WWE News: Kevin Owens wants to emulate the reactions John Cena and Roman Reigns get
What’s the story?
In a recent appearance on MLive, Kevin Owens opened up on the kind of reaction he receives from the fans.
Additionally, expounding upon the sort of fan-reaction he’d love to get while performing in front of a live crowd, Owens asserted that he hopes to someday receive the same kind of response that John Cena and Roman Reigns do.
In case you didn’t know…
John Cena and Roman Reigns are widely regarded as two of the WWE’s most polarizing Superstars today, in the sense they receive mixed reactions from the fans in attendance, with one half booing them while others cheer for them.
Several professional wrestling pundits attribute the polarizing nature of Cena and Reigns’ respective characters to the fact that they rarely lose clean to any of their in-ring opponents on WWE programming owing to which the fans either despise or admire their success.
The heart of the matter
Speaking about the kind of reaction he receives and would like to garner from the fans, Kevin Owens stated—
“I just try to listen to strong reaction (and) to me the best reaction is a mix of both boos and cheers. John Cena and Roman Reigns get insane reactions where half the crowd loves them and half the crowd despises them.”
“When you're in the ring waiting for your opponent, whether it's John or Roman, you get hit by this crazy noise. It's people almost competing with each other.”
Furthermore, Owens explained that the person trying to boo Cena/Reigns tries to be louder than the one cheering, and fan-engagement of that sort truly creates a special atmosphere. KO emphasized that kind of fan-interest/reaction is what he’s striving for.
What’s next?
Kevin Owens is presently heading towards a WWE Championship feud against AJ Styles, and with Sami Zayn in tow KO continues to develop his alliance with SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan.
Fans can expect both storylines to further unravel in the weeks to come on SmackDown Live.
Author’s take
Kevin Owens is one of the most criminally underrated performers today.
KO is just as good as John Cena and Roman Reigns, as far as in-ring psychology is concerned; with the latter duo only edging Owens on the athleticism front. Here’s hoping, Owens someday attains his goals of evolving into a character as polarizing as Cena & Reigns.