I
This is a story Kevin Owens loves to tell, a piece of professional wrestling life, where big men have to be brought down in the form of other big men, where there is room for giants but not arrogance – at least not behind the scenes. This goes back to 2014, when Owens first signed with WWE and reported to the company’s Performance Center in Orlando. He has already worked his way through the short circuit and paid his dues when he met Terry Taylor, a wrestling lord who started in the ring in the 80’s and worked in all aspects of the game. When the two met, Taylor was an instructor at NXT, the College of Hard Knox, which develops newcomers to the company and keeps the talent supply chain afloat. Owens was trying to come up with a good idea – WWE was always his goal.
Taylor sits down to Owens for a heart-to-heart. “Triple H sees Something In you, “Taylor told him. But before the flattery went to Wayne’s head and made him feel very special, Taylor attached a qualifier, his expert opinion:” I can’t see it. “
Owens laughs whenever he says that, and not just because he’s been a major genius in the WWE universe ever since. It also gets a smile, because it’s easy to understand how anyone, even an experienced person like Taylor, can miss the hard-to-define thing that WWE Vice President in charge of Talent, Events and Creative, Triple H, has seen. Owens is a decent size for a professional, but he is not one you would choose from a lineup to become a WWE Superstar. He is not exactly a lead-man element, he has no candidate to act in his own action movie. With his bushy beard, his round face and a body seemingly made of butter, you would cast him as a bouncer, probably a biker. In appearance alone, it is difficult to pierce the feet like face or ankles.