Kevin Owens paid tribute to the late, great Dusty Rhodes in his second WarGames match at WWE Survivor Series.
The former WWE Universal Champion teamed with Sheamus, Drew McIntrye, Ridge Holland, & Butch against The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa, & Sami Zayn) in the match, but the babyface team came up short.
Owens was wearing a Dusty Rhodes shirt and red elbow pads to honor the WWE Hall Of Famer who invented the WarGames concept.
Dusty Rhodes tribute from Kevin Owens. pic.twitter.com/efNOQRsbp5
— Humble Wrestling (@WrestlingHumble) November 27, 2022
While speaking on WWE After The Bell, Owens discussed the tribute as he got the chance to work with Dusty in NXT. He revealed that he asked Cody Rhodes if he could honor him before the bout.
“It was a real thrill to be part of it when I did the one in NXT, just because it was great to be part of something Dusty created. To be part of the first one on the main roster, to have the opportunity to wear Dusty’s shirt and the red elbow pads as a tribute to him, I talked to Cody (Rhodes) beforehand to make sure he was cool with it and everything. It’s always neat to tie back to history and give Dusty a little nod, I try to do that as much as I can because he was so influential in my career. I really had access to him for a very short time, maybe ten months, between the time I started in NXT and the time he passed. In those ten months, he really left a mark on me that nobody has. I’ve known people for years in this industry and they haven’t had half the influence on me that Dusty had in that short time. Anytime I get to do something as a little shoutout to him, I take that opportunity.”
You can listen to the entire interview by clicking on the player below:
H/T to Fightful for the transcription
