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Kevin Owens Comments on WWE’s Wild Card Rule, His Brief Run as Part of New Day, Sami Zayn and More

TJR Wrestling

Kevin Owens will team up with his good friend Sami Zayn to face Xavier Woods and Big E at Stomping Grounds this Sunday, June 23rd. Owens took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to Brian Fritz of Sporting News. Here are a few excerpts from their interview.

On the complicated “Wild Card Rule” that WWE implemented recently:

“I guess the whole point of the wild-card rule is to add a sense of unpredictability to all the shows and I guess it definitely has achieved that because you never know who is going to show up where. The wild-card rule itself was very loosely defined when it was first announced and it’s been loosely enforced since it’s been announced (laughs). I guess it was supposed to be four guys at first and now, really, 10 guys show up one night, three guys show up the next night, whatever. But like I said, I think the whole point is to give a more unpredictable feel to the show itself and it has definitely achieved that.

I would prefer being on Raw and Smackdown both just because if I’m not on Raw that week, I’m on the road and not working. Any day I’m away from home, I’d rather be working because spending time away from my family to do nothing is not something that jives well with me. I certainly prefer being on both Raw and Smackdown both of the same week as opposed to having the night off on Monday.”

On his brief (two weeks) run as part of The New Day:

“Yeah, it was a different side of me and I think a lot of people enjoyed it and I was having fun with it as well. I try to pride myself on being able to deliver what’s needed out of me every night. That was a real departure from what I’ve been doing, so to be able to do it in a way where people really enjoy it was rewarding.”

On his friendship with Sami Zayn and wanting to separate himself from Zayn on WWE TV even though they are close friends:

“Yeah, we’ve been on the road for so long. It’s great to go back and look at the experiences we’ve shared. Obviously, when one is not doing too well, we can try to lift each other up, and that’s a positive. He’s definitely the guy I’m closest with on the roster just by default because of how long we’ve known each other and everything we’ve experienced together. It’s always good to have someone like that around.”

“I think he and I both were kind of looking forward to being on our own a little and that’s not how it worked out. I’m always happy to team with him because of all the history we’ve had and it’s always great to be in there with somebody you know this well, but I do think that eventually, it would be nice to have some time apart and just be away from each other for a little while just to do something different, if anything.”

You can read the rest of the interview here.