Thursday 16 May 2019 09:03, UK
Kevin Owens has revealed he watched WrestleMania 35 at home because he could not bear to be in the arena when it happened.
Owens did not have a match at WWE's biggest event of the year, which took place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in April.
The 35-year-old had returned to active competition two months prior to the show after being sidelined since October having had surgery on both knees.
Owens was involved in the storyline between WWE champion Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston and replaced Kingston in a title match against Bryan at Fastlane, leading to speculation he could feature in the WrestleMania match between the two.
But that match did not happen, and Owens revealed in an exclusive interview with the Sky Sports Lock Up podcast that as a result he did not stay in New Jersey to watch the show.
"I actually went home because I couldn't be in that stadium," said Owens, who will take on Kingston at Money In The Bank on Sunday night.
"I flew home to watch it with my kids and my wife. I'm not sure how many people in this company are aware of that but I came back the next day.
"It was nice to be with my family, that made it a lot easier but if you're in this company and you're not on WrestleMania and you don't take it hard, you should probably go do something else with your life. I don't think anybody can fault me for that."
Owens was then asked if he had been a planned participant in the battle royal - the match traditionally reserved for wrestlers without programs going into WrestleMania - and he said: "There was [a conversation]
"But that's for me and the other person involved in the conversation to know about."
