Kevin Owens has admitted that being left off Elimination Chamber in his hometown of Montreal “sucked.”
Less than a month before the event, KO had been in the main event of the Royal Rumble, challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The night ended with him losing the match and being viciously assaulted by Reigns, Solo Sikoa, and the Usos.
However, it was a key chapter The Bloodline saga as Sami Zayn turned on his Tribal Chief to come to Owens’ aid. The betrayal of Reigns led to Zayn getting his own shot at the title in Montreal.
Owens says he was instrumental in bringing Elimination Chamber to Montreal in the first place, so not having a match in front of his hometown crowd hurt.
“I wasn’t on that show and that hurt. I’ve got to be honest with you … a sold-out pay-per-view in my hometown.
“To be quite honest, I think I was pretty instrumental in bringing it there because right after we did Raw and Smackdown (in Montreal), I kept telling them we need a pay-per-view there, we need a pay-per-view there and they finally do it and I’m not even on the show. That sucked.”
Although he didn’t have an official match, KO did return the favour from the Royal Rumble to Zayn, helping his friend fend off the Bloodline when they tried to assault him after the main event.
For Owens, though, the appearance felt “meaningless.”
“I’m not going to mince my words, that sucked and I was upset about it. But what can you do? I did get to show up in the end there a little bit, but by that point, it was nothing, it was meaningless.
“But to see Sami get that moment, to see Sami get that reaction, to see Sami get something he deserved for so long, that really made that a lot easier to swallow. And it’s all a credit to him.”
In a recent interview with TNT Sports, Kevin Owens discussed Paul Heyman telling him to “threaten to quit” over being left off the WrestleMania 35 card.
How long does Kevin Owens plan to continue wrestling?
During the same interview, Kevin Owens was asked about his in-ring future. Although the star has previously said he would still be competing in 10 years, he’s no longer sure if that’s the case.
In fact, the former Universal Champion admitted that he doesn’t know where he’ll be after his WWE contract expires in 18 months beyond wanting to continue his involvement in the wrestling business.