Kevin Owens Celebrates his 34th Birthday at RAW, His Second Home!

by Pat Laprade, original here.

May 7th is an important date for Kevin Owens. He was born on May 7, 1984. His idol Owen Hart, the inspiration behind his son's name and his wrestling name, was born on May 7th. He made his professional wrestling debut on May 7, 2000. And tonight, May 7, 2018, he will be at Monday Night Raw for the first time on his birthday.

"Every year, around May 7, something special happens," Owens said when I met him last Monday. "I won the Ring of Honor championship on May 12th. Two years later, again on May 12, I received my official offer from WWE. I made my Raw debut on May 18th. I made my first TV recording in Montreal a week before. It really looks like something is going on around that date all the time."

Kevin Owens, born Steen, had a big day last Monday during his visit to Montreal.

First, he flew more than 30 hours to and from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by the end of the week leading up to Raw in Montreal. Contrary to all the controversy surrounding this event, it is an experience he will remember for a long time for the right reasons.

"I did not feel different than when I do a show somewhere else," said Marieville's athlete. "The crowd was excited. You looked in the stands and the fans had Braun Strowman, John Cena and Roman Reigns sweaters like when you're in the States. The only difference is that ringside it was people in traditional dress of Saudi Arabia. But with the stage and the stadium it was a production worthy of WrestleMania. It's a show, the whole gang, we'll remember for a while. "

Then, after returning late Saturday night to his home in Florida and spending some time with his family, he arrived in Montreal in the early hours of the morning Monday, where his flight was three hours late. Nevertheless, after only a few hours of sleep, he was in TVA studios to do not one, not two, but five interviews. Despite all this, he took 10 minutes of his time to meet a little boy with Down syndrome whose father's friend had contacted me. A fan of wrestling and Kevin in particular, he had a replica of the Universal title and a figurine to make him sign. I will never forget the smile of this little boy when he left the studios. A magical moment that he will not forget anytime soon.

In line with Robert, Rougeau and Bravo

After resting a bit, he did another interview before going to the Bell Center for 14h, the check-in time for wrestlers*. Even though he had been up since 6am, that's when his work day really started. He was asked for promos and interviews with business partners. He had to take notice of what he had to do that night, settle situations, give his opinion. He ran left and right for hours, took the time to eat a little and got ready for the big moment. He knew that a few minutes after 8 pm, he would cross the curtains and be welcomed as a hero by the crowd that had been waiting for this moment for three years. He had lived it during non-televised events, the reaction should be even stronger this time around.

He made the front page of the Journal de Montréal the day before, shoveled interviews on the morning of the event, he puts a lot on his shoulders.

"I feel like it's my show. Attendance has been increasing since my first time at the Bell Center. To see the crowd growing up to the point where they brought Raw and SmackDown to Montreal is special. "

And the crowd did it well. Owens had the biggest ovation of the evening. It was electrifying! For someone who saw him fight in front of less than 100 people 20 minutes from the Bell Center, I had goose bumps. I really feel that once his career is over, we will talk about him as one of the most popular wrestlers in Quebec history, in the tradition of Yvon Robert, Johnny Rougeau and Dino Bravo.

"It was really special. I had been waiting for a TV show at the Bell Center for a long time," Owens said in an interview with colleague Raymond Rougeau on Sunday behind the scenes of the Backlash event. "It was not just for me, it was for Sami too. What was even cooler was that yes, I had a fantastic reaction, and Sami too, but the crowd was fantastic for everyone. The Montreal crowd has really shown that we have the best fans in the world. I knew it already, I'm glad the WWE knows it now. "

Speaking of Backlash, we have seen once again that the relationship between Kevin and Sami is still not good. Although they had been polar opposites** since Owens' arrival at the WWE, the end of 2017 marked a change in attitude at Zayn, uniting his destiny with that of his long-time friend.

Friends. Enemies. Friends. Enemies. Raw and SmackDown. It's almost as bad as Axl and Slash***!

"It will never end!" exclaimed Owens.

"There are many people who see Sami like this for the first time, I've been seeing it for 15 years," he added, laughing. "I'm just glad the others see what I've been through all that time!"

A guy from Raw at SmackDown

At the same time last year, Owens debuted at SmackDown Live. A busy year for Owens, a year he never felt at home. The way he explains his return to Raw, it's like he's coming home.

"It's been a guy from Raw who's been to SmackDown for a year," he said. "I have never been a guy from SmackDown. I never felt at home at SmackDown. I'm happy to be back at Raw. I have a sense of belonging with Raw. When the "brand split" came, it was with Raw that I found myself so I think my feeling comes from there. I made my Raw debut with John Cena. I watched Raw when I watched wrestling as a kid****. It felt like I was out of town at SmackDown and I was never able to recover from it. There are guys we associate more with Raw or more with SmackDown. I'm with Raw. "

Owens linked to WWE for another five years

If some see his defeat in Montreal or Backlash as a sign of disavowal to the Quebecois, do not be fooled, the place of KO is very solid in the world of WWE. Of all Raw, he was one of the few chosen for a match at Sunday's pay per view, he is part of the tour in Europe and we even saw him in an advertisement for WWE action figures.

"Hopefully, I don't see why I won't finish my career with WWE," said the former World Champion. "I just recently signed a new five-year contract with them. I don't intend to go anywhere. If the WWE wants to continue, if I want to continue and my family is ready for me to continue, I do not see why it wouldn't happen. "

Married and father of two, he will be at the dawn of his forties when this contract is over. If he decided to stop his active career, Owens would have all the assets required to be a commentator or agent, he is excellent on the microphone and is one of the best wrestling minds that I've had the chance to meet. But on this day of his 34th birthday and after 18 years of career, when he takes the time to think about what he has accomplished, Owens comes out proud and happy.

"If it ends tomorrow, I would be very satisfied with the career I had as a professional wrestler."

A PPV in Montreal?

Many ask me if, with the success of the two events in Montreal last Monday and Tuesday, we can expect WWE to produce a PPV at the Bell Center.

Quite honestly, the chances are slim.

It's important to understand that while the audience of 13,500 for Raw and 8900 for SmackDown Live is larger than the average of what WWE usually does, revenue is the bottom line. And at this level, since ticket prices are not increased accordingly, the WWE, because of the exchange rate, loses about 30% when it occurs in Canada. In addition, the number of special events has reduced and until WrestleMania 35, the locations of these events are already selected.

Historically, including Sunday's, the WWE has featured 353 special events. Of these, only 14 were shown in Canada or 4% of the total. Of these 14, five were held in Toronto, three in Montreal: Survivor Series in 1997, No Way Out in 2003 and Breaking Point in 2009. Since Breaking Point, Canada has hosted only one other event of its kind. Survivor Series in Toronto in 2016. So we can still hope, but it would not be until the second half of 2019. In the meantime, it is much more likely we'll see the return of Raw to Montreal by the end of the year.

*Huzzah for non gendered English professions! This was (male) wrestlers and (female) wrestlers in the original.
**Original has antipodes, I felt this the best English rendering.
***This is admittedly a big stretch. The original reference, to an actress and a playwright/director, would be damn opaque. It basically means an on again, off again friendship, I racked my brain, and figured, eh, it's his birthday, go with the man's favorite band. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
****Joint effort with the patient and kind @FightForeverMTL!