Kevin Owens has officially signed a new multi-year contract with the WWE, as first reported by Fightful. The former WWE Universal Champion spoke with Pat Laprade of TVA Sports prior to the news breaking, where he confirmed that he had signed and explained his reasoning for why. He said, (translated from French to English via Google), “The decision was pretty easy because it really was the best thing for my family. When it comes to that, it’s always a pretty easy decision. WWE has been my home for seven years, so I have a sense of belonging. Basically, I spent most of my career there. When you look at all the wrestling companies I’ve wrestled in, in WWE, that’s where I’ve been the longest, that’s where I need to be for the next few years. That’s how I felt and that’s the decision I made.”
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The deal is, according to Dave Meltzer, in the ballpark of two to three million dollars, but it also doesn’t have a “No Cut” clause. WWE has released more than 80 wrestlers this year, mostly due to what was claimed to be budget cuts.
Owens has been with the WWE since 2014, first debuting at NXT TakeOver R-Evolution and immediately getting involved in the NXT Championship picture with real-life best friend Sami Zayn. Since then he’s been Universal Champion once, Intercontinental Champion twice and United States Champion three times, though he hasn’t held any gold since his final US title reign in 2017. Owens celebrated the five-year anniversary of winning the Universal Championship, his lone world title reign in WWE, earlier this year.
“Man, the last five years have been a roller coaster. …The highs are great, but the lows, sometimes, they’re really hard to take for somebody who cares a lot, and who is very passionate about this, like I am. But I’ve been so lucky because I’ve had a really great career,” Owens said in a video addressed to fans. ” I’ve had my wife, my kids, and my parents — who are all fantastic at helping me navigate through this. It’s not just them, I have really great friends, really great colleagues to go on this ride with. And I have everybody watching this right now.
“I’ve been lucky to have a loyal following along me for that ride. And that’s you guys, today, reminding me of what happened five years ago when I won the Universal Title. So I figured this was a good time to say thank you to all of you” he continued. “For being there for the highs, for being there for the lows, just for being there for the whole ride.”
