Kevin Owens Thinks Independent Scene No Longer Exists

Kevin Owens has given his thoughts on the independent circuit.

Through the 2000s and into the early 2010s, promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Ring of Honor became hugely positive as an alternative to WWE. In fact, many argue that the style that made these promotions stand out has now become the norm in the likes of WWE and AEW.

This is often put down to many of those talents, such as Bryan Danielson, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and CM Punk, moving to North America’s two biggest promotions.

During an appearance on What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens was asked about his current standouts on the independent scene, but he explained that he’s unable to give a simple answer.

“I can’t tell you because I don’t follow it enough. I’m a huge wrestling fan and I try to follow as much wrestling as I can. Everything has changed so much. It almost feels, and I know I’m going to get in relative trouble for this with the fans. It almost feels like there is no independent scene anymore. I know there is, I just don’t know enough about it because it’s just not what it used to be.

A lot of it is because independent talents in the last few years have been signed. I’m not saying there are no independent standouts, I just don’t know them. Probably, a lot of it, is I have less time to pay attention to wrestling. I wish I had an answer, I really don’t. I don’t know who is out there,”

Kevin Owens Struggling Physically As Surgery Nears

During the same conversation, Kevin Owens revealed that he’ll finally undergo neck surgery in mid-July after being forced to step away from the ring back in April.

The former World Champion explained that doctors were keen to let his spinal cord heal on its own before ultimately going under the knife. However, as more time has passed, Owens admitted that he’s now in pain every day, describing his situation as “f*cking brutal.”

Owens also reiterated that there’s no guarantee he’ll wrestle again, even after recovering from surgery.

H/t to Fightful