In a recent career respective interview with Pat Laprade of TVA Sports, WWE SmackDown superstar Kevin Owens revealed that he pitched the idea of a feud with Sami Zayn to Vince McMahon in September 2020 and that company officials only came to him and Zayn about the idea recently.

“In September, I proposed the idea to Vince McMahon and then, I didn’t hear about it again. It’s the WWE executives who have come back to us with this lately, it was inevitable and logical in the following. As our careers have developed, a one-on-one match at WrestleMania is like the crowning of our career.

It hadn’t struck me yet before I saw the graphic that formalized our match, having a one-on-one match at WrestleMania is more and more rare, more and more difficult, so for us, it’s a special accomplishment, so doing it together means more to us, it’s a big opportunity, there is no doubt about it.”

The interview is available in full at this link.