In a conversation with Corey Graves on the After The Bell podcast, Kevin Owens talked about how he ended up using one of the most legendary finishers in all of WWE on a regular basis. Unsurprisingly, it all started by having a conversation with the living legend.
“I had a conversation with [Steve Austin] years ago. I want to say it was in 2016 when I first came up with the idea. This is the thing, nobody was using it as a trademark. I’d seen guys use it here or there, but nobody to the extent that I felt like it should be used.” Kevin said that when he asked him, Stone Cold was elated as the prospect. “More than anything, he was happy that somebody asked him.” Not only to show him respect but for a simpler reason. Kevin remembered Austin saying “Thank God, it’s about time. I can’t believe nobody’s tried this yet.” He also remembers Austin saying that it’s a great finisher, and it means nothing when some other people use it.
Kevin said that he went through other channels in WWE and was shut down, although he snuck it into one match against Roman Reigns. Obviously, things have changed recently, and the Prizefighter now has Stone Cold’s deadly move in his arsenal.
Kevin also explained pretty succinctly why he wanted to move on from his original finisher, and why using the move of a legend that many remembered fondly would put his character over the edge.
Everybody does powerbombs in some way, shape or form. You know, my finishing move was the Pop-Up Powerbomb. I was getting annoyed. Not at everyone doing powerbombs, but at the fact that every match had something that looked like a powerbomb. So I started thinking, maybe I needed something else. I remember thinking, if I started doing the Stunner, some people might love it and some people might really hate it, but nobody would be indifferent to it. That’s something that, in what we do, is so invaluable. Making sure that people are not indifferent. I’ve never really worried about getting really cheered or really booed, I just want people to make a lot of noise. Polarizing is a very special thing to be in our industry. The people that can claim to be legitimately polarizing are made for life.
For Kevin’s full thoughts, be sure to check out the embedded clip from the podcast below:
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