Kevin Owens Has Emotional Reason for Wanting To Beat CM Punk in Toronto bibonsinhaThu, August 20, 2026 at 2:15 AM UTC 0 Photo credit: WWE Kevin Owens will challenge CM Punk for the title on the August 21 episode of SmackDown at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. While wrestling in Canada gives Owens the edge, he isn’t sure it will be a true homefield advantage because Punk is also very popular. Owens admitted that the Toronto crowd could be split between the two stars. However, there is a much bigger reason why he wanted the match to take place in the city.
Kevin Owens Has Emotional Reason for Wanting To Beat CM Punk in Toronto
bibonsinhaThu, August 20, 2026 at 2:15 AM UTC
0
Photo credit: WWE
Kevin Owens will challenge CM Punk for the title on the August 21 episode of SmackDown at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. While wrestling in Canada gives Owens the edge, he isn’t sure it will be a true home-field advantage because Punk is also very popular.
Owens admitted that the Toronto crowd could be split between the two stars. However, there is a much bigger reason why he wanted the match to take place in the city.
Kevin Owens discusses facing CM Punk for the WWE Championship in front of his family
Speaking to FACES Magazine, Owens mentioned that Toronto holds a special place in his career because it was also the location of what he once thought could be his final match. At Elimination Chamber 2025, Owens faced Sami Zayn in an unsanctioned match in Toronto. At the time, he wasn’t sure if he would ever wrestle in the city again.
Looking back, Owens said he couldn’t have asked for a better place or opponent for what he believed might be his last match. Now, he is heading back to Toronto for another huge opportunity. This time, his parents will be there to watch him.
“The reason I picked Toronto for the match was because not only is it an amazing crowd, but that’s where I had my last match, where I, what I thought would be my last match. And I remember thinking, if it is my last match, I really couldn’t have asked for a better place to have it, and a better opponent to do it with,” Owens admitted.
Owens explained that his mother’s health issues in recent years have made it harder for his parents to travel by plane to WWE shows. However, Toronto is close enough to their home in Montreal that they can make the trip by car.
“My parents will get to be there. My family will get to be there and that wouldn’t have been the case if the match happened somewhere else, because my mom, through her health issues over the last several years, her ability to fly and go to shows that are far away, it’s just not the case anymore. But Toronto, it’s a manageable drive from Montreal. So, my parents will be able to be there,” Owens explained.
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There was a time when Owens wasn’t sure if his parents would ever get to see him wrestle live again. Now, they could be sitting in the arena when he potentially wins the Undisputed WWE Championship.
When he won the Universal Championship in 2016, his wife, children, and parents watched the moment from home. They were proud of him, but they weren’t there in person to celebrate with him.
A win over Punk in Toronto could create a completely different memory.
“There was a while where I didn’t know if my parents would ever get to see me in the ring again. And now, they’re going to get to see it, and it’s a big match. And it’s potentially a match where I could win the Undisputed World Title in front of them, which, when I won the Universal Title, my wife, my kids, my parents, they were all watching on TV, but they weren’t there live. So, if I was able to do that with them live, after everything we’ve been through, it would just make everything so much, just so much better,” Owens said.
The match is also a first for both men. Despite their long careers and rivalry, Owens and Punk have never faced each other in a singles match.
Read More: After 20 Years, Kevin Owens Says He & CM Punk Still Aren’t ‘Compatible’
The post Kevin Owens Has Emotional Reason for Wanting To Beat CM Punk in Toronto appeared first on Wrestlezone.
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Published: August 20, 2026 at 05:46AM on Source: ALPHA MAG
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