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Last week's episode of WWE RAW saw the return of former Universal Champion Kevin Owens! In an interview with SI's Justin Barrasso, The Prizefighter has confirmed previous reports which said that he was responsible for a recent policy change in the company that sees mandatory mask-wearing enforced at all times.
The former NXT Champion's return to the red brand coincided with a new WWE policy whereby everyone would wear a mask, unless performing on-screen, and would be fined $500 otherwise, and $1,000 for a repeat offense - as first reported by PWInsider.com.
Kevin Owens discusses his return
It was reported over three weeks ago that Kevin Owens had opted not to return to WWE tapings after an outbreak of positive COVID-19 tests and WWE employees having to wait for three hours to be tested.
Speaking with Justin Barrasso, Owens revealed why he decided to sit out of tapings.
"I hurt my ankle at WrestleMania so I needed time off, and then I came back—and then I went away again. I just felt like it was the right move for my family and I to sit out a few of the tapings of Raw and assess the COVID outbreak. We live in Orlando, so it’s not just going to the Performance Center. It’s everywhere. We thought it was the right time to quarantine and practice safe guidelines. "
The Prizefighter returned to WWE this week, though, and didn't just make a difference on-screen! Fightful had previously reported that a WWE star "expressed concerns about proper measures not being taken seriously enough, such as mask utilization and social distancing", which led to the new policy being put in place.
Earlier today, Pat Laprade of Les anti-pods de la Lutte reported that the Superstar named was indeed Kevin Owens - which was then reported by Post Wrestling before being confirmed by Owens himself.
This follows on both from what Fightful had reported, and with what I had been told - and alluded to on the Wrestling Daft podcast.
Why did Kevin Owens return?
Owens confirmed to Barrasso that he had seen the measures being taken by WWE, which prompted him to rethink his hiatus.
"Last week, I saw the measures that the company was taking, from the testing to the splitting up the crews to make sure Raw and SmackDown wouldn’t be there the same day, and sending out very clear very indications that masks were required unless we were in the ring."
The Prizefighter went on to discuss how his wife lost her grandfather to COVID-19, which Owens had been admirably open about on Twitter
"We make these decisions together. I don’t want anything I do to make my wife uncomfortable when I get back home. I want to make sure that she feels safe and that my children are safe. Every decision I make, I make with her. She saw the efforts the company made, as well, and she said maybe it was time for me to go back to work because it’s what I love to do."
"With her blessing, I went back. And what I observed gave me hope and gave me a sense of security."
KO would then go on to reveal how he was the one who pushed for masks to be implemented, as well as a fine system for those who disobeyed the rules.
"At first, the masks weren’t being taken seriously enough. Eventually, a fine system was implemented to make sure people took it seriously. That came from me. I thought that the masks weren’t being worn seriously enough, so I went and talked to the people in charge. They immediately did what they could to remedy the situation."
Kevin Owens went on to discuss why he believes masks matter, and reinforce why he pushed for the widely-acclaimed change.
"I don’t blame anybody for the mask thing. It’s easy to forget how important those masks are. Some people just straight up believe that the masks don’t make a difference, and that’s their belief. But if we’re all going to work together and we’re all trying to keep each other safe, I think it matters."
Kevin Owens teamed with the legendary Rey Mysterio on his return to RAW and would post a photo of himself on social media shortly after, wearing a protective mask starring The Greatest Mask Of All Time.
Kevin Owens concluded the interview by revealing how he feels safe and comfortable going back to work - and that's thanks to the message being sent within WWE with regards to the importance of masks.
"If you’ve had somebody in your family affected by this the way my family was, it’s a lot easier to remember that these masks make a huge difference. These masks do make a difference, and I felt it was important for people to take that seriously. I was pleased that the company felt the same way and made sure to get the message out to everybody that this is a big deal. That’s why, in the end, I decided to come back. I feel comfortable going back to work, and I feel as safe as I can be there."
