Ryback thinks Kevin Owens should work out more rigorously, and explained why on a recent episode of his podcast, Conversations With The Big Guy.
"I'll say this, Kevin, I'm pretty sure he doesn't work out, from what I understand, but don't quote me 100 percent on that," Reeves said. "Maybe he started or he didn't, but he's never… everybody has a different genetic level of where they're at and he, like Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, I always heard he had great cardio and I don't picture him on the StairMaster. There [are] guys that just have a higher threshold of cardio capacity. That does exist. And so I don't agree if Kevin doesn't work out because I think it would just improve his life in general and all that. But I wrestled him in there. I think his conditioning could be better if he was like that, but it [has] never hurt him. You've never watched a match of his and it [has] never hindered his performance. And he knows what he can do and what he can't do, and he knows how to pace himself, which is a skill in itself."
Reeves, who had a massive physique, has stressed the importance of wrestlers being in top physical condition -- both to propagate the illusion of wrestling and to maintain the stamina required to compete in the ring. He noted other former WWE stars, such as Mick Foley, who he described as "not a workout guy, either" but one who "always had that stamina in the ring."
"I firmly believe that everybody should prime their bodies and take care of themselves like athletes that wrestle," Ryback added. "That's my personal opinion because the whole point of it is the illusion of being a real fight. And if you were in a real fight, you could not get away with doing that in a real fight, so that's my whole agenda for wanting guys to work out."
Owens, despite his non-traditional physique by WWE standards, held the Universal Title -- the top championship on WWE's Raw brand -- for more almost seven months. He is currently the WWE U.S. Champion.
