Major WWE Star Was “Never Happy” During World Title Run

Life wasn’t easy at the top for one of WWE’s biggest stars.

Kevin Owens exploded onto the WWE scene in NXT in 2014, and he enjoyed a rapid-fire run of success.

By mid-May 2015, Owens had debuted on the main roster by attacking John Cena, and it wasn’t long until he tasted further access winning the United States, Intercontinental, and Universal Titles.

However, during a new interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, Owens admitted his mindset during his Universal Title run in 2016 and into 2017 wasn’t especially healthy. The star said he was never happy during this stage of his career as he was too fixated on what came next.

“It’s natural to want to be on WrestleMania in the biggest way possible and winning titles. It’s still an accolade that’s incredibly flattering. Incredibly deserving and rewarding. But I think what helped me be less obsessed, I guess, by that aspect of it is from 2015 to 2018, 2019—that’s all I could think about.

That was when I was champion all the time. I was Intercontinental Champion, I was US Champion, I was the Universal Champion, and I was never happy. Never happy. I always wanted to do more. I wanted the next week to be bigger.

I’d finish a match and think, ‘Okay, what’s next week now?’ And you know, the people I’d speak to were like, ‘I don’t know, we don’t know what’s next week, we’ll figure it out.’ You know what I mean?

And I really didn’t enjoy any of it as much as I should have. I went away and had double knee surgery in 2018. I spent five months at home, away from it, and I think that really helped me put things in perspective.”

Owens went on to recall a conversation with Shawn Michaels during this period while away from the company that helped put things into perspective. KO explained that since then he’s been better at taking a step back and enjoying the moment.

“Just hearing it from somebody I looked up to so much just kind of helped me let go of that. And since then, I’ll still have my moments where I get swept up, but I’m able to pull back, go like, ‘Hey, this is pretty incredible.’ Maybe it’s not perfect, or maybe it’s not the way you think it should be sometimes, but come on. That’s been very helpful.

Since then, that change of perspective. I’ve been in the ring with Stone Cold [Steve Austin]. I’ve won the Tag Titles at WrestleMania with my best friend [Sami Zayn] allegedly. It’s worked out all right. I was in the ring at WrestleMania this year with Randy Orton, just mind-blowing stuff.”

Kevin Owens Yet To Sign New WWE Deal

Speaking elsewhere, Kevin Owens revealed he could become a free agent in January 2025. When asked about his current contractual situation, Owens confirmed he’s yet to sign a new deal, meaning he could become a free agent in less than six months.

KO signed his most recent contract back in late 2021, and at the time it was said to be worth up to $3 million per year.

H/t to WrestlingNews.Co