Back when Kevin Owens first returned from injury in February he revealed to WWE fans that he was replacing his Pop-Up Powerbomb with a new finisher, the Stunner. The move was synonymous with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, so much so that many fans expected the two would interact when Austin appeared at the Raw Reunion special back in mid-July.
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That sadly never came to pass. But in a new interview with The Wrap this week to promote his new USA Network show Straight Up Steve Austin, the WWE Hall of Famer gave Owens a performance review on how he delivers the move.
“I would give it a B+,” Austin said. “I’m a huge K.O. fan, but I’ve seen a couple of the deliveries that have been a little off.”
“He’s timing it up and he’s coming up — he’s got a little bit of a different finesse to it than I did,” he continued. “But I soon think he’ll achieve A to A+ status if practice makes perfect, and they gotta let him turn that thing loose.”
Austin added: “I enjoy watching him use it and I’m glad someone is using it. And I’m glad it’s him.”
This is far from the first time Austin and Owens have discussed using the Stunner. Owens first broke out the move during a Universal Championship match with Roman Reigns in 2017, leading to Austin telling Owens on Twitter that he needs to “put some stink on it.” This led to an episode of The Steve Austin Show where Owens appeared as a guest and Austin broke down the finer points of the move.
“When you kick the guy right in the gut, right in the diaphragm, boom. You sap his lungs full out of all the oxygen,” Austin said. “You suck the oxygen right out of his lungs. All of a sudden, his brain’s like [choking noise]. ‘I need to breathe. I’m ’bout halfway blown up.’ This is deep in the match. ‘I need oxygen.’”
“Now, let’s take double body weight: 500 pounds, give or take, hittin’ you with an uppercut,” Austin added. “That’s both men’s weight coming down on that shoulder. You hit your ass on the mat, the mat springs you back up. The vertebrae in your back give that energy a direct path through the shoulder to his damn jawbone. Wham. Lights out. That’s how scientific it is, Kevin.”
Owens will take on Shane McMahon at SummerSlam on Sunday night.
