Why Kevin Owens Doesn't Want To Win WWE's Intercontinental Title Again
As a two-time WrestleMania main eventer, Kevin Owens has done everything possible to carve out a Hall of Fame-worthy career in WWE. And while another Intercontinental Championship reign would only add to his legacy, Owens has explained why he has no intention of winning WWE's proverbial "workhorse title" for a third time.
Owens made the revelation while being informed — in a recent interview with Spencer Love — that his childhood hero, Owen Hart, just like him, held the IC Title on two occasions, for a combined 132 days. The eerie stat got Owens emotional. "It means a lot," Owens admitted. "It's funny because I'd love to win the Intercontinental Championship back, but I also don't want to break that similarity [with Owen]. I want to share with that Owen, you know? So, it's a really conflicting feeling, but it's really cool to have that for sure."
When asked if there was a specific thing that drew a young Owens to Owen more than Bret Hart, the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion cited the "little brother complex" he grew up with. Although the first wrestling tape he watched was WrestleMania 11, which was headlined by Bret vs. Owen, he truly began to relate to Owen at the 1995 Royal Rumble where Bret defended his WWE Championship against Diesel.
"I saw Bret trying to cheat [against Diesel], he wrapped cables around Diesel's legs," Owens recalled. "At that point, I was a kid with morals. I was like, 'What the hell is that?' And then Owen came out to try and stop him. At the time, I didn't know the dynamics of the story. All I knew was Owen was the valiant younger brother who tried to stop his older brother from cheating. I immediately latched onto Owen, like, 'He's just like me. Bret's like my big brother.'"
Owens added that he was routinely defeated by his older brother in brotherly tussles, and watching Owen stand up to Bret inspired him to take a stand. As the years progressed, however, Owens appreciated Owen for being "an incredible competitor, a great character, and entertaining as hell."