Kevin Owens On Conflicting Emotions After Finn Balor Vacated Title, ROH Alumi Having Success In WWE

WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens was recently a guest on Talk Is Jericho. Among other things, the Jeri-KO members discussed what it is like for Owens to be on top of WWE with some of his closest friends, Finn Bálor's sidelining injury, and Owens' 'Heartbreak Kid' fandom.

According to Owens, it is "really crazy" to see the success he and his friends from the independent professional wrestling scene have attained in WWE.

"We knew we all had the same goal, right? We'd be in a Ring Of Honor locker room or a PWG locker room or whatever and it'd be me, Sami [Zayn], Neville, Daniel Bryan, or Seth Rollins, or even, he might not be happy if I say, but Jimmy Jacobs, who now works here behind-the-scenes."

Owens continued, "so now we're all together here, and, obviously, Bryan isn't wrestling anymore and that's a shame, but he's still, you know what I mean? He's still there. Now RAW and SmackDown [have] split rosters, but it's crazy. Like, I was just sitting at catering with Sami and Jimmy and Seth and [Jericho] came to sit with us. And we're just, that's what we used to do at Ring Of Honor except there was no catering, so we'd bring our own food and just kind of sit at the same table. I don't know. It's pretty wild to see that. Like not only did we make it, but we're all pretty successful here. That's the coolest part. Yeah, and you know, Finn, Cass, all those guys... I didn't meet Finn until I came to WWE or to NXT when we both got there. I didn't meet Cass until, even though he did a couple years in the independents, I didn't meet Cass until then too, but they're very much a part of the crew as well, in terms of guys who just grinded to get here and always dreamed to be here and now we all are. And it's a pretty incredible feeling."

The longest reigning WWE Universal Champion called Bálor's recent shoulder injury "heart-wrenching". Owens went on to say that he told Bálor that the silver lining in the situation is that he was never defeated for the championship and will return in a good spot.

"It was really heart-wrenching because, so, I saw him get hurt. I knew he was hurt. Yeah, but I didn't know it was serious because he kept going like nothing happened. And then, he won the title and I got emotional because we're very close friends," Owens admitted. "Yeah, it was really heart-wrenching to see, but I feel like, at the same time, it's kind of like what I told Rollins once he hurt his knee: 'you never lost the title. You're going to come back stronger than ever. People are going to be so excited for you to be here. There is a silver lining, as hard as it is to see for now.'"

Although the so-called 'Prizefighter' admitted that he seized the opportunity left by his injured friend, Bálor's positive reaction to 'KO”s big title win makes the man from Marieville, Quebec, Canada feel better about the situation.

"When I heard, officially, that he was relinquishing the title, obviously, that opens a door and I was like, 'well, I'm going to kick that door [in].' You know what I mean? 'I'm going to kick that door in.' I don't know. So it was very conflicting emotions, but I think what made me feel better about the whole thing, because when I won the title, he [was] one of the first people that I thought of. Like, I thought of my wife, my kids, my parents, my grandfathers who died before they could see me wrestle in WWE, but I thought of [Finn] too, who was at home. I honestly had to hold back throwing up the 'too sweet' for him just as a little wink, but I came back, I talked to my wife, I talked to my parents, and then I FaceTimed him. And to see his smile and how happy he was, and even his parents were there too and they were all happy, it just made me feel so much better. Do you know what I mean because we all know, eventually, he'll come back."

Also during the podcast, Owens admitted that he still marks out for Shawn Michaels. Owens claimed that he would like to sit in on Michaels' class at WWE Performance Center.

"When he comes around, I'll be honest, I'm kind of like a giggling schoolgirl. Like, he's the one guy. Steve Austin or The Rock come by and I'll talk to them and it's great, but I can still contain myself. When Shawn's here? He made me want to do this, so when I get to sit next to him and watch the show, like in Australia last year, he was on the whole tour with us and every night, I'd sit next to him and we'd talk about what's happening in a match, wrestling, we'd talk about family, our kids. Stuff like that blows my mind."

Owens added, "I don't know the specifics, but I know he goes to the Performance Center and I know he's working with some people. Like, I know he was at the last NXT television tapings. I was legitimately upset that I don't live in Florida anymore because if I did, and I even talked to my wife about it, because I don't know the specifics yet, but the next time I have a few days off in a row, I said, 'I think I'm going to go to Florida, if that's okay.' She's like, 'yeah, okay.' I'm like, 'you know, Shawn Michaels is there.' She goes, 'yeah, yeah, it's fine.' I just want to go sit in on his class one day or something, but I don't even know if he has a class. I don't know what the specifics are. I just know that he wants to go help down there and he [has] been doing it and he [has] been going to the P.C. here and there. He was at the TV tapings. Yeah, I'd love to be around just to learn more."

Check out the podcast here. If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Source: Talk Is Jericho