Could the ill-fated Panda Express team finally happen in WWE? Kevin Owens and Johnny Gargano seem open to the idea.
Owens' admiration for pandas is well-known; he recently had a WWE shirt with them on it. As it turns out, he once bonded with Johnny Gargano over their appreciation for the animal.
During the September 14 episode of WWE's The Bump, Owens discussed how they became friends many years ago by watching panda videos together.
Owens: “I think it started, I feel like it was Germany. We knew each other, we ended up on a Europe tour together, a couple shows in Europe, same shows, just following each other for the weekend, whatever it was. I think it was Germany, we teamed together. Then after that show, we ended up in the hotel lobby, not partying, not drinking, just watching panda videos on the internet for several hours. That’s how we formed the bond we now have.
Gargano: Thus the Panda Express was born.
Owens and Gargano then discussed how they had shirts made for Panda Express ahead of an AIW show where they were supposed to team up together. However, Owens was unable to make the event, so the duo never officially competed as a tag team.
Owens: So what happened is, we were gonna wrestle for AIW in Cleveland, great independent promotion that we both enjoy thoroughly, and I couldn’t make it. Something happened, I forget if I got sick or hurt or whatever, I don’t know, but I couldn’t make it. But we had already promoted the tag team, and we printed the shirts.
Gargano: People out there have the shirts.
Owens: But what happened? Did I send the box? We managed to sell them.
Gargano: I think so, yeah. We sold them.
Owens: We sold them. People have the shirt, even though the tag team never happened.
AIW promoter John Thorne appeared on the show, and he asked whether fans will finally get to see the Panda Express become a reality now that Owens and Gargano are back together on WWE Raw.
Gargano: Can we legally do that? [laughs]
Owens: Yeah, I was gonna say, we might have to call it something else.
Gargano: Hey, social media is a very popular thing nowadays, I’ve heard. So I mean the people out there, if you would like to see the Panda Express happen on Monday Night Raw, hashtag Panda Express. Tweet at the Panda Express restaurant. [Laughs]
Owens: I feel like that’s not the way to go. Tweet at WWE with the hashtag Panda Express. Leave them alone.
Gargano: [Laughs] Yeah, get the restaurant, get the wrestling company.
Owens: Hey, tag AIW Wrestling too.
In the same episode, Owens stated that Finn Balor's new bandana makes him even more vicious. His comments are available here.
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