Tag: Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens Reportedly Dealing With Legitimate Injury

The hard knocks for Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Kevin Owens during Monday night’s “Raw” are reportedly more than just a storyline.

Owens was in the corner of his tag team partner Sami Zayn as Zayn challenged Dominik Mysterio for the “NXT” North American Championship. Various shenanigans eventually led to Owens being ejected from ringside by the referee. Moments later, Mysterio’s Judgment Day cohorts Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest were also ordered backstage. However, all three reappeared at the end of the match as Owens was taken out by Ripley and Priest on the entrance stage. That was the distraction that led to Mysterio’s pinfall victory over Zayn.

Later in the show, Owens was seen backstage being tended to by medical personnel. It appeared to be nothing more than another chapter in the story leading to a future tag title defense for Owens and Zayn against some combination of The Judgment Day. However, there’s reportedly more at play.

Later in the night, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that Owens is legitimately injured. Sapp added that he did not have any details on the severity of the injury or when Owens will be able to return to action.

Owen’s most recent match took place on the July 17 episode of “Raw,” where he and Zayn retained the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against The Judgment Day’s Priest and Mysterio. 

UPDATE:

Dave Meltzer provided further details about the setback while speaking on the “Wrestling Observer Radio” show. 

“It’s a fractured rib,” Meltzer said. “So the story, he’s actually been working on it for a while and it was just one of those things where they were waiting for a time to finish up with everything he’d finish up….He’s gonna get rest. I don’t know how long, and I don’t know what the status of the Tag Team Titles are. I’m sure that that will probably all be addressed in the next couple of days, but it was legit, he’s been working on a legit injury. So that’s the basic gist of the story there.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Why Sami Zayn Is Going To Saudi Arabia For WWE Night Of Champions

It was announced this past Friday night on “WWE SmackDown” that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens would defend the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa of The Bloodline at Night of Champions on May 27 in Saudi Arabia. According to Dave Meltzer on “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Zayn, who is of Syrian descent, decided to travel to the Kingdom with WWE for the first time since 2014 following the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria; relations were suspended in November 2011. Additionally, the report indicated that Owens opted to go to Saudi Arabia after Zayn decided he would travel for Night of Champions.

Zayn’s most recent visit to Saudi Arabia came in 2014 when he participated in a three-night house tour in Riyadh. On the opening night, which was Zayn’s debut match in the country, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion defeated Damian Sandow in a singles match. The following evening, Zayn was defeated by Cesaro – now ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli. The final night of the tour saw Zayn defeat Heath Slater.

Meanwhile, Owens will be heading to Saudi Arabia with WWE for the first time later this month. In the past, the former WWE Universal Champion had decided against performing on a major WWE event in the Kingdom, seemingly as a result of his longtime friend Zayn not being able to participate because of strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria. It was reported in 2019 that Owens’ family did not want him to travel to the Middle Eastern country. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Roman Reigns Upset With Kevin Owens After Survivor Series WarGames

Roman Reigns was reportedly not happy following the Survivor Series WarGames main event. 

According to a report from Fightful Select, Reigns was said to be visibly upset backstage regarding what he perceived as an “unplanned spot” involving him and Kevin Owens. Reigns was overheard saying he may have a ruptured ear drum, and it was clear to those who witnessed the scene that he was not happy with what happened. 

Reigns did not take part in the post-event press conference as he was originally scheduled to. 

Talent spoken with by Fightful indicated they did not believe there would be any extended heat from what happened and that Reigns’ reaction was likely due to the heat of the moment. 

It is not clear what spot was the catalyst for Reigns becoming upset. The only spots Owens and Reigns worked with each other during the match came close to the end. Owens slapped Reigns, and then they exchanged strikes for a period. Roman hit a Superman Punch, and Owens hit a superkick, a pop-up powerbomb, and a stunner. Sami Zayn then broke up the pin leading to the finish, where Zayn hit a low blow and Helluva Kick on Owens. 

Sources: WrestleView and Fightful

Kevin Owens Expected to Be at Friday’s WWE SmackDown, Latest on His Status

Kevin Owens appears to be in good shape for War Games at WWE Survivor Series.

As PWMania.com previously reported, Owens suffered a sprained MCL during Sunday’s WWE live event in Madison, WI, while defeating Austin Theory. This threw his Survivor Series status into doubt.

In an update, PWInsider reports that Owens will be at Friday’s SmackDown in Hartford, as well as all TV tapings leading up to the Survivor Series Premium Live Event on Saturday, November 26. This would imply that he’s also working the November 25 go-home SmackDown in Providence, unless he’s also scheduled for RAW tapings.

We also noted that the Wrestling Observer Radio reported this week that Owens was rehabbing his injury at the WWE Performance Center. He was scheduled to have the injury checked on Monday morning, so this PWInsider update indicates he was medically cleared to compete at the pay-per-view.

According to reports, Owens will compete inside War Games alongside Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Butch, and Ridge Holland against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Samy Zayn.

Source: PWMania

WWE NXT Preview 10/18/2022, RAW & SmackDown Stars Appearing

Here is the lineup for tonight’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network.

Kevin Owens is slated to make his return to the WWE NXT brand on tonight’s loaded show to be the moderator for a segment featuring NXT Champion Bron Breakker, Ilja Dragunov, and JD McDonagh.

The three stars will meet in a triple threat match at Halloween Havoc this Saturday night. Owens announced the news in a video shared on his Twitter account:

Stone Cold Steve Austin Accepts Kevin Owen’s WrestleMania 38 Invitation

Owens ended this week’s RAW by stating how he plans to host the biggest, most stupendous edition of The KO Show at WrestleMania 38, but because of where the event is being held this year, he knows his guest would have to be “some lowlife from Texas.”

Owens would then take shots at Texan pro wrestling legends such as WWE Hall of Famers JBL, Booker T, and Shawn Michaels, before calling out Austin. He stressed that nothing would make him happier than to beat the hell out of a specific person in his home state, give him a Stunner the world would talk about for years, and then pour a glass of milk over his lifeless body. Owens added that he doesn’t think this person has the guts to show up, before finally naming the man – Stone Cold Steve Austin.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1501047482238779396

Stone Cold Steve Austin has accepted Kevin Owens invitation to appear on the KO Show at WrestleMania 38.

Austin says:

“Nineteen years ago I wrestled my last match in a WWE ring,” Austin said. “After three Rock Bottoms, 1-2-3, I lost the match and for nineteen years I’ve had to live with that defeat, knowing my time was up. Kevin Owens, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for waking something up deep inside me that I’ve kept buried for nineteen years. Ever since you started running that damn mealy-mouth of yours, talking about the state of Texas, the great state of Texas, you got my attention, and why would you want to do that, Kevin? I can think of two reasons. One, you are one dumb son of a b—h, and two, you are fixing to get your ass kicked by ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. But if you want to call this The KO Show, a match, a fight, a brawl, whatever, I will guarantee you this – in Dallas, Texas, where I started my career, at WrestleMania, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is going to open up one last can of whoop-ass on you, Kevin Owens, and that’s the bottom line because Stone Cold said so.”

The Texas Rattlesnake’s promo ended with glass breaking.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1501242636543352836
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1501246558712614916

Kevin Owens Has Signed A New Deal With WWE

According to a report, Kevin Owens has re-signed with WWE. His current deal runs up in January.

According to a report from Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Owens has signed a new deal with WWE. As previously noted, his current deal will expire in January.

Back in 2018, Owens announced that he had signed a new five-year deal with the company. The contract was reworked, and it thus pushed up the expiration date to Jan. 2022. But that’s all a moot point now, because the 37-year-old and longtime fan favorite is here to stay for the long run.

It’s worth noting that the contract of Owens’ close friend, Sami Zayn, is reportedly slated to expire soon as well. With Owens now signed long-term, WWE can now focus on working toward a new deal with Zayn. Keeping Owens, simply put, can only help WWE’s chances of convincing Zayn to stick around.

WWE has been giving both Owens and Zayn more television time in recent weeks. The Prized Fighter is now working in the WWE Championship scene on Raw with Big E, Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins. Those four will face off for the title at the upcoming Day 1 pay-per-view.

Despite signing a three-year deal, Kevin Owens could be released at a moment’s notice.

According to Dave Meltzer, the deal is three years long and could be worth as much as $3 million to the former Universal Champion. Owens will also be working a lighter schedule moving forward. That’ll be more like live events every other week, not four matches a year like Brock Lesnar.

The other interesting note made on Wrestling Observer Radio is KO’s contract does not include a clause granting him immunity from being released. One of the main reasons The Prizefighter likely opted to re-sign is for job security. He has a wife and two young children at home, so the guaranteed money that comes with signing on with WWE will have likely been a big factor behind his decision to stay.

Owens said the decision to re-sign with WWE was easy because it was the best thing for his family.

“I’ll just say that my contract still ends on January 31, but not 2022,” Owens said. “I will still be in WWE for several years, The decision was pretty easy because it was the best thing for my family, really. When it comes to that, it’s always a pretty easy decision to take. WWE has been my home for seven years now, so I have a sense of belonging.

“Basically, I spent the majority of my career here. When you look at all the wrestling companies I’ve wrestled for, in WWE, that’s where I’ve been the longest. That’s where I need to be for the next few years. That’s how I felt and that’s the decision I made.”

While a three-year contract might sound like job security as well as a hefty wage, WWE has proved more than ever this year that anyone can be let go at a moment’s notice. There have even been cases in 2021 where it has felt as if WWE has signed wrestlers to new deals just so they can release them soon after. That forces those wrestlers to sit and do nothing for 90 days as opposed to moving on right away had their deal been allowed to run out. Hopefully, Owens won’t suffer the same fate and will be with WWE for at least three more years.

As for Zayn, he challenged Universal Champion Roman Reigns for the title on the Dec. 3 episode of SmackDown. Zayn lost quickly, however, as Brock Lesnar attacked him before the match started.

Source: TheSportster

Kevin Owens’ WWE Contract Expiring Sooner Than Expected

According to Fightful Select, the contract of Kevin Owens is actually expiring sooner than expected with WWE. What’s next for Fight Owens Fight?

Previous reports by the likes of Dave Meltzer and other media sources noted that WWE Superstar Kevin Owens had a contract that ran with the company until the Spring of 2023. Apparently that is no longer accurate and a new report by Fightful Select suggests Owens’ deal is up much sooner than that. The rumored five-year contract was changed and Owens could be one of the next big stars headed out of WWE.

According to Fightful, his WWE contract expires in January 2022. That would mean that technically, Owens only has another four months on his active contract before he’s free to look at other options or extend with WWE. Of course, many will speculate that Owens will heavily consider AEW because that promotion has a lot of his former friends employed there and it’s exactly the type of wrestling company that would mesh well with his in-ring style.

Interestingly, Owens also posted a couple of tweets on Tuesday that dropped a tease about his contract situation. He’s since deleted those tweets, but one was the coordinates to Mount Rushmore. The second was a photo of his Mount Rushmore stable that included himself (as Kevin Steen), Adam Cole, Nick Jackson, and Matt Jackson. Kevin Owens has changed his bio location to “almost there.”, which many have assumed means almost at the end of his deal.

Fightful added in their report that WWE restructured several contracts during the pandemic and among them was Owens’ deal which was changed and is now set to expire in January 2022. There is no word on why his deal was shortened or if that was happily agreed to or left a sour taste in Owens’ mouth.

Perhaps it’s far too early to say that Owens and AEW is a given if the new report of his contract expiring in a few months is accurate. He could absolutely re-sign with WWE. But, WWE seems to be moving away from a number of talent who don’t necessarily fit their new “character-heavy” and family-friendly style. Meanwhile, AEW is picking up and targeting wrestlers who were very close from the independent scene and have ties to The Elite, which Owens does.

Source: TheSportster

Kevin Owens Reveals WWE NXT Return Talks With Triple H And Vince McMahon

Kevin Owens recently spoke with Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports and addressed rumors that he might be headed back to the WWE NXT brand.

Owens said he was excited to be called up to the main roster from NXT a few years back but it was bittersweet as he didn’t spend much time there. Owens is hopeful for a trip back to the black & yellow brand. He revealed that he even talked with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about another stint in NXT, and how he’s been vocal about wanting to return to the brand and help out. While the decision was made to keep Owens on RAW or SmackDown, he’s still interested in going back.

“I think Triple H touched on it in the past in some interviews,” Owens said. “For a while there, it looked like I was going to head back to NXT. I had even discussed it with Vince McMahon and stuff like that. I was excited about it. I don’t know if it would have been a long or short term thing.

“I’ve been vocal about wanting to go back there because I’d love to help make it grow even more and help make it as big as it can get and make it so we have three brands people know about. I would love for people to be just as aware of NXT as they are about Raw and SmackDown. I would have loved to be a part of that, but some decisions were made that I had to stay put on Raw and SmackDown. That’s fine, but I would love the chance to go back.”

Owens continued and said a NXT return sometimes comes up in his talks with Triple H.

“I talk to Triple H pretty regularly and we bring it up once in a while. It’s just about timing,” Owens said of a NXT return. “There’s a lot of opportunities. The landscape of WWE is changing quite a bit through this situation and I think it’s going to keep evolving.

“The ideal scenario for me would be for NXT to be viewed as a third brand, and if it’s not already, it’s pretty close. I’d love to be a part of anything. I love to contribute to SmackDown, to Raw, to NXT. I just want to go where I’m needed and try to make a difference.”

Owen signed with WWE in August 2014 and would make his NXT debut at “Takeover: R Evolution” on December 11 of that year, defeating CJ Parker. Owens would go on to become NXT Champion for the first time by defeating then-champion Sami Zayn at “Takeover: Rival” on February 11, 2015. He was sent to the main roster in the summer of 2015, shortly after losing the NXT Title to Finn Balor. Owens made a surprise return to NXT at “Takeover: WarGames” in November of last year, teaming with Tommaso Ciampa, Dominik Dijakovic and current NXT Champion & NXT North American Champion Keith Lee to defeat The Undisputed Era in the WarGames main event.

Owens is currently working the RAW brand and could be feuding with Seth Rollins again. You can click here for the latest backstage report on Owens, which includes news on his upcoming push.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kevin Owens Reportedly Confronts Vince McMahon Over Masks At TV Tapings

Kevin Owens reportedly confronted Vince McMahon over the lack of masks at WWE TV tapings during the coronavirus pandemic.

WWE French-language commentator Pat Laprade noted during a recent episode of the Les anti-pods de la Lutte podcast and revealed that Owens raised concerns with the WWE Chairman & CEO at the TV tapings held on Friday, July 3 at the Performance Center. This reportedly led to the mandatory mask policy, and the fines for not wearing masks while in the building.

Owens reportedly told McMahon that he was not comfortable with the lack of masks being worn by people in the Performance Center, and people being too close to each other. Owens also told McMahon that he was going home, apparently due to COVID-19 concerns. Vince then asked Owens what he wanted him to do, and Owens allegedly responded by saying Vince is the only person that the WWE crew will listen to.

It was also said that Vince asked Owens if instituting a mask policy with fans would work. Owens then said that he once swore on SmackDown, was fined and never did it again, with the idea that the fine was a deterrent. Vince apparently listened and took action as Owens stayed to work the tapings after noticing that people were starting to wear masks and practice better social distancing.

Friday’s RAW tapings were for tonight’s episode, which will see Owens take on Seth Rollins in singles action.

As we’ve noted, WWE is now issuing $500 fines for not wearing masks, unless a person is performing in front of the camera. The second offense reportedly brings a fine of $1,000.

It was reported back in June that Owens skipped a set of TV tapings after a developmental talent tested positive for the coronavirus. Owens’ wife’s grandfather had passed away from the virus a few weeks before. Owens would later post a heartfelt message about the COVID-19 pandemic, which you can see at this link.

WWE officials told their employees a few months ago that they did not have to work during the pandemic if they didn’t feel comfortable doing so, and that the decision would not be held against them in the future. Owens appeared on WWE’s The Bump in late June and talked about how the company reacted to his decision to miss the tapings in June.

“Due to the circumstances that happened last week with the positive coronavirus test, I just thought it was wiser for me to stay with my family,” Owens said. ” I told the people in charge my decision, and they were like, ‘Yeah, ok.’ I think they know that once I make my mind up on something, that’s the way it’s going to be. They were respectful of my decision. I’m glad I did it because I think this was the best decision for me to do for my family.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.