For years in WWE Kevin Owens was using the Pop-Up Powerbomb as his finisher, and he was able to put away his fair share of opponents while using the move.
However, Owens has since adopted the Stunner as his finisher, and he recently explained why he was motivated to switch things up while talking with Corey Graves on the After The Bell podcast.
“I remember sitting there watching the show and everybody does powerbombs in some way, shape or form. You know, my finishing move was the Pop-Up Powerbomb, obviously. I was getting annoyed. Not at everybody doing a powerbomb, but at the fact that every match had something that looked like a powerbomb. So I started thinking, maybe I need something else. At the time, I was a heel or antagonist or however you want to put it… I remember thinking, if I were to start doing the Stunner, some people might love it and some people might really hate it, but nobody would be indifferent to it.”
The former Universal Champion went on to say that he made it a point to ask Steve Austin if he could use the move, and even though the WWE Hall of Famer approved it he was still met with resistance when it came to using the move.
“The stunner, in my head, was something that could be a great way for me to try to get [to polarizing]. So I went to Steve and I asked him if I could use it, and he was very happy that I asked him. You know, me giving him the respect of it but more than anything, he was happy that someone asked him because he’s like, ‘You want to use it as a finisher ?’ I’m like, ‘Yes’. He’s like, ‘God, it’s about time; I can’t believe nobody’s tried this yet. I can’t believe no one had come and asked about using the stunner as a finisher. It’s a great finish, like, why not?’ He then went on and said some people use it and it means nothing.”
“So I said, ‘Okay, that’s great.” And then I tried to go through other channels and was shut down. So I wasn’t able to start using it at that point, even though I snuck it in one of my matches with Roman [Reigns], which ended up leading to a funny exchange between me and Steve on his podcast later on where he tried how to use the stunner properly because I couldn’t beat Roman with it that night. Anyway, I’ve had Steve’s blessing to use it for a long time and I was just waiting for the right time. This year felt like that was it, so that’s what I’ve been going with. Some people love it, some people really hate it. But again, I’m fine with that. I love doing it.”
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H/T Wrestling Inc.
