Three months ago, it became known Kevin Owens’ WWE contract expired in January 2022. This led to much speculation surrounding his future, and the belief was he was going to join his friends Adam Cole and The Young Bucks in AEW. However, news broke yesterday that he had re-signed with WWE for three more years. Now, in an interview with author Pat Laprade on the Podcast Les Anti-Pods de la Lutte, the Raw star would explain his reasoning for making the decision. Firstly, putting it down to doing what was best for his family, and then that having been with the company for seven years, he feels at home there.
I’ll just say that my contract still ends on January 31, but not 2022. I will still be in WWE for several years, The decision was pretty easy because it was the best thing for my family, really. When it comes to that, it’s always a pretty easy decision to take.
WWE has been my home for seven years now, so I have a sense of belonging. Basically, I spent the majority of my career here. When you look at all the wrestling companies I’ve wrestled for, in WWE, that’s where I’ve been the longest. That’s where I need to be for the next few years. That’s how I felt, and that’s the decision I made.
Kevin OwensIt’s understood WWE’s offer to Owens was very generous, being in the region of $2 to $3 million a year. Which when you consider Roman Reigns is said to earn $5 million a year, it puts into perspective how valuable WWE see’s Owens. It also likely helped that Owens publicly filtered with AEW on Twitter, as WWE hates having talents leave on their own terms for the competition. It should, though, be noted his agreement is the standard WWE contract, meaning he is still eligible to be let go at any time, which slightly takes the shine off the deal. Yet, if WWE does decide to release him in the future, AEW would likely jump at the opportunity to recruit him.
