Ahead of his monumental clash with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38, Kevin Owens has opened up about his decision to sign a new contract and remain with WWE when it looked like a departure from the company was on the cards.
Back in December, Kevin Owens put pen to paper on a new WWE deal which will see him remain with the company for three more years. By the time an agreement was reached, Owens’ previous contract had a little over a month to run.
‘The Prizefighter’ has opened up in an exclusive interview with Inside The Ropes‘ very own Kenny McIntosh about that very decision:
“No, not at all. I had no idea. I mean, I really would have never imagined any of this would happen at any point until a few weeks ago. So, you know, I made that decision because I felt like it was the best for me and WWE really feels like my family. I’ve been here for a very long time, so the prospect of not being here anymore felt very odd to me.
But until we started talking about contract negotiations, I really didn’t know what was going to happen, obviously. But then once we started discussing that, it was made clear to me that they wanted me to stay. So from that point on, I kind of, you know, I knew this is that’s what was going to happen.”
Speaking at the tail end of 2021, Kevin Owens said that choosing to stay with WWE was “an easy decision to make,” adding that it was the best thing for his family.
During a recent appearance on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Owens offered more details on how the deal came together. The former Universal Champion revealed that he negotiated directly with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who made it clear that he wanted him to stay.
“WWE didn’t really let me think about it much, they made it clear they wanted me to stay. Vince McMahon, I dealt with Vince directly and he made it clear he wanted me to stay. We made an agreement right then and there. I’m a big believer in…my career is going to go the way it goes and I’m going to do my best with it. I’m there now for a couple more years and I’m going to do my best to get opportunities and knock them out of the park and reap the benefits.”
Continuing on, Kevin Owens commented on how much fun he is having with his recent alliance with Seth Freakin’ Rollins.
“As I’ve documented before, there are ups and downs with this thing; to WWE, to wrestling, to the industry. I feel like I’m a great upswing right now and I’m enjoying what I do. I’m really enjoying myself a lot lately. Hopefully, it keeps going that way. If it eventually stops feeling that way and I feel like I’m on the downswing, then it’s up to me to find a way back up. I’ve always taken that outlook. I’m having a great time these days.”