Kevin Owens On If Kofi Kingston Took His Spot Against Daniel Bryan At WrestleMania 35
Late last year Kevin Owens underwent double knee surgery and was out of action for over four months. Nearing his return, WWE started posting vignettes of Kevin Owens with his family which let the WWE Universe see a somewhat different side of KO.
Owens talked about doing those family vignettes when he joined the State of Combat podcast.
"It was really great. My son is always happy to do stuff like that. He has been growing up within the WWE family so it's great for him to end up, not as a character, but nice to have him on the show," said Owens. "I wish I could have gotten my daughter in one of them; she would have probably stolen the show, so maybe it's a good thing I didn't. My wife is a bit more private in that aspect. She was there but didn't want to be on camera, so I respect her choice."
Owens said he started posting about his family on Twitter when he was on the indies and no one knew who he was. He's continued to do that since joining WWE but admits he's a bit more careful due to having a larger following.
"When I came to WWE it gave me more of an open platform and their attention to me where I am at about a million followers, it's pretty much the same thing for me. I am more careful about putting something out there about my family because unfortunately with the attention comes the absolute morons who want to enjoy making other people miserable because they are miserable, but that is who I am. I have never tried to hide that, never wanted to because they are the best part of me. When they were able to get to be part of my comeback it was definitely very cool," stated Owens.
Owens' journey to become Universal Champion was a unique one and the same could be said about Kofi Kingston's journey to become WWE Champion. Owens talked about Kingston earning the title match opportunity and ultimately the belt.
"I don't think Kofi stepped into anybody's way actually. That was clearly Kofi's match if you paid attention to what was going on in every arena and every SmackDown Live from the time he got into that gauntlet match at Elimination Chamber to WrestleMania," said Owens. "So, to me it was obvious from that point on it was Kofi's match. While it may have changed people's plans, I wouldn't say that he got into anybody's way. All he did was be himself and be Kofi Kingston and that is what got him there because the fans decided that they were going to get behind him more than anybody else."
Owens made his return from injury during the Road to WrestleMania, and at one point, he was rumored to be facing Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35. But Kingston became red-hot and ended up replacing Owens on the card and then going on to defeat Bryan for the gold.
Owens said that Kingston didn't "get in anybody's way," but it's clear that KO believes Kingston's run as champion should be his instead.
"The only problem is that he got his moment, everybody wants his moment. He has his kids, he has his wife, and had that moment, wonderful and now I want that moment," stated Owens. "I don't care about Kofi Kingston's family as much as I care about mine, which might be a terrible thing to say, but it's the truth. They are great people, I've met them, they are nice, but now I want the moment for my kids and my wife, so now Kofi Kingston is in the way. He wasn't before but now he is, so I am going to do my best to get him out of the way."
Owens will face Kingston for the WWE Championship at WWE Money In The Bank this Sunday. Make sure to check back here this Sunday for our live coverage of the pay-per-view, as well as the latest breaking news leading to the show.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit State of Combat with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.