing the t-shirt and shorts for promo pictures. Owens turned his shirt inside out and spray-painted the word “Fight” using Finn Balor’s paint. The singlet may have been the look of Owens in WWE if not for Enzo.

9 Meeting Steve Austin at an airport

Kevin Owens received advice from Steve Austin that ultimately changed his career. Austin was in the same airport as Owens and Sami Zayn early into their careers. Owens asked Austin if he had any advice for his wrestling career.

The words of Austin were to “never stop running your mouth” and Owens has made that the calling card of his career. To this day, Owens still follows this advice and does his best to make an impact with promos or general trash talk.

8 His dad getting the better of Jim Cornette in ROH

Jim Cornette didn’t believe in the talent of Kevin Owens due to his look and gear not fitting the mold of his perception of a wrestler. One horrible decision saw Cornette sending Owens home for months with no ideas for a return.

The first appearance back saw Kevin’s parents attending the show backstage when he received a massive pop. Owens’ dad made a funny comment telling Cornette that the people seemed to like him. Kevin shared this story on his former DVD talk show series as a fun ROH memory.

7 Vince disliking his WM 33 match

The WrestleMania 33 match between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho was not a classic, but no one thought it was anything below a solid match aside from the most important person. WWE 365 featured rare footage of Vince McMahon telling Owens he disliked the match in the gorilla position.

Owens seemed shocked and knew that an angry Vince could provide a bigger problem moving forward. The footage was quite fascinating to show that side of the business, especially for a match that seemed to have no strong issues.

6 Not appearing at Saudi Arabia shows

Kevin Owens took a stand against the WWE shows in Saudi Arabia after disliking the first experience. Sami Zayn was banned from the shows due to the Saudi officials not wanting a wrestler of Syrian descent to appear.

Owens joined Daniel Bryan and John Cena as the wrestlers making their own choice to not work on the cards. The other two names have more secure spots in the upper card based on the longevity, so Owens making his stand was a huge decision.

5 Used real convo with Jericho before WWE as part of a storyline

Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens created an incredible storyline as best friends in 2016. The eventual end came when Owens turned on Jericho in the infamous Festival of Friendship storyline. One fun segment during the feud featured a DM conversation between them on Twitter shared.

RELATED: 5 Best WWE Rivalries Of Kevin Owens' Career (& 5 Worst)

The screenshot showed Owens asking Jericho for advice when receiving his WWE contract. Jericho gave his input and it was a cool moment between two future friends. The very real conversation helped add to the story of the evolution of their relationship.

4 PC coach admitted he didn't see anything special in him

Kevin Owens shared some of his experiences starting off at WWE on Chris Jericho’s podcast. One major part of his journey was Triple H having to make the call to hire him when other people with influence were split.

Owens revealed Performance Center coach Terry Taylor told him he saw nothing special in him at all, but Triple H did, and it was his job to help spotlight it. Taylor did his best to help Owens and they ended up having a positive relationship. However, it must have been shocking for any talent to hear that from a coach.

3 Steve Austin giving him advice on the stunner

Steve Austin endorsed Kevin Owens as the first WWE wrestler to use the stunner as a finisher since Austin retired from the ring. The two had a positive relationship long before this decision and it inspired Owens to ask Austin for permission.

Austin not only said yes, but he provided some tips to help Owens perfect the move after seeing him do it a few times in the past. Owens has made the stunner a huge part of his face character transitioning away from his heel acts.

2 Vince riled him up for a headbutt

The infamous Smackdown moment of Kevin Owens delivering a vicious headbutt and beat down to Vince McMahon was inspired by Vince himself. Cameras caught McMahon talking trash to Owens before the headbutt.

Owens admitted Vince was cursing him out and saying terrible things to rile him up. It was done to make sure Owens didn’t take it easy on him due to his age. Owens did enough to make fans wonder about the health of Vince after such a segment.

1 Specifically sat in crowd to see Adam Cole's NXT debut

Kevin Owens has been seen sitting in the crowd for a few NXT TakeOver shows. One specific event saw Owens going out of his way to pick the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn 2017 for the debut of his close friend Adam Cole.

The aftermath of Drew McIntyre defeating Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship saw Cole charging the ring to make his debut attacking the champ. Owens was spotted having a huge smile on his face with Cole finally making his new start in the WWE world.

NEXT: 10 Wrestlers WWE Fans Didn't Realize Kevin Owens Wrestled Against

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKeoqqSowaa%2BjZympmenp7K0wMuipaBnpaOvprjInq2ampyaeqOtwqSqrZmXmnq0wM6roJ6rXaCyt7XNZqawnZ6oerjDxGg%3D

Lorie Orum

Update: 2024-05-20