Kevin Owens Discusses Most Underrated Talent in NXT, Money in the Bank

An argument can be made that Kevin Owens is pound-for-pound the top heel in WWE and NXT. Owens has an array of ongoing feuds in his brief WWE/NXT career, many of which have ended with his opponent out of commission.

Headed into the biggest match of his career against John Cena, Owens has effectively ruffled every feather in his wake.

Owens appeared on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast to talk about his sudden rise as he prepares to face John Cena at Elimination Chamber. His irreverent attitude and avant-garde, physical style embodies the spirit of NXT.

Standing in a ring next to Cena's bodybuilder physique speaks volumes of the stark contrast between the two brands. A contrast that is so apparent, Cena invited fans to pair "let's go Cena" chants with "fight Owens fight." 

There's no doubt that NXT is the cool brand with one of the coolest heels on either roster as its champion. But despite all the critical acclaim, Owens still sees the developmental value in NXT.

"I think NXT is it's own brand at this point," Owens said. "It doesn't feel like developmental, [but] of course everybody in NXT goes to the performance center has access to all these coaches with great minds and great experience in this industry [including] Robbie Brookside, who traveled all over England for so long and acquired skills that I have never had access to before by anyone.

"Now I get to work with Robbie Brookside and I get to learn from him on a daily basis. Norman Smiley spent so much time in Mexico and in WCW, and now he brings that set of skills to the performance center. Matt Bloom spent so much time in WWE and in Japan; he brings that set of skills. He opens up this whole different aspect. Billy Gunn was in WWE for years, and he was in independents, so he's got that set of skills."

"Terry Taylor was in the territories; he brings that to the performance center. Dusty Rhodes was one of the best talkers—if not the best—of all time, and he brings that to the performance center, Sara Del Rey all over the world as a women's wrestler.

"So, like, yeah it's developmental because we get the chance to go to the performance center everyday and learn from all these incredible people, but at the same time we are all working—and that includes the coaches—we are all working together to make NXT something special and to help it get as big as it gets, and it's getting really big.

"I would say the product rivals the stuff you see on Raw or SmackDown, and I think anybody on Raw or SmackDown would say that about NXT as well. There's no denying it."

NXT's success came on the strength of some of the biggest names in independent and international wrestling.

Fans were teased with a dream match between Owens and fellow veteran Samoa Joe as NXT Takeover: Unstoppable went off the air. With Owens quickly becoming a public enemy, working with a multitude of wrestlers, he has to be aware of everybody.

This includes home-grown talent who may not have as much street cred with the Internet Wrestling Community in addition to heralded independent stars. And when asked to name the most underrated wrestler in NXT, he spoke highly of Tye Dillinger.

"He’s a Canadian boy, and he’s been on TV a few times," Owens said. "He was even on the WWE version of ECW, if you will, a few years ago I believe his name was Gavin Spears at the time. He’s in NXT right now, and he’s been picking up steam lately so I hope that translates to an NXT TV role."

"I look up to Tye Dillinger. He’s been around for a long time, and there’s just something about him that I really respect, and obviously he’s become a good friend throughout the last couple of months, but regardless of if he was my friend or not I would be saying the same thing right now.

"He’s very talented, and it’s not just me who looks up to him; pretty much everyone in the performance center looks up to him, not only for the stuff he does in the ring but how he behaves outside of the ring. And I feel like if you’re going to say who’s the most underrated guy—because there’s a lot of underrated guys over there—I’d say Tye Dillinger probably tops that list."

Any talk of Owens, a longtime independent wrestling standout, being underrated quickly evaporated upon his first NXT Championship match, when he defeated Sami Zayn for the title he wears now. Should he win his first WWE pay-per-view match at Elimination Chamber, he'd have a strong argument to add his name to a wide-open Money in the Bank field.

"I have interest in competing in every big event like Money in the Bank, or Elimination Chamber, or SummerSlam or whatever it is," Owens said. "I want to be part of those shows, I want to be part of that product. That’s where I want to be.

"So regardless of what match I would be it, whether it be a Money in the Bank Ladder Match, or if I was just wrestling anybody on that show, I definitely want to be there. That’s the goal, absolutely. I think beating John Cena at the Elimination Chamber would probably give me a pretty good shot at being [in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match], so that’s what I’m thinking about."

 Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.