Kevin Owens- NXT, ROH, PWG, Crying, Family, etc - Sam Roberts & Katie Linendoll

ladies and gentlemen welcome to Sam Roberts whistling cats we're now joined the NXT champion of the world world is here with us Kevin Owens Kevin what's the haps what's the haps that's right wow that's a new there that one before not much how are you guys we're great we're your affiliates its NXT day does it ever get any better than being in Philly I don't think so well do you know I mean you know Philly audiences probably better than anyone on the NXT roster with the exception of maybe Sami Zayn and Finn Balor how do you feel coming into Philly knowing that it's an NXT show are you secure in that they're gonna love what you do are you ready for a negative response you know Philly crowds are always pretty interesting when it comes to this because you know they're rowdy all the time and you really never know what to expect the only thing you can always count on is them being rowdy being loud but as far as which way they're gonna do which way they're gonna go who they're gonna like you know it's always kind of a crapshoot a little bit like last night you know I had a pretty good feeling that you know me Tyler breeze Finn Balor you know our threeway match will be well received but like the coolest part for me last night was seeing a guy like tidal injure who hasn't really been featured on NXT TV and hasn't been exposed a lot to the you know NXT crowd to see him come out as a relative unknown and turned him and by the time he left he had a you know super star reaction I thought that was pretty cool and you know that's the kind of stuff that Philly crowds are great for you know we look at the rumble though and that was pretty unexpected and you you worried ever about being in a crowd like this knowing they're more of an ECW type crowd and well what the expectation is going to be see some people can see it as a worry but to me any emotion is especially when it's this raw and this you know like the rumble crowd was very erratic and obviously very emotional and you know it was loud and it made for great TV regardless of what anybody's gonna say it made for great entertainment you know so I feel like there's some crowds like that you know Phillies Chicago Toronto Montreal like there's a lot of crowds in New York obviously the you know you can always count on that for you don't really know which way they're gonna go but you know it's gonna be something you have to see you know so like the rumble crowd for example it's not so much worry it's more you got a you know which way are they gonna go but you know it's gonna be a great time you know it's gonna be a very involved crowd and you know that's kind of the way I felt about NXT last night and but to see them give the reception and the reaction that they gave us to our product like NXT is what we've been building like our crew you know it's like a little family to see them receive us this way I mean it meant a lot and you know everybody in the back was so happy and tonight's gonna be even better you're in Philly two nights I'll just and back to back what did you take give me an example of something from yesterday that you're gonna tweak knowing the crowd from yet last night I mean I might sound a little arrogant on my end but I don't think I've got anything to tweak or change oh like a place to be I mean I you know I'm still the champion after last night so I'm just gonna go same way and walk out champion and it's gonna be fine you know tonight I've got the demon you know Finn Balor it's been insinuating that he's gonna come out with the paint and everything I guess you know the whole the whole the whole situation kind of changes when he's got that going on I've never been in the ring with him when he had that whole demon side coming out but you know I think I'll be all right yeah I think aside for me being a little more slippery because there's paint on him you'll probably be I assume oh good point Sam I'll probably have like paint on me as well yeah after no but it's okay you wrestled I mean around the world for years independently internationally to the point where people knew who you were um was being here in NXT in WWE with it inevitable or was it something that by the time you got here were you of the mindset if it happens it happens but I'm fine if it doesn't uh I think I told myself that a lot that you know if it happens it happens but if it doesn't it's fine right you know I have other things in my life that make my life very complete I have a wife I have two great kids I have a great family so you know in a sense no in a sense that statement is true you know if it happens it happens great but it was always my dream was always my goal and at one point I thought maybe it wouldn't happen and I was ok with that because I had my wife and my kids and I had you know things that fulfilled me but then when the opportunity came up like there was no thinking like oh should I do this we got to go we got to do it you know and even my wife was like you got to do this so it definitely feels great to be here especially being a part of NXT and like what we're building and seeing how quickly it's growing everyday you know that's an awesome feeling and I'd be lying if I said that you know I would have been fine if it never happened you brought your family into the storyline obviously quite a bit in you know years that's the thing I didn't bring them into the storyline because they are who I am like I remember I was sitting with dusty Rhodes when I first got to the performance Center and I was brand new and they didn't know me nobody knew me and we basically sat down me and dusty and it was recorded just so that they would get an idea of who I was and it was just us talking like there was it wasn't a promo it was nothing it was just me talking to us tea roads so that they could have a sense of who I was and dusty just asked me a couple questions and within a minute I was talking about my kids I was talking about my wife was talking about my family because they are who I am like if I'm not in a ring I'm thinking about them I'm talking to them on the phone if I'm not home um you know what I mean my most you know like most family people like people that have families like my thoughts always were all revolve around my kids and my wife and I think they saw that in me and they probably decided to use it just because it's the biggest part of me in a way you know what was great about it is kind of the story of Kevin Owens in NXT is he's a guy who will stop at nothing to be the best because he wants to provide for his family and while people listening to you don't know you now are like oh what a sweetheart you know he loves his family and for the first time I feel like the idea of being a family man is being used to present you as a villain as a bad guy who is not worried about friends is not worried about any of this stuff because he wants to provide for his family that's that's the spin on it that I think works yeah I mean I think it's all relative I don't like yeah I turn on Sami Zayn who's been my friend for years and I took a moment from him that he had been working for for a very long time but the same time there's always another side to every story I've been working for this a long time I like you said the better I do here the better I provide for my family and that's 100% true you know like if I know there's an opportunity coming up that will get me you know more money the first thing I think I was oh maybe I can get Owen this or I can get my wife of this like that's just how I feel it's just how I am and you know I I do you know Kevin Owens does what he's got to do to ensure that he can take care of his family I mean one of my favorite lines as of late is you get the belt you get more money is there truth to that it is true yeah as soon as I won the belt I had a little meeting with the powers that be and the nice little race came along so and you want it right away so that's a good that's good I'm not a patient person so it all kind of worked out great did you have that in your head going through you're like okay I'm leaving the Indies where I'm making real money I'm leaving you know international travel where I'm making legitimate money you're making a living wrestling already like do you go in when you negotiate this saying okay but I'm not one of these guys that's gonna be spending a year in developmental and then I'll make TV in a year and a half and then I'll kind of like was it was it assumed that you'd be on an accelerated pace no I didn't worry about any of that and I wasn't promised anything I was told you're gonna get the same opportunity everybody gets you know you're gonna work your way up and we'll see and I didn't ask for more money than other people would get I didn't ask well how long am I gonna be in NXT for I didn't ask any of those things because in my head one I could see you know NXT is starting to gain steam before I even came in and since I've come like since I came in and Hadera tommy and finn bálor and everybody you know it's it's grown it's grown exponentially but even before that it was already gaining steam you know so in my head being an NXT sounds pretty good and as far as you know money and all that stuff goes I truly believe that I would be able to show people what I deserve and what I'm you know what I'm good for and what I can bring and I knew you know from talking to a lot of my friends that already work here that when you perform you get back and I knew I would be able to make that happen for myself and so far I have what was it like watching you know the Seth Rollins and the Daniel Bryan's and the Sami Zayn's and then this whole class of guys that you had worked with get here before you was there a moment in your head were you like oh my god like it's passed me by it's not gonna happen you know it was really odd because I would go from thinking that maybe it wouldn't happen to knowing that it would eventually happen and I'd have literally days away and my head I'd be like all right you know this might not happen you got to accept it so the next day I'd be like no this has happening you know and then I'd see like Neville and Sammy and and Brian and Rollins and now like I remember one specific instance a couple years ago when I was watching NXT and Neville was on cuz back in the day a couple years ago before the network came along NXT was with play on the score back in Canada you know on TV so I would watch it every week and seeing that we'll wrestle as proud as I was and happy as I was for him it really upset me I remember and I for about a couple months I couldn't watch it anymore because I felt like I guess I was getting passed by yeah and it wasn't like I feel like I should be there to like how come they haven't contacted me it was almost more of a thing where I would look in the mirror and think what am order are you doing that's not working or why haven't they come to me and it wasn't like can't they see what I do right it was more like what am i doing that's not getting them you know what I mean but eventually the right person saw me at the right time and it all worked out and you know I remember that moment a lot and I remember last year's WrestleMania WrestleMania xxx I bought a ticket and I came to the show by myself yeah and I sat and I watched Daniel Bryan beat Triple H in the opening match I watched a LeBron win the World title I watched Cesaro when the battle royal and like I always remember because from where I was sitting he tossed out Big Show on my side and the entire crowd behind him stood up and went crazy and in my tie was like I have to have those moments you know I have to have this show just a different level of yeah I remember that night I thought it's the last time I go to Wrestlemania without WW bringing me to Wrestlemania and a year later I was at WrestleMania and I was watching as the NXT champion and I was there because the company brought me so that was a great feeling but the people sitting around you at WrestleMania 30 think of the fact that you were there so when I sat down I kind of scan the area and I didn't think anybody recognized me and then after about 20 minutes a guy next to me looked at me and said are you Kevin Steen and I said yes so then for the next hour - you know I spent some time with this guy who was pretty happy to have me next to him and you know and it was nice you know he was a cool guy and it was cool to watch the show and eventually I ended up you know moving somewhere else to have a just a better view of you know the main event but I don't know it really put things in perspective you know that's I guess in my head I was like this is know last night I come to Wrestlemania as a fan yeah and I think it helped me get here now yeah that motivation you know what I mean because you want to go to Wrestlemania yeah I mean I'm you don't want to just sit at home and be like you know how to spite the thing about me is I'm a fan still you know like nights like last night and seeing like I mentioned Dillinger win the crowd over I was a fan when that happened and I'm still a fan you know I was at WrestleMania 31 and when the rock came out to confront Triple H and Stephanie and Ronda Rousey hopped the rail and in my head I'm all I'm a fan I when Seth Rollins won the World Heavyweight title I was going crazy just like every single person there cuz I am a fan but now I'm a fan who gets the work for this company and who will eventually create moments like that and that's just uh I know it's a great thought you know when you come in as Kevin Steen and people obviously know who you are like we were just talking about they recognize you they was it any argument of saying I'm just gonna come in and be Kevin see I'm gonna look like haven't seen him in a dress like haven't seen him in a hack like Kevin Steen why wouldn't you just let me call myself Kevin Steen no you know because in a way everybody that's followed me three years for years and I knew this from the fanbase that I've had and the years I spent on the independent scene I knew they would follow me and I knew they'd support me when we were thinking of the new name it was just in a way to Martin yeah it was to mark the beginning of a new chapter you know we got to get a new name and you know I totaled a couple names but ultimately I was a big hard phone as a kid which is why I named my son Owen and when it was time to pick a new name I suggested Owens Triple H actually suggested Owens as well so we were you know on the same really good place to start and then you know try to find a first name and I don't know Triple H ultimately said well what why don't you just be Kevin Owens and it sounded great to me so here we are and honestly at this point I can't imagine myself being Kevin Steen here like I am Kevin Owens right I know what I mean and to see like the smile on my son's face anytime you know what I mean like he knows it's for him and he understands that his name is a tribute to another wrestler and they know in heart who I was always a big fan of and he's watched like Owen Hart matches and stuff like like it's all a very nice it all has such a positive connection for me that I can't imagine myself being Kevin Steen that's a made-up name your son's been in the ring to fight once he makes his debut yeah yeah that was fun that's pretty good yeah I was good it was just that I mean I think he intends to yeah in a couple of years I think he's gonna be there he you know he loves it and it's a big John Cena fan which I guess I'm gonna have to address eventually yeah no I think he's gonna end up and if not for him honestly my daughter she's only 1 but she she kicks my butt already so get her in there what yeah would your son do it five months so it was the PWG in California we have finished our match and steaming with this guy El Generico we were victorious obviously and my wife was sitting with the baby in the back of the room and one of the announcers started mouthing off to me in the ring and basically called my son ugly it's a big no-no so I took him out got him down and then first thought was he called my son ugly so he's got to get the pinfall I rolled out of the ring I went to get his my little five month old son rolled him in the ring put him on top the referee made three count huge pop and then you know for a second I have to hand them off to Generico so that I could get out of the ring and take him safely and you know I felt a little uneasy about handing off my child to El Generico but he did all right for that one minute and then yeah that was it now it's all over the internet it's it's on DVD and it's gonna live on forever as far as victory what was the transition like getting here because I mean I've watched you do stuff in other places where I mean horrendously dangerous moves like a pile of drivers off of ladders onto ladders and and and and you know dropping people on their heads through tables it's just stuff that doesn't happen in WWE but I think the thinking on the indie level is you know we got to give these guys a show we gotta give them something they haven't seen before to go out there now and know that yeah we have to give them a show but we're not doing any of this stuff is that a weird transition for you to make in your head it's actually great because on the independent scene it's all about you're selling yourself to a crowd who might not know you or might know you but ultimately you're working for yourself when you get here yes you're trying to sell yourself and you're trying to get as far as you can as an individual but for NXT in particular we're all working towards the same goal which is to make the NXT brand as big and as special as we can so all those crazy moves and and dangerous moves that you mentioned you know there's a time and a place for stuff like that I think but right now NXT is not it because what we're doing works great and we're building a new audience though right and I also think you know people have to put things in perspective when I was working on the independent scene I was wrestling twice or three times a week and then you know the following week I could have the entire week off and then two matches here week off to match there here we do this you know the main roster especially for nights five nights a week every week the whole year that stuff just wouldn't fly because it's you know you want people to stay as healthy as for as long as they can not only for you know the product to keep being successful but you got to think of those people's quality of life like the guys when they're 50 when they're 60 they want to be able to walk around enjoy their life that they spent years building and you know what I mean the benefit from it but I think the crowds have become conditioned to that and they expect like they don't expect us to go out and fall off a ladder through the table and I love that part of it because you don't have to fall on the ladder through a table speaks for itself what do you think of where NXT is it do you want to stay in NXT and kind of be the the face of it or is it something where okay you kind of came in you took the thing by storm now it's ready to move on to the next thing you know I'm all about opportunities when I came in 10 XT I had this opportunity I took it I took advantage of it I made it work and right now things are going great but if I see an opportunity to get myself on Raw and Smackdown every week and on pay-per-view and I'm WB network and all that stuff of course I'm gonna take it if that champion makes even more money exactly well though your patience I mean have you put a timeline on it for yourself I didn't I just I don't know I have a I have a lot of faith in myself and and what I do and I think when it has when it's meant to happen it will happen so I'm not thinking if it's in a year if it's in two years if it's in a week if it's you know in months I I just don't think that way I don't know it I didn't think that way when I got here either you know also as far as patience I'm not a patient person but it legitimately took me 14 years to get here so if it takes me another 3 to get to the main roster I'm in an XT we're right now we're thriving and everything is going amazing and it's the hottest product currently in sports entertainment industry so is this an annoying question to be getting right now to know a lot of people ask you that about uh I mean roster mean roster I get it on Twitter oh man I get it on Twitter all the time but Twitter is so easy it's a either just the home or you will have enough time and talk about it's easy to either ignore or block you know so I'm a big blocker I think there was a really interesting gray area where you're kind of in between contracts and did you ever have that moment where you thought maybe it just wasn't gonna pan out and you ever go back to that place and kind of remember those it was a very probably humbling time actually I like I knew I was coming here before my ring of honor deal was ever up so that's very convenient who took a liking to you here because you don't have a stereotypical quote unquote you know WWE bill you don't look like the face of the company or whatever you're very you you have your own look you kind of like like Mick Foley did he doesn't look like the guy but he's good enough and fans appreciate him enough that he is who took a liking to you and said no no no no look past that and watch this match and figure out that he can be this well the first person had to be William Regal he came to a show in California pwg in August of 2013 and you know I knew he was there and I knew almost I heard he was gonna come about a week before the show and I think at that moment I knew it was gonna happen I knew literally like the chain of events in my head or it was gonna happen he was gonna see me he was gonna help me get in here and you know things would snowball and that's exactly what happened I remember telling my wife about a week before the PWG show like I think this is it and she was like what are you basing that on you know what if he's just coming to have a good time and watch the show I'm like sure but if when he sees me he's not gonna be able to not deny it and I think I was right you know I don't know if he was as gung-ho about me as I hoped he would be but he saw enough in me to you know help me get a tryout and then at the tryout I did what I did it worked out as far as who took a liking to me I mean I don't know that you know I don't know for a fact who likes me who doesn't like me but I think whoever does like me is obviously important enough to you know to keep the ball rolling you know I know I've been working with Triple H to become you know like I want to become what this company needs I want to become what the industry needs so that I can keep getting higher and higher and you know at the same time it's so do you yeah you know it's funny because I remember the first week I got to the Performance Center there was this photo shoot at the Performance Center you know to like where they kind of just film you in the ring in your gear and you know it's to use for like whatever promotional promotional material or you know the titantron stuff like that and I didn't know who I was gonna be I didn't know what I was gonna be I didn't know anything and I didn't have any direction nobody told me you walk here's what we were gonna do with you there was none of that yet it wasn't even a plan it was just like okay you got to be here at 5:00 in your gear for these pictures and I remember thinking well what's my gear because at that point I was wrestling on the in the backseat I was wrestling on the independent scene and I cut off to you shirt and shorts I was thinking well this is WWE it's obvious I'm not gonna fly so I had a singlet magnet or two singlets mate I think I spent over $1,000 in singlets and then I put on the singlet and I looked and I was like that's this isn't me right I wouldn't pay to see this guy and then I put on shorts and I put on a cut-off t-shirt that I had I turned it inside out it was Guns and Roses cutoff t-shirt and I'm like well I can't go out there with blank shirt either and finn bálor happened to be painting himself at the time and I grabbed the paint brush from him and I I painted some words on the shirt and with the paint and the look I came downstairs and Chris Chambers was producing the stuff and kind of overseeing the production it was like looks really interesting this is really cool and then in mind I was like oh my god I think I mean I think this is it I'm just meeting budget success right that was like why was I even worried about this and then the night of my debut they came out with this they're like this is gonna be your shirt we're gonna sell tonight and I'm like oh can I just wear it out to the ring yeah sure that's hi could I have one of these are gonna pair of scissors I cut the sleeves off and you're right on yeah I mean that's how they signed you so it's like yeah this is yeah I mean I I thought it was gonna be an adjustment and a lot of ways it was but at the same time there's a lot of vindication that goes into the fact that a lot of people have told me you won't make it there the way you are right mm-hmm I did was there a moment when you were like I gotta be clean-cut like this is not to look for them I got to trim down I got to be clean-cut I got to be you know muscular and and eight pack abs and you know I didn't I never thought that because first through genetics and you know just life and not gonna happen I don't think it's gonna happen you know I work hard to be in as good physical shape as I can to go in the ring as good as I can and I don't think anybody out there could ever say that I don't go in the ring as far as how I look you know I feel like this is part of the appeal and at this point I've been accepted the way I am and you know I take great pride in being accepted the way I am yeah so you know you mentioned Mick Foley earlier I feel a lot of there's a lot of parallels between me and McFaul II and you know I say that as humble as I can be like you know I'm not comparing myself to him in any way but I've read stuff that he's written kind of comparing us and that's such a compliment you know and and like even beyond the ring like I don't know he's got a way he's got a wife that's way too beautiful for him and I'm sure he'd attest to it I exact same he's got great kids I've got great kids you know when when we're not in the ring somewhere we're taking the kids to you know amusement parks left and right so like even beyond the ring there's I just see a lot of you know things that I have in common with him and he made an entire career and a great living off of being who he is yeah and you know in a way he's a great example for me is that what you do hobby wise it's like when you're outside the ring and you want to get wrestling out of your head is it just I'm gonna take the kids somewhere there's no play land man big fan whenever I have a day off I just see what my wife wants to do and we go that way Sam's always available to babysit by the way I'm here a great great mentor I can teach me a lot yeah you want a quick flight over for a Saturday night they then but right yeah you know whatever my wife wants to do it's the least I can do you know she she moved away from her family to come here with me she thinks got the kids on her own when I'm not around there's no support system here for her you know but she's great and my kids are great so when I have a day off I'm trying to make it all about them live-in housekeepers that's main roster money yeah I think so too well you heard from Kevin Owens he's humble he's perfect no need to improve on anything and he's the next Mick Foley here's the thing yeah I'm not perfect however I think I do great of making people accept my faults and turning them into positives and of course I never said I was the next Mick Foley one final question for you how often do you cry in the shower I don't cry in the shower I cry in the car a lot do you yeah but you know it's from like I get it's since I've had my kids I get real emotional at the weirdest things like I'll hear a news report about I don't know like a soldier coming home and surprising his kids at school that's it oh my god it's a radio thing forget the Lifetime movies yeah a radio ad I mean I saw this I saw this video on YouTube of this news reporter interviewing a woman who had just went through tornadoes and I think it was all hi oh maybe like a year or two ago and she said I lost my dog and you know I I prayed to God that my dog would live through this and he didn't but that's okay and as she says that a dog pops out from I've seen the video it's just destroyed me for about a half hour but you know DirectBuy the dog hears your voice I don't under this pile of rubble right let me clarify this don't take me lightly cuz I cry at soldiers coming home and dogs coming out of the rubble you're all 40 because it all makes me more angry in the ring let's be honest you look I don't know you have to go septic oh that was great great word skeptical I really didn't think I was gonna get a legit answer it was a very very pleased with it yeah if there's one thing about me that I think is a you know and advantages I'm very genuine as much like yes so yeah yeah I cry but I never beat people up really hard so yeah if I ever end up in like an altercation with you or we have a disagreement I'm just gonna carry around photos of like kids with balloons look how happy this kid is like I love my kids don't care as much about other people's kids oh so I don't know maybe if you if you get a picture of my own kids with balloon but then I'll be like why do you have a picture of my kids it's really weird and it might just make things worse one two I want to set my computer on fire how much does it annoy you when people post pictures of their kids on Facebook I don't mind that because I do it I put my kids on Twitter or my facebook probably maybe not my I didn't have a Facebook for several years I still don't my wife has though and she probably did put a sonogram on there but I'm okay with other people doing it I just don't carry it like my wife will do this so go on Instagram and she'll be like oh oh my god look at this baby and I'll be like I don't I don't yeah baby is that my baby shake no I'm like is it a missing dog I don't know we don't care dogs cats this whole understand yeah and it is ballsy by the way to put your family out there like that because that is the number one way to get pissed off on Twitter just to put people that are close to you and your personal life out there and have people comment on the photos let me say this people have been great so far I'm very I'm surprised because yeah there's a lot of those people who just looking for a reason to piss you off and make one comment or you know but no people are very respectful and I'm very impressed and I I'm sure it might change as I get more recognition and you know but at the same time you know whoever that goes out and does that obviously has an empty life so when I see somebody do that if anything I feel bad for them and then I block them and they're out of my life you know what I mean and don't see him on the street because he will break your face that's correct unless you have a video of a soldier coming home well Kevin Owens thanks for hanging out of course NXT is on the WWE Network every Wednesday the Big Takeover special is this Wednesday and you guys are on the road now so it's a it's a big big time for you yeah it's a great time I get to take Sami Zayn out on Wednesday at a live special and hopefully make a lot of people cry because of that to even things out and you know one more night tonight in Philly we're gonna rock the house if you make people cry it's okay to cry I mean I you know it's just a balancing act I cry a lot yes but how many people do I make cry right you know that's the difference well played yeah well thanks a lot for hanging out man you guys

Channel: notsam

Views: 130,769

Rating: 4.945261 out of 5

Keywords: kevin owens, kevin steen, nxt, wwe, roh, pwg, ring of honor, pro wrestling guerilla, NXT Wrestling (Business Operation), promo, entrance, theme, song, shoot, interview, young bucks, el generico, john cena, raw, debut, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (Organization), finisher, finn balor, piledriver, sam roberts, radio, show, siriusxm, wrestling, podcast, katie linendoll, ladder, haps, Professional Wrestling (Sport), WWE RAW (Recurring Competition)

Id: vcx24gPdPbs

Length: 31min 26sec (1886 seconds)

Published: Wed May 20 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/Killloneliness]

I can't believe English isn't his first language. He speaks so damn well. He is a goldmine waiting to happen for WWE.

[u/blinkdmb]

It really was a great interview!