Kevin Owens On Talking With Paul Heyman For The Past Few Years, Making The Stunner His Own, More

Kevin Owens recently spoke with The New York Post to promote Sunday's WWE SummerSlam match against Shane McMahon, where he will put his career on the line. Owens talked about using the Stunner as his finisher and said he got permission from WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin back in 2016 after asking. Owens said even then he felt like his Pop-Up Powerbomb was losing its luster.

"Every time I hit it, people are partying, and that's what I'm looking for," Owens said of the Stunner.

Regarding his recent babyface turn, Owens said he gets to listen to the WWE fans and deliver what they want in order to get the maximum reaction. He said the change feels rejuvenating and exciting.

"This feels different than what I've done for a while now," Owens said. "And it feels rejuvenating and exciting, which is always what you want in wrestling and also, I'm having a pretty good time."

Owens continued on about the Stunner when asked about the importance of making the move his own, as opposed to looking like an impersonation of Stone Cold. Owens said for now he almost doesn't want to make the move his own, which is why he's been delivering the Stunner the same way Austin did, setting it up with the kick to the gut. Owens said that could change but he's hesitant. He said, "Randy Orton's RKO is very similar and the way he goes about it is ? part of it is respect for Randy, I guess. I don't want to just do something that looks a lot like what he does. Not that I don't think he would care, but that's just me. And then as far as just establishing it and getting people used to, 'Hey, that's the guy that does the Stunner,' you know, once I feel that people are used to it, maybe there are ways to kind of go into it differently or use it differently where it will be a little more my own. But for now I'm not worried about that."

Owens was also asked about WWE hiring Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman as the Executive Directors of RAW and SmackDown. He said he doesn't know what their roles are when asked about the impact he hopes they bring, but he did say that having them in the locker room will only help those who seek the help.

"I've talked to Paul at length about everything under the sun for a couple years now, and I'm sure I'll develop, hopefully, the same kind of relationship with Eric because I certainly feel like I can learn from those guys," Owens revealed.