Kevin Owens says wrestling indies while still in WWE ‘feels like more of a possibility than ever’

Kevin Owens has commented on potentially working independent wrestling shows while still in WWE, WarGames, Roman Reigns, and his career being closely linked to Sami Zayn's.  

Owens appeared on After The Bell with Corey Graves this week. During the conversation, he spoke about honoring Dusty Rhodes in the men's WarGames match at Survivor Series. 

"It was a real thrill to be a part of it when I did the one in NXT just because it was great to be part of something that Dusty created. To be part of the first one on the main roster and I took the opportunity to wear Dusty's shirt and the red elbow pad as a tribute to him. I talked to Cody beforehand, made sure he was cool with it and everything. It's just always neat to kind of dive back to history and give Dusty a little nod. I try to do that as much as I can because he was influential in my career," Owens said. 

"I really had access to him for a very short time. We're talking maybe 10 months between the time I started in NXT and the time he passed but in those 10 months, he really left a mark on me that nobody has. I've known people for years and years and years in this industry and they haven't left half the influence on me that Dusty had in that short time. So, anytime I get to do something like a little shout-out to him, I take that opportunity." 

Owens also spoke about potentially getting to face Roman Reigns again but this time in front of live fans. Owens and Reigns had three Universal title matches in late 2020 and early 2021 that all took place inside the WWE "Thunderdome." 

'Everything Roman and I put each other through happened in front of empty arenas during the pandemic. I would love to be able to recapture that and see what happens when it's in front of a sold-out arena, or sold-out stadium, whatever it may be, and feel the energy of a crowd watching what's unfolding in front of them." 

"To me, those three matches we had are some of my favorites I've ever had and they were, like I said, in front of nobody. That's not true, they weren't in front of nobody, they were in front of you guys, they were in front of our production team, you know what I mean?"

The topic of Owens' longtime friend Sami Zayn came up on the show as well. Owens was asked about his comments on Raw this week saying he didn't want anything to do with Zayn anymore.

"You know, he really didn't even betray me, he just helped his team win and he chose to do it in a messed up way," Owens said of Zayn's actions at Survivor Series. "Like I said on Monday, I really can't really blame him with everything I've done to him."

"We've really helped each other throughout our careers a lot but we've probably held each other back as well just because of this constant pairing in people's minds," Owens continued.

"Back in 2017, he and I were, in people's minds, he and I were so just one. Like, if he got heat backstage for something, I'd get the heat too even if I had nothing to do with it. We got kicked off a Europe tour once together for something that I don't think either of us had anything to really be blamed for but I was barely involved in it." 

"I think it's just time to be done and he's thriving, he's thriving. I meant what I said on Monday too, people are seeing the Sami Zayn that I've known was there for 20 years." 

Owens also mentioned that with the new WWE regime in place, it's not out of the question that he could work some independent shows down the line. 

"I'm very deeply rooted in the independent scene. That's where I came up and I still have so many friends there. There's a few independent companies that are still very near and dear to my heart that I'd love to maybe one day show back up on just for fun whether it's a promo or maybe it's a match. That's stuff that over the years that I've always kind of thought, 'hey man, it'd be really cool if I got to do that one day.' Now it feels like more of a possibility than ever. It doesn't mean it's going to happen but it feels like it could now."