Kevin Owens Explains Why He Refused to Pair Up with Damian Priest

Kevin Owens has formed alliances with several top names during his time in WWE, including Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes and more. However, the Prizefighter has now explained why he refused to pair up with Damian Priest a few years ago.

While speaking on the What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, Kevin Owens explained why he turned down the idea of being paired with Damian Priest on WWE television.

Back in 2021 during the pandemic era, Owens was involved in a major feud with Roman Reigns. He described that period as the start of a four-year nightmare that just wouldn’t seem to end.

“Yeah, they tried to make me be friends with Damian Priest on television. I refused. So in 2021, during the pandemic era, I was in a feud with Roman Reigns. It was the beginning of a four-year nightmare that just wouldn’t stop for me.”

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At the time, WWE shows were taking place in empty arenas with virtual fans through the Thunderdome setup. Just as Owens and Reigns were building toward their Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble, plans started changing.

“But when it started, we were wrestling in front of empty buildings. We had those weird screens—yeah, the Thunderdome. And right when we were supposed to have the blow-off match, which was going to be the Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble, and ended up being everyone’s favorite match we had, things changed. About three weeks before, I was thinking we were firing on all cylinders. We were heading to the Rumble, big match, it was going to be fun.”

When Owens got to TV, he was told he would be getting a new tag partner to help him fight The Bloodline because of the numbers game. That partner was supposed to be Damian Priest from NXT. Owens said he had nothing against Priest, but he didn’t think fans would believe they were best friends. He felt they were too different and the idea seemed random.

Someone backstage had come up with the idea, and it almost happened until Owens said he didn’t want to pretend to be friends with Priest on screen, so the plan was then dropped.

Owens also revealed that Priest was going to take his spot in the match against Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. That didn’t happen, but Priest still debuted on the main roster two weeks later.

“Then I show up to TV and they tell me things are shifting. They say, ‘You’re going to be introducing your new best friend to help you take on The Bloodline, because of the numbers game.’ I’m like, ‘Who’s this guy?’ They go, ‘You know Damian Priest from NXT?’

I had nothing against him, but no one would believe we were best friends. We couldn’t be more opposite. It was just so random. Turns out someone pitched the idea, and it stuck—for about five minutes. Until I said, ‘No, I don’t want to be friends with him on TV.’ Maybe in real life, but let’s start somewhere.

And yeah, that idea got scrapped, but he was going to take my match. It was going to be him versus Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. The plot thickens. But hey, for what it’s worth, I didn’t derail his career—he debuted on the main roster like two weeks later.”

Regardless, many fans will agree that Kevin Owens did the right thing by turning down plans to pair up with Damian Priest since it simply wouldn’t have made any sense storyline-wise whatsoever.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.