During an interview with Corey Graves on the “After The Bell” podcast, Kevin Owens talked about asking WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin permission to use the Stunner as his finisher.
Here is what he had to say, quotes courtesy of FightFul:
“I had a conversation with him, I want to say 2016. This is the thing. People were doing the stunner. You have someone do it in a random match as something they were doing and that’s it. Nobody was using it as a trademark. I had seen guys do it here and there but not to the extent that I felt it should be used,” Owens said.
“The stunner, in my head, was something that could be a great way for me to try and [be polarizing]. So I went to Steve and I asked him if I could use it and he was very happy that I asked him. More than anything, he was happy that someone asked him because he was like, ‘You want to use it as a finisher ?’ I said yes and then he went, ‘God, it’s about time. I can’t believe no one’s tried this yet. I can’t believe no one had come and [asked about using the stunner]. It’s a great finish.’ He then went on and said some people used it and it meant nothing. I then tried to go through other channels and was shut down. So I wasn’t able to start using it at that point, even though I snuck it in one of my matches with Roman [Reigns], which led to a funny interaction between me and Steve on his podcast later on when he tried how to use the stunner properly because I couldn’t beat Roman with it. I’ve had Steve’s blessing for a long time and I was waiting for the right time. This year felt like the time to use it. Some people love it, some people really hate it. I’m fine with it. I love doing it,” Owens said.
