Kevin Owens is getting another crack at WWE’s top prize. Owens is set to challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WWE Bash in Berlin, his first time competing for a world championship since WWE Royal Rumble 2023. While Owens has remained one of WWE’s most reliable main event talents over the past eight years, he only has one world title reign to his résumé, that being his run as WWE Universal Champion from September 2016 until February 2017. In the seven years since he’s had a taste of a world title, Owens has challenged for a WWE brand’s highest honor nine times, coming up short in every instance.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Kevin Owens Was “Never Happy” During Singles Title Reigns
The Prizefighter didn’t enjoy when he actually acquired prizes.
Speaking to CBS Sports, Kevin Owens reflected on his obsession with championships in his first couple of years in WWE, revealing that he was “never happy” during that period.
“Winning titles is still an accolade that’s incredibly flattering and rewarding, but I think what helped me be less obsessed by that aspect of it is from 2015 to 2018, that’s all I could think about,” Owens said. “That’s when I was champion all the time. I was Intercontinental Champion, US Champion, Universal Champion, and I was never happy. I always wanted to more. I wanted the next week to be bigger.”
Owens was rarely seen without a title during those early years. Two months after his WWE debut, he became NXT Champion. Two months after losing that title, Owens became WWE Intercontinental Champion. Four months after dropping that gold, Owens captured the WWE Universal Championship. Two months on from that championship loss, Owens gained the WWE United States Champion.
“I’d finish a match and think what’s next week? The people I’d speak to would say, ‘I don’t know what’s next week, we’ll figure it out.’ I really didn’t enjoy any of it as much as I should have,” Owens continued. “I went away and had double knee surgery in 2018. I spent five months home away from it. I think that helped me put things in perspective. I needed that time away because I had been on the road for four years with WWE. It’s like a train. You get on and you don’t get off. You don’t realize how quickly time passes. When I went away, I talked to people about how it was really hard for me to shut it off and not be consumed by wrestling all the time.”
Owens challenges Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WWE Bash in Berlin this Saturday, August 31st. The broadcast kicks off at 1 PM ET.
