Kevin Owens interview: WWE star on Draft and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

Kevin Owens has vowed to become the main man on Monday Night Raw – after receiving a "slap in the face" during the recent WWE Draft.

Owens was picked a lowly 18th by red-brand bosses Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley as Raw and Smackdown gained separate rosters, with his great rival, Sami Zayn, selected ahead of him.

Former world champions Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, Irishman Finn Balor and fan favourite Cesaro are among the other top Superstars Owens is competing with for the spotlight on Raw.

Live WWE: Late Night - Raw

But the former NXT champion - who beat John Cena in his first match on the main roster, Elimination Chamber in 2015, is determined to outshine them all and main event a WWE pay-per-view before the end of 2016.

"I was drafted way later than I should have been and all that shows me is people don't see my true value," said the Canadian.

"I understand coming after Reigns, Rollins, John Cena and Dean Ambrose because those guys have been figureheads of WWE for some years now.

"I even understand being drafted after Charlotte, who was the Women's Champion at the time and had been the face of the division, and Finn Balor, who was coming up from NXT and was a big deal, but to be drafted that late was a slap in the face, to be honest.

"I will use that as motivation to show that I should be the face of Raw.

I would like to be champion - that is everybody's ultimate goal - but my one goal at all times, whether on Raw, Smackdown, a pay-per-view or a live event, is to make people walk away and remember what I did.

"I would like to be champion - that is everybody's ultimate goal - but my one goal at all times, whether on Raw, Smackdown, a pay-per-view or a live event, is to make people walk away and remember what I did.

"I want to make anything I do as memorable as possible and I am definitely ready for a main event.

"I'm very cognisant of the fact I am yet to main-event a big pay-per-view and it bothers me, I'm not going to lie - I'll be doing everything I can to make sure I do that this year."

Owens also believes the brand split - which has seen Smackdown move to a live slot on Tuesday nights - will give WWE a significant boost by creating plenty of fresh match-ups.

"Now guys won't wrestle each other as much," said the Quebec native, who has enjoyed two spells with the Intercontinental Championship since graduating from NXT.

"I wrestled Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler so many times over the last few months - I always enjoy mixing with those guys and we always put on really good matches, but it is good to have new opponents.

"I'm sure that a year down the line some guys on Smackdown will end up on Raw, some guys from Raw will end up on Smackdown and some guys will get brought up from NXT.

Live WWE: Late Night - Smackdown

"I may end up in the ring with Ambrose again but it may be two years down the line when we have grown as performers and individuals and may have a different match."

Owens puts a huge part of his success in the wrestling industry - which includes a 143-day reign with the NXT Championship and kicking off WrestleMania 32 earlier this year as part of the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match - down to 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

The 32-year-old insists a timely piece of advice from 'The Texas Rattlesnake' over a decade ago made him the performer is - although he also credits Shawn Michaels, Cena and Randy Orton for helping him improve his game.

"The top three would be 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and Steve Corino," added Owens, when asked about his wrestling inspirations.

"I met Steve Austin at an airport in 2005 and he gave me the best piece of advice I could ever receive - to keep running my mouth and never stop talking!

"I took that advice to heart and it has helped me get where I am today.

"After signing with WWE, I also get to meet Michaels, who was my first favourite wrestler and the reason I decided to get into this business in the first place.

"To get to sit around and watch wrestling with a guy I idolised and to talk to him about life, how things work and his philosophy has helped me out.

"I've become close with Corino, who was in ECW back in the day, and his input has been invaluable to my career - he has been a real mentor.

"Plus, I have got a lot of help from Cena and Orton since joining WWE, often from just observing them.

"I am pretty confident with how I do things in the ring but in terms of carrying myself as a WWE Superstar and generally how to be outside of the ring I have looked at the way they do things.

"They have been in WWE a long time and are obviously good examples."

Head back to skysports.com/wwe later in the week for part two of our interview with Owens, in which he discusses his rivalry with Sami Zayn and Raw new boy Finn Balor.

Catch Owens in action every week on WWE Raw, live at 1am, Monday night (Tuesday morning) on Sky Sports 5.