Kevin Owens Jokes About Missing WWE Title

Owens addressed his SmackDown loss during WWE’s Edmonton live event

Summary

– Kevin Owens hoped to arrive in Edmonton carrying the WWE Championship

– Sami Zayn cost Owens his title match against CM Punk on SmackDown

– Owens joked that the championship would fit better over his shoulder

Kevin Owens arrived at WWE’s August 22 live event in Edmonton, wishing the previous night had ended very differently. After coming close to winning the Undisputed WWE Championship from CM Punk on SmackDown, Owens told the crowd he had hoped to show up carrying the title.

Owens joked that he originally imagined having the championship around his waist before quickly correcting himself and saying it probably would not fit. He instead suggested the title would have looked better resting over his shoulder, drawing humor from a disappointing result only one night earlier.

Owens challenged Punk for the championship during the August 21 SmackDown main event in Toronto after returning from more than a year away. Sami Zayn ultimately became the deciding factor when he interfered while the referee was down and sent Owens into the ring post.

The situation became worse when Zayn later introduced the WWE Championship into the match. Owens refused to use the belt against Punk and handed it back, only for Zayn to strike Owens with it instead. Punk took advantage by hitting the GTS and retaining his championship before Zayn continued attacking both men after the match.

The finish has also drawn criticism from Jonathan Coachman, who argued that WWE’s creative direction under Triple H has become too predictable. Coachman said he expected Zayn to become involved once the Punk-Owens championship match was established for Toronto.

Owens may not have arrived in Edmonton with the championship he wanted, but he was already joking about the disappointment. The loss clearly remained on his mind as he reflected on how close he came before Zayn changed the outcome.