WWE SmackDown Superstar Kevin Owens said he still kind of feels like he belongs on the RAW brand during his recent interview with Scott Fishman of Tucson.com. Owens made the comments when asked how the atmosphere of the locker room changed during the months he was away, given the call-ups and departures.
“There is a big difference between the Raw locker room and the SmackDown locker room. At least, there used to be,” Owens said. “When we first did the brand extension, I was on Raw and then went to SmackDown. I could feel the difference between those two rosters. It was dramatic. I came back to Raw, then the differences were evident. I felt more at home on Raw. Now I’m back on SmackDown and still kind of feel like I belong on Raw, but less than before. I guess what I’m trying to say is, since my injury, I don’t think the locker room has changed that much… the SmackDown locker room feels the same as it did before I left to go back to Raw.”
Owens has talked about how great he felt coming back from his recent injury and the double knee surgery. Owens said a lot of rehab was the key to this return. He was asked what the process was like with this recovery after going through other injuries in the past.
“A lot of rehab,” he said. “You work hard to come back as soon as you can, but at the same time, WWE and the doctors tell you that you’re safe and do everything you can to be properly rehabilitated. It’s a bit of a mind game there. Sometimes you have to pull yourself back because there is a such a thing as too much rehab and just doing too much when you are trying to recuperate from a surgery like that.
“I would say at the point I went to get these surgeries my mind needed as much of a break as my body did. I’d been going full tilt for four years from the time I showed up on the main roster to then — May 2015 to October 2018. It was really nonstop. I remember when I signed with WWE my daughter was three months old. When I came home in October, she was four-and-a-half. I had to take a step back for my own sanity. The time off — as good as it was for my knees and physically — it was so beneficial mentally. I’m the type of person who, when I’m not with my wife and my kids and thinking about them, I only think about this. To a point I’d say some people would say it could be a detriment, and it plays against me. That’s just how I am.”
Regarding potential changes to the WWE product, Owens said he would like to see more of the creative pieces we see from the WWE Digital team. Owens was asked what he would change or what he would like to see more of on WWE TV when it comes to the product.
“I think a good idea would be to implement these incredible pieces on everyone that have ended up on YouTube,” he said. “The digital team is so great, they are unsung heroes. These guys create these incredible pieces on people and characters, they put them on YouTube, and they are so good. The same thing with the Network, like with WWE 24 and 365 or Chronicle. I feel like we should implement these concepts and put them on TV because they would make for great television and complement our TV shows well. I’d like to see that happen moving forward.”
