Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness Recap With Kevin Owens
Release Date: October 12, 2017
By: Jeff Indelicato
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
“For The Benefit of Those with No Time” (Top Stories)
- Owens feels that his time as Universal Champion did not solidify him as a top guy.
- He believed that the feud with Shane and the attack on Vince were “as big as it gets.”
- With regards to promos, Owens reviews them to understand the message, but does not memorize the lines so that he doesn’t sound scripted.
- The night before Hell in a Cell, scheduling issues with the hotel resulted in him having to sleep on the floor.
“You Think You Know Them” (Recap)
Ad for What Really Happened Podcast 0:00-:55
Show Introduction/Hell in a Cell thoughts 0:55-14:00
Edge opens the show jet lagged and tired. Since his time on travel, he has lost weight and is down to 231 pounds, which is lower than the 250 that he used to be. Christian notes that he has never been 231. This leads to a story about how fans are always surprised at how much taller/bigger/etc they are when they meet E&C in person.
We move into thoughts on the Hell in a Cell PPV. Both of them really enjoyed the Usos vs. New Day match, but before they can talk more about it, we move into a commercial.
Ad for What Really Happened Podcast 14:00-15:20
Hell in a Cell thoughts 15:20-37:20:
Christian observed a few superstars performing baseball slides at the PPV, which got him scared, as listeners may remember that he severely sprained his leg doing one in a match against Sheamus, and that it was so bad that the doctor told him it would have been better if he broke it. He also remembers Maven breaking his leg performing the move as well.
Back to the Usos/New Day, it is difficult in a concept match to do something creative, but E&C believed that they pulled it off, and that it actually felt like they were in the Uso’s Penitentiary. They also enjoyed the additions of Francesca & the Rainbow Kendo Stick as weapons.
Regarding the WWE Championship Match between Jinder Mahal & Shinsuke Nakamura, they felt that it was a tough spot to be in considering the advertised main event, and that both are still trying to find their way. Christian believes that Jinder is a legit heel, and that when someone eventually beats him, it’ll mean something.
Rusev vs. Randy Orton got good marks, with both acknowledging that they are fans of Rusev. Christian remembers meeting him at the Performance Center a few years back and advised him to keep his high intensity, as it would set him apart.
Finally, they also enjoyed Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens; however, they did note that when Shane is involved in a match of this type, the crowd is already expecting something crazy, which leads to them waiting for the big moment. Christian still thought that the crowd was pretty invested, and really enjoyed the video package prior to the match, leading to a shout out to Adam Pennucci (the guy who creates the video packages). They also didn’t see the Sami Zayn heel turn coming and think that it’s a good thing. Christian remarks that his only present issue with Hell in a Cell is that it takes away what the purpose of the match is when you get out of it all the time.
Hell in a Cell talk reminds them that War Games is coming back during the next NXT Takeover special and they’re looking forward to it.
Voicemails 37:20-51:30
The first caller wants to know if the two of them ever got into a fight with each other, who would win? Edge feels that today, he’d win, but it could change on any given day. This leads to a quick story about the fights that they got into when they were younger and how they never threw punches, just wrestled around.
The next caller wants to know what their favorite match of each other’s is. Edge loved Christian’s series of matches with William Regal, as their styles meshed well. However, it’s also tough for him to go against Jay’s series against Randy Orton, specifically the match from SummerSlam, or when he won the World Championship from Alberto Del Rio. For Christian, he enjoyed the Elimination Chamber match that ended with Edge against Rey Mysterio, along with the 2006 feud against John Cena, and the WrestleMania 24 match with the Undertaker.
Caller three has a joke. “Why should you never go to a gas station with Daniel Bryan?” Because he carries matches. Ba dump bump.
Finally, we have a caller acting out a truly terrible Rock impression. It gets an F for effort from E&C.
Interview with Kevin Owens 51:30-1:56:00
KO is still pretty sore from his match against Shane, to which E&C ask how he thinks “The Money” is feeling. Owens isn’t sure, but jokes that Shane makes bad decisions all the time. Edge really enjoyed his attack on Vince and felt that he is entering a different stratosphere. This leads to a story about how Edge texted KO last year after a match against Sami Zayn letting them know it was only a matter of time before they reached the top, which was very meaningful to both wrestlers. A short while later, Kevin was the Universal Champion.
While he did become Champion, Kevin felt that it really didn’t solidify him as a top guy. He felt the storyline with Y2J helped get him close, but that even as recent as his Smackdown performances didn’t always have his best stuff. He felt that with the Shane feud, and with Vince getting in the mix, it was as big as it gets and now believes things have been taken to a new level.
Growing up as a fan and now being a part of the company has been so surreal, as he is still a fan to this day. He remembers debuting in NXT and seeing his face on a video package, and then debuting on Raw against John Cena, and couldn’t believe any of it was happening.
Christian notes that what has impressed him is not only KO’s skills in the ring, but also his character performance and promos. He recalls a conversation they had a few years back at the Performance Center where he told KO that he got to the WWE for a specific reason, so do it to its fullest until they tell you not to. Owens remembers that conversation and being initially worried because of how he performed at his tryout. Long story short, he was asked to try out based on how he had performed on the independent circuit; however, when he got to the Performance Center, he was asked to perform as a face and even wrestled in a nice singlet.
Did the company want the KO that they had scouted, or who had just tried out? Over time, he got to know Dusty Rhodes, who echoed exactly what Christian advised, which made him more comfortable to just be himself. Edge commends how he approached his character, because it’s easy for the company to ask a wrestler to pull back, but very rarely would they say that the needed more from someone.
Edge loves how KO’s promos don’t sound like promos, and how that’s the way Owens would sound in everyday conversation. Kevin feels that this is one of his strengths, and while he reviews everything to understand the message, he tries not to learn the promo word for word, as it can easily sound rehearsed and scripted. One key point of advice received from Dusty Rhodes is that “you’re not cutting a promo, you’re communicating. The ring is your canvas, so explore the space, and realize that you don’t always have to stand in the middle.”
Owens’ time with Rhodes was invaluable, and that nobody made as much of an impact on his career in such a short time. They talk about how everyone has a Dusty impression (except for Owens), and that one wrestler who can do an incredible one is none other than Dean Ambrose.
His friendship with Sami Zayn is then brought up, and how they met in 2002. Owens was training with Jacques Rougeau (also known as The Mountie/Quebecer/etc), who he didn’t mesh well with, and only expected his students to wrestle at shows he promoted. This limited Kevin’s experience, and after some time, he decided to venture out on his own with IWS, where Zayn was wrestling. This led to them eventually traveling the world together, and the first time they eventually went their separate ways was when Sami got signed by the WWE.
Kevin was really happy for Sami, but it was also difficult, because he was concerned about his own future, and didn’t know if WWE would ever be interested. In addition, he couldn’t even get a tryout, as at the time, he was still contracted with ROH for another year-and-a-half. The independent scene was good to him, and was a positive experience, but you reach a point where you’re ready to move on, and he’d get frustrated that some of his peers would move on to NXT while he wouldn’t have that opportunity.
The question is asked if there was ever any time that he questioned how long he could do this with a family. For Kevin, his wife has been amazing, and was with him before he was even with ROH. They had their son a year after they met, so it got serious very quickly, and he would have to work additional jobs to support his wrestling career. As time went on, it got to the point where their finances were low, and he wondered if real life was about to take over. However, something opened up at ROH, and his career started going up from there.
In 2010, the company had a shift in management, and wanted to push him out of the organization, as they didn’t feel he was contributing much to the product. It was tough, but he continued to receive nothing but support from his family, which kept him going.
In just a few years, he went from paying his dues and wondering if he’d ever make it, to being in the main event of Hell in a Cell against Shane McMahon. He remembers being so amped and that it felt great to be part of the spectacle. In fact, the adrenaline didn’t wear off for hours after the event and he was up until 6 am the next morning. On top of that, the night before the show, the hotel he was staying at was overbooked and he ended up sharing a room with his parents, which lead to him sleeping on the floor. Christian then tells the listeners his number one rule for hotels: If it looks dirty enough to where he can’t take off his socks in the room, he won’t stay there.
Knowing the tremendous support received, how good does he think his family feels right now? For Owens, a big part of making WWE money is saving WWE money; however, he knows that he dragged his wife through years of hard times, and modest living and that there were times that his parents even had to help them out. Therefore, he tries to give them what they need and want because without them he wouldn’t be there.
They close the interview advising KO to keep treating his career like he’s chasing the dream, and to be satisfied when he retires. Owens agrees, and notes that even when he’s at the top, he’ll still feel like he could do better.
Wrap Up & Close 1:56:00-2:01:00
E&C close the show and encourage everyone to follow the show on Twitter @EandCPod, E-Mail them at ecpodofawesomeness@gmail.com, and to call their Voicemail at 929-367-8204.
Jeff’s Take: 7 Kazoos out of 10
Good episode this week. E&C continued their streak of really good guests with a great work mentality and inspirational stories. In real life, Owens is a likable guy, and you find yourself rooting for someone who wants to work hard and support his family. Just like last week, there are a few things that could have been edited better. The commercial right in the beginning of the Hell in a Cell chat was odd, and the Voicemails are more miss than hit. I get that it’s purely entertainment to have a horrible Rock impression from a fan, but I’d much rather hear from E&C about Raw, Smackdown, NXT, or even get more substance to the Hell in a Cell reaction. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @the_Indel or send me an email at indelpw@gmail.com. See you next week!
“5 Second Pose of Timestamps”
0:00: Sponsored Ad
0:55: Show Introduction/Hell in a Cell thoughts
14:00: Sponsored Ad
15:20: More Hell in a Cell thoughts
37:20: Voicemails
51:30: Interview with Kevin Owens
1:08:00: Owens Promo Style/Sami Zayn
1:37:00: Leading up to Hell in a Cell
1:56:00: Wrap Up & Close
About the Author
Jeff has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was knee high to a grasshopper (little kid), after coming across the Wrestling Challenge episode after WrestleMania 7, and has not looked back. His passion has led him to winning wrestling trivia contests in his city, and even won him his Senior Talent Show by dancing to Shawn Michaels theme song. When not annoying others with wrestling talk, he loves spending time with his family and friends, and focuses on his other passion: movies.
For more, check out our archives of E&C Pod of Awesomeness.
Be the first to comment