Kevin Owens On The Growth Of NXT, Recovering From Surgery

Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald recently spoke with WWE NXT Champion Kevin Owens. The full interview can be found at this link. Below are a few highlights:

NXT growing and their live event during WrestleMania 31 Week:

“It was pretty amazing. To see 4,500 people come out just for NXT without even knowing the matches, was amazing. They just knew who was going to be there. They came out for NXT and nobody else. So to be a part of that was really cool. I couldn’t wrestle because I’m recovering from surgery, but just to see everybody and how hyped the crowd was for everyone. It was just a really cool experience because we all go to the Performance Center every day. We are all like this family in a way. So to see everyone get such a reaction was something special. To see NXT grow I mean it’s our brand. We are building it. We are making it happen. It’s really cool.”

Living his dream in WWE:

“There is no doubt being in WWE is all a dream come true. My parents saw me form the time I was 11 years old until now. This is all I ever wanted. Since I was 11, I have wanted to be here. So essentially this is a dream come true…The NXT show, at one point I was watching from the backstage monitor with Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels and X-Pac. It doesn’t get better than that. Shawn Michaels. He is a reason I am here. When I saw Shawn Michaels wrestle at WrestleMania 11. That is what made me want to become a wrestler. I got to tell him that in person. I got to talk to him for a half hour about wrestling, about life, about kids, about family. That is by far was a highlight of my weekend.”

Recovering from his knee injury:

“It’s good. I’m ahead of schedule from what the doctors are telling me. I think a couple of more weeks I’ll be good to go, 100 percent. It’s pretty cool because I actually haven’t been 100 percent since I started at NXT. This injury has been bothering me since before my debut. So when I come back, I’ll be better than ever, and I’ve been pretty good so far.”