Kevin Owens on re-signing with WWE: Vince McMahon ‘wanted me to stay’
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
Former Universal champ Kevin Owens recently inked a new deal with WWE, and this week on "Out of Character," he shared some details on how quickly the whole thing came together.
Subscribe to "Out of Character with Ryan Satin" on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for more candid conversations with your favorite Superstars, legends and on-air talent each week!
As 2021 was nearing its end, wrestling fans were buzzing with anticipation about whether Owens would sign a new deal with WWE or venture elsewhere in the industry. In December, however, the 37-year-old confirmed that he was staying put.
When asked on the podcast about his decision, Owens admitted that it was an easy choice and revealed that he had been signed for a few weeks before the information became public.
"WWE really didn’t let me think about it much. They made it clear they wanted me to stay," he said. "I dealt with Vince [McMahon] 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."
Owens first signed with WWE in 2014 following a successful career on the independent circuit. Since then, he has risen to the top of the company and become a utility player who can be utilized across the board. Whether as host for an interview segment, random tag team partner or main event title contender, Owens always delivers.
Given that, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the company did what it could to make re-signing an easy decision for Owens.
"As I've documented before, there’s ups and downs to this thing — to WWE, to wrestling, to the industry," he said. "I feel like I'm on a really a great upswing right now, and I'm enjoying what I do. I'm really enjoying myself a lot lately.
"So that’s great, and 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 try to find a way back up. I've always taken that outlook. I'm having a great time these days."
That "great time" includes Owens' recent pairing with Seth Rollins.
After years of being on opposing sides of the ring, the duo have started teaming up, and their work together has already provided some incredibly entertaining moments.
"I always knew Seth and I had good chemistry as opponents, but we were never on the same side before — and it’s really enjoyable," Owens said of their work together. "It has been great. People enjoy it, and that’s very important."
"Obviously, I’ve known him for a very long time, so it’s cool to be on a different side of things," he continued. "We just go and do stuff. We bounce back off of each other, and more than half the time, he doesn’t know what I’m gonna say, I don’t know what he’s gonna say, and I guess that makes for entertaining times."
Another thing Owens is clearly having fun with on the "Road to WrestleMania" is bashing Texas on WWE TV and social media.
Because of that, I couldn’t help but ask Owens if he is worried that all the trash talk might catch up to him in the form of a Texas legend making an appearance at WrestleMania to shut him up.
"No. No. I’m not worried about that," he said with confidence.
"When you speak from the heart, nothing bad can happen to you."
For more with Kevin Owens, listen to this week’s "Out of Character" on podcast platforms or watch the video below.
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
