What's the story?
As someone who has been a heel for almost all of his WWE tenure, Kevin Owens is a performer who likes to try new things from time to time.
Since his face run this year was short-lived, the former Universal Champion revealed to Lillian Garcia on her Chasing Glory podcast that he'd like to see how far he could go in WWE as a face. Fightful.com carried transcripts of his interview with Garcia.
In case you didn't know...
As is the case in NXT, well-known wrestlers who sign with NXT are usually treated as faces upon their debuts. Except for Adam Cole, that was the case for Owens, although he ended the night he debuted as a heel after attacking Sami Zayn. For all but about a month on the main roster, 'the Prizefighter' has wowed audiences as one of WWE's best heels.
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The heart of the matter
When he returned to WWE after several months off due to injury, Owens did so as a face challenger to then-champion Daniel Bryan. Owens replaced Kofi Kingston, whom everyone thought was going to get the title shot, at Fastlane.
Prior to WrestleMania, Owens maintained his face status. He even became an honorary member of the New Day while Big E was out with an injury. But once Kingston won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, the entertaining face run was short-lived as Owens did what he usually does to his 'friends' - he attacked them and turned heel.
It led to a title shot at Kingston for Owens at Money in the Bank, but Owens was unsuccessful in his bid to win the title. He's been in an ongoing feud with the New Day alongside Zayn and others.
Due to being primarily a heel while in WWE, Owens told Garcia on her podcast that he'd like to try something new with his character at some point in the future.
"I love performing. I love playing a heel. I can't say it's true [that I love being heel more than face] only because I've been a heel for so long that I'm personally ready for something different. I'd love to see how successful I can be as a babyface. My ego tells me I'd be great. I got a tiny taste of it and, for reasons beyond my control, for what the show needed, I had to go back the other way. I'm trying to make that as good as I can, but I still have this need to find out if I'm ready."
What's next?
Owens is one of the special performers who is so good at his craft that he can work well as a heel or a face. The great ones, like Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, can make you cheer or hate them due to their character work. Hopefully KO will get to see what his potential is as a face sooner rather than later.
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