Kevin Owens Explains Why Working With John Cena Is 'Surreal'

It's been quite a year for Kevin Owens, who is set to team with John Cena to face Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns on the final "WWE SmackDown" of 2022. Of course, these two are no strangers to one another. Owens made his WWE main roster debut by responding to Cena's WWE United States Championship open challenge in May 2015, setting up a feud that ran through July. Looking back, the former "NXT" Champion had nothing but love and respect for what the "Peacemaker" star brought on a daily basis.

"We ended up working together all summer," Owens said on "Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenburg." Then he explained that Cena didn't need to be as passionate as he was at the time, yet he still was — after all, his Hollywood breakout was inching closer. 

However, whether it was showing up at every live event or watching the monitor while not in the ring, Cena was always around. "I saw in John Cena what I was myself," he continued, "but I saw it as this guy doesn't need to be doing any of this, he just wants to do it. Now we get to team on the last SmackDown of the year, it's just another thing I can add to the list of experiences I've had in WWE that are surreal and that I'm so thankful for."

And yes, the two have spoken to one another — though not necessarily about the show itself. "We text here and there but it's really silly stuff," Owens admitted. "He's very excited. In fact, the last text I got from him was 'I LOVE WRESTLING' in all caps unprompted. I think it was like 1 a.m. too."