WWE: Kevin Owens on Being Uncertain About Potential In-Ring Return After Neck Injury, WWE Reportedly Did Not Want Talent Wearing R-Truth Shirts at 6/2 RAW Show, Santino Marella on WWE Owns His Ring Name But Lets Him & TNA Use It

Kevin Owens Comments on Being Uncertain About Potential In-Ring Return Following Neck Injury

As noted before, Kevin Owens has been out of action for WWE since this past April due to a neck injury.

Le10Sport held a recent interview with Owens. One of the topics discussed included Owens’ thoughts about his neck injury and him being lucky to not have done more damage to it from wrestling while hurt.

“I had my doubts for several months that there was something really wrong. On the other hand, it took several months to diagnose the injury as such. But we found out two days before I made the announcement on SmackDown, that I couldn’t be at WrestleMania and that I had to stop wrestling immediately. In fact, I was extremely lucky not to be injured more seriously in the matches that I had at the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber because my neck was already in very bad shape, but we didn’t know. Because the symptoms I was having weren’t compatible with a neck injury. So we were looking for why I had these symptoms, but we weren’t looking in the right place because it didn’t make sense. No one could have known that it was my neck that was affected by these symptoms. Afterwards, someone… In fact, I was the one who suggested I have my neck examined to see if there was anything wrong. And that’s when we found it.”

Owens also gave his thoughts about him currently being uncertain about being able to make a potential in-ring return in the future.

“It would be, not arrogant, but wrong to be able to tell you right now that I’m absolutely going to get back in the ring, that I’m going to have more fights. I don’t know if that’s true.”

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WWE Reportedly Did Not Want Talent Wearing R-Truth Shirts at 6/2 WWE RAW Show

As noted before, R-Truth departed from WWE this past Sunday due to his contract not being renewed. R-Truth’s announcement resulted in a lot of negative backlash by fans and from WWE talent at WWE over the way his departure was handled. This past Monday’s WWE RAW show and Tuesday’s WWE NXT show featured “We Want R-Truth” and other R-Truth related chants from the crowds during the shows.

WrestleVotes Radio reported that their sources stated that WWE officials did not want any R-Truth shirts to be worn by their talent in support of R-Truth at this past Monday’s WWE RAW show in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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Santino Marella Comments on WWE Owns His Ring Name But Lets Him & TNA Use It for Shows

A recent episode of the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast featured TNA talent and “Director of Authority” Santino Marella as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Marella’s thoughts about the process of trying to use his “Santino Marella” ring name when he debuted in TNA in 2023 and how WWE owns the rights to the name but allows him and TNA to use it for shows.

“So that was actually almost bigger news than me appearing on TNA, was the fact that I was Santino Marella. So in 2021, I imagine the COVID confusion or whatever, there were people getting fired and hired, and it seemed like it was team Hunter and team Vince, and they were changing regimes or whatever. Somebody didn’t renew the trademark. So Scott D’Amore, as a habit, because if he’s getting a former WWE guy, he kind of checks the trademark to see if they’re available, because he has to get creative and come up with a name. If it’s not Fandango, it’s Dango or something that’s legally not going to be too close to the intellectual property. He checked, and all of a sudden he goes, damn, Santino Marella is available. So he bought it. It’s not as simple as you can just buy it and it’s yours. There’s a case that they created the character, they developed the character. It’s still on their library. I mean, there’s still tons of Santino stuff in the library. But when it’s library use, I think it’s not considered like current use, because it’s from a library. So they sent an email or a phone call to Scott, and they say, ‘Yeah, you’re using our intellectual property.’ And Scott’s like, ‘Actually, I own the trademark.’ So they’re like, ‘Let me get back to you.’ It’s kind of sitting there for a while. Then they filed an extension to the time they can appeal it, and then when Scott was no longer with TNA, Ariel [Shnerer], in hopes of having a good relationship with WWE, kind of just gave it back to them. So they own it, but I’m not sure if a part of the deal was we’ll give it back to you but can we use it? And we’ve been using it.”

Marella also gave his thoughts about his Santina Marella character in WWE was originally meant to only be a one-night thing for him and competing in the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal match at WrestleMania 25.

“Santina was funny because it was only like three months, but there was so many memorable moments crammed into three months. It was supposed to be one night, but again, it tickled the funny bone of the right person, and it ended up lasting for three months. But I tell you what, I got a lot of respect for the makeup process that girls go through, it’s like an hour. The fake lashes are hard. It’s no joke, your face is burning from makeup and stuff. Yeah, they go through a lot.”

Marella also gave his thoughts about the origins of the creation of his “Santina” character.

“Well, the storyline with Beth Phoenix was that I was an insecure boyfriend. She was the alpha in the relationship, and I was desperately trying to show that men are better athletes. So by dressing up as a woman and winning the battle royal and then revealing, Ha, I’m a man, I just won the women’s battle royal, therefore men are better athletes. That was the idea. And then it was just executed so well that it stuck around for a while.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1 & 2