"It was s**t" - Kevin Owens reveals scrapped plans with major WWE name and The Bloodline
Kevin Owens is one of the top names in WWE and has accomplished nearly everything on the main roster. Recently, KO opened up about the time he rejected a pitch to work with a major name to take on The Bloodline.
A few years ago, a rumor spread that Kevin Owens rejected the creative team's pitch to introduce Damian Priest as his best friend to take on The Bloodline. At the time, The Prizefighter feuded with The Original Tribal Chief on Friday Night SmackDown for the Universal Championship.
Speaking on What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes, The American Nightmare asked him about the rumor, and The Prizefighter revealed some shocking yet logical points behind rejecting the pitch with Damian Priest to take on The Bloodline on the blue brand.
"For me, it comes down to if I think the audience would be insulted by it. I don't think the audience would be insulted by the concept of me and him [Damian Priest] being friends, but at the time, NXT had already been around, and people were aware of NXT enough that he's been in NXT, and I used to be in NXT... It would just be so random. If they had told me that you're bringing him as your backup, like a guy you saw in NXT and impressed you, but they, no, he has to be your friend," Owens said. (From 06:40 to 07:15)
Owens revealed the creative team insisted on Damian Priest being his on-screen best friend, and the former Universal Champion rejected the idea.
"So, why would I introduce this random best friend? Anyway, I just didn't like it. I think it was s**t." (From 07:23 to 07:29)
Kevin Owens feuded with Damian Priest after his story with The Bloodline in WWE
Kevin Owens' feud with The Bloodline went on for years on the blue brand. After a break, The Prizefighter returned to the promotion in 2022 and continued his feud with the villainous faction.
In the end, Owens and Zayn reunited and took The Usos down at WrestleMania 39 and became the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. After The Bloodline Saga, the new champion feuded with The Judgment Day on WWE RAW. While Owens didn't get to work with Damian Priest in his initial years, the two feuded for the titles on the red brand for months.
Later, Priest and Finn Balor won the titles from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WWE Payback 2023, and The Prizefighter moved to the blue brand in the following weeks.
If you use quotes from the article, please credit What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
