Kevin Owens admits he was never happy being a champion in WWE: ‘I always wanted more’

Kevin Owens has been a force to reckon with throughout his 10-year tenure with WWE. He’s no stranger to high-profile matches, like the one he had against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at the inaugural event. The Bash in Berlin pay-per-view Owens has had the career that he and countless others dreamed of, but unfortunately, it took him nearly half of his career to truly appreciate it.

Owens was one of the early beneficiaries of WWE’s renewed interest in signing top independent wrestlers. He signed with WWE in 2014 and won the NXT Championship just two months after his debut. His first main roster match was a clean pinfall win against all-time great John Cena. It’s probably one of the best first six months for any WWE superstar. Owens became the Intercontinental Champion and reached the semifinals of a vacant WWE World Heavyweight Title tournament before his first full year as a WWE signee was over. He continued his tremendous success over the next two years, becoming the Universal and United States Champion.

“From 2015 to 2018, that’s all I kept thinking about,” Owens told CBS Sports about his title aspirations. “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 more.

“I wanted next week to be bigger. I would finish matches and think, ‘What’s next week going to be?’ People I talked to would say, ‘I don’t know what’s next week going to be, we’ll figure it out.’ I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I should have.”

Owens fulfilled his childhood dream, but was so blinded by passion that he couldn’t enjoy it. To show how much Owens loved professional wrestling, he learned English by watching WWE programming. The future champion didn’t speak English until age 11, but he learned English by listening to WWE’s legendary commentator Jim Ross. That childhood fascination led to a lifelong devotion to pro wrestling. Owens debuted at age 16 and crafted an acclaimed independent run for 14 years that eventually caught WWE’s attention.

Owens was unable to free himself from a self-destructive cycle of success until he was forced to do so. Owens took a five-month break to recover from double knee surgery in 2018. It was his first opportunity to prioritize self-reflection in several years.

“I needed some time off because I’ve been with WWE for four years,” Owens said. “It’s like a train. You get on and you don’t get off. You don’t realize how quickly time goes by.

“I talked to people about how hard it was for me to turn it off and not be immersed in wrestling all the time.”

This vacation was physically and emotionally healing. When Owens realized that his passion for professional wrestling was no longer a good thing, he suddenly called one of his idols. Shawn Michaels answered on the other end.

“He was very gracious to listen to me,” Owens said. “He said he was just like me in many ways throughout his career. Always obsessing about what was next and not enjoying the journey. Hearing that from someone I respected so much helped me forget about it.

“Since then, I still have moments when I get carried away, but I can step back and say, ‘Hey, this is pretty amazing.’ It might not be perfect or sometimes it might not be exactly what you think, but come on. It’s been very helpful.”

Watch the full interview with Kevin Owens below.

Owens’ appearance came at the right time. Although he didn’t enjoy his only reign as WWE World Champion, Owens was able to enjoy rarer and more notable moments. He faced childhood hero “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in the legendary wrestler’s first match in 19 years and won the Undisputed Tag Team Championship with his best friend Sami Zayn in the main event of WrestleMania 39. The next match is the first WWE title match on a German PPV.

“It went well. I was in the ring with Randy Orton at WrestleMania this year. It was an amazing experience.”