In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Kevin Owens stated that the idea of imposing fines for noncompliance with WWE’s face mask policy was his idea.
“It’s been brought up—at first, the masks weren’t being taken seriously enough. Eventually, a fine system was implemented to make sure people took it seriously. That came from me. I thought that the masks weren’t being worn seriously enough, so I went and talked to the people in charge. They immediately did what they could to remedy the situation.”
Earlier this month, Fightful reported that a WWE Superstar had gone to Vince McMahon over concerns with face masks and social distancing. Owens went to McMahon and voiced his concerns before saying he was going home. McMahon reportedly asked what could be changed, and Owens suggested the fine system to implement it, citing an example of being fined for swearing on SmackDown.
Owens stated that his wife had lost her grandfather to COVID-19 and he wanted her to be comfortable. After the implementation of the firmer face mask policy, as well as consistent testing for COVID-19, she suggested he go back to work.