By now you've likely heard about the ongoing beef between former WWE writer Vince Russo and former NXT and Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens. The two have taken shots at each other, but on the most recent episode of Nuclear Heat, Vince Russo explained his issue with Kevin Owens' character.
Russo broke down the differences between Kevin Owens and other overweight wrestlers such as Mick Foley, Bray Wyatt, Yokozuna and others. In this supersized (no pun intended) edition of Nuclear Heat, Russo also explains how he'd book the former Ring of Honor Champion Owens to set him apart from the pack.
"When we first see Kevin Owens, who is he? A sumo wrestler, a freak. The last 24 hours on Twitter, Kevin Owens' fans have said he's a bad ass, a bully and a prize fighter. So right there we have a problem. His own fans are giving us three different descriptions of who this man is. Bad Ass-- two weeks ago I watched as Kevin Owens stood in the middle of the ring, got a Coke and popcorn and thrown in his face. Dean Ambrose walked away and there were no ramifications. That's not a bad ass. Take that off the list. My understanding of a bully is, is someone that picks on someone not his own size, people he could take advantage of. Kevin Owens out the chute went after John Cena. We can take that off the list. What on Earth has Kevin Owens done in his character that is a prizefighter? If that's a joke that it's an overweight guys who calls him a prizefighter, that's one thing, but that's not what they're doing here," Russo said.
Russo explained that there were too many questions and not enough answers about Kevin Owens as a television character right now for him to get behind. Russo thinks that this is hurting Kevin Owens from improving his position within the WWE.
"When you have all these questions and there are no answers, and Owens doesn't have a clear cut character, being overweight is going to hurt him. If you don't understand his character or no where he's coming from, it's going to hurt him," said Russo.
Russo called back to Owens' original character in NXT, where Owens had a giant chip on his shoulder for not being called up sooner. This helped establish Owens as a driven individual who put himself ahead of everything else.
"He cut a promo in NXT about the 15 years in the indies. I've not heard that story repeated since he came back in the WWE. If he repeats that story, what that tells me about Kevin Owens is that (he's) not going back. 15 years of the indies, driving town to town for five hours, no money, sleeping in my car, ain't going back, no matter what. If that means killing everyone in front of me, I'll do it. That's never been said," Russo said.
Russo went on to say that Kevin Owens had the best punch in the wrestling business, and said he could buy Kevin Owens as a Dick Murdoch-type character that has a violent streak. Russo also said that Owens body type doesn't hurt that form of roughhouse fighter, and it makes for a believable character.
