Kevin Owens showed up in Edmonton wishing there was one major difference from the night before. After Sami Zayn cost him the Undisputed WWE Championship against CM Punk in Toronto, Owens admitted he had hoped to arrive at Saturday’s live event carrying the title.
During WWE’s August 22 live event in Edmonton, Owens addressed his loss from SmackDown and told the crowd what he had envisioned before Sami ruined those plans. He also made a joke about his weight for good measure.
“I was hoping when I showed up here tonight, I was hoping I’d have a shiny WWE Championship around my waist… nah nah not around my waist, it wouldn’t really fit. Over my shoulder.”
The joke came only one night after Owens came painfully close to leaving Toronto as WWE Champion. He had earned the opportunity against Punk after returning from more than a year away, but his longtime friend ended up becoming the reason he couldn’t finish the job.
With the referee down during the SmackDown main event, Sami initially sent Owens into the ring post. Things got even worse when Sami later slid the WWE Championship into the ring. Owens refused to use it against Punk and handed the belt back, only for Sami to smash him with it instead. Punk capitalized with another GTS and retained the championship, while Sami continued attacking both men after the match.
The finish has already got a lot of criticism from Jonathan Coachman, who argued that WWE’s creative direction under Triple H has become too predictable. Coachman said he knew Sami would become involved and turn on Owens once WWE established the Punk-Owens title match as a one-off in Toronto.
Owens isn’t walking into Edmonton with the shiny WWE Championship he wanted, but he clearly hasn’t forgotten how close he came before Sami took it away from him. One night later, he could at least joke about where he would have carried the belt if Toronto had ended differently.
What do you make of Kevin Owens’ first comments after Sami Zayn cost him the WWE Championship? Let us know in the comments below.
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