The 42-year-old WWE veteran Kevin Owens finally made his highly anticipated return to in-ring competition after being away for nearly a year-and-a half at WWE SummerSlam Night Two this past Sunday, August 2nd. He won the #1 Contender Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship by defeating Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, and GUNTHER in an exciting Fatal 4-Way Match.
After the show, Owens appeared on the WWE SummerSlam Sunday Post-Show, where he discussed various topics.
This is what Kevin Owens said (to loud “Thank you Kevin~!” crowd chants):
“Thank you, I really appreciate it. I really appreciate that a lot. And yes, it was a rough road, honestly. It really, really was. But none of that matters, because now I’m here.”
On if there was ever a moment when he thought he wouldn’t return and if he would make peace that his career would be over:
“I mean, there was a moment when I thought it wasn’t gonna happen. And I definitely did not make peace with it, because I was not ready. And you know [Big E] getting this taken away from you when you’re not ready is hard. But I had such a great group to support me while I went through it. You know, my wife, my kids, my parents that got me through all this. My friends, the WWE medical staff, even you [Big E]. I would talk to you a lot. But I was never okay with it. But honestly — and thankfully, up until a month ago, I was like, ‘This may be it.’ We kept doing scans, it kept not showing exactly what we were looking for as far as the healing process from the surgery. And then I was like, ‘I dunno, maybe it’s not going to happen.’ And then a few weeks ago, we did a scan and they were like, ‘We finally saw what we needed to see. You can get back in the ring.’ And from there, here I am.”
On the reaction to his return:
“Funny enough, it’s hard when you’re in that moment to even hear that reaction. Because the music’s playing, you’re emotional, and the way the sound travels in stadiums is different than arenas. And in that moment, I could see people seem to be very happy. But I remember thinking, ‘This is what Stone Cold meant at WrestleMania 38, when we spoke about the match we had several weeks later when he was telling me, ‘I couldn’t hear the crowd. I didn’t know if the crowd was happy to see me.’ Which in my head, I was like, ‘You’re a psychopath.’ But now I get it, I’m like, ‘Oh, okay. I see what he meant.’ But once I got in the ring, that’s kind of where the noise hits you and everything and it was incredible.”
On finally getting in the ring again after all this time:
“Getting in the ring and seeing the faces I saw, even though we’re in the same match facing each other. GUNTHER: don’t know the guy particularly well, but I respect him as a professional wrestler so much, probably the best wrestler in the world. Finn Balor: he and I, away from these cameras, he’s like a brother to me. And I don’t have to mention my relationship with Sami and the ups and downs we have been through, but the last 25 years of our career have been linked together. I couldn’t have asked for a better scenario to come back to.”
When asked about how his family feels:
“Yeah, everybody’s super happy, everybody was there to support me. It was incredible to have them here. My parents were at home and I called them as well when I was done, just to make sure everybody knew I was relatively okay. As okay as you can be after such a demanding match. But I did want to make a point. I’m not back to half-ass this stuff. [KO faces the crowd] I’ve been told by everyone, the WWE medical staff, my family, everybody, even my surgeon, please be careful. And I told all of them, okay I’ll bee careful. I’m never being careful. I’m giving everything I have, always. If that means I’m done in two years, that means I’m done in two years. But we’re gonna have a blast for two years. Hopefully it’s longer than that. But you’re never getting less than everything I have. I promise you that.”
On becoming the #1 Contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship and in closing (to the crowd chanting “You Deserve It~!”):
“I think there’s gonna be a lot to talk about – that fact – soon. But before I go, I just wanna say this. I am so thankful for so many people. I just said it: my family, my parents, Big E, my friends, everyone. I need to say these people’s names: Terra and Shawn, the physical trainers at the performance center that helped me get back on my feet. Adam Kanter and his assistant Gina, the surgeon who performed the surgery on me. Without them, I would not be here. I owe them so much. Things were tough and when things weren’t looking great, I would look around me at what could help me get through the tough times. And there’s somebody called Tanea Brooks who is known to wrestling fans as ‘Rebel’. She has not wrestled here, but some things are bigger than wrestling. She’s currently battling ALS, and the way she’s doing it is so incredible. And I looked at her and what she was going through and the way she powers through it, and it was truly inspirational.
So, I want to thank everyone I just mentioned, because everybody helped me so much. Thank you.”
You can watch KO and the entire WWE SummerSlam Sunday Post-Show on WWE’s YouTube channel here:
video © WWE
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