Kevin Owens confirmed on last night’s WWE SmackDown that he will soon undergo neck surgery, forcing him to miss WrestleMania 41 and putting his wrestling career in jeopardy. Speaking to Robbie Fox on My Mom’s Basement podcast, Owens revealed that the injury stemmed from a match in January. He noted the issue arose despite receiving a clean MRI just a month earlier.
“I have to go have neck surgery which, you know, 25 years in with the stuff I’ve done, I feel like it was bound to happen,” Owens said. “But it sucks man, the timing sucks for sure.”
The former Universal Champion expressed particular frustration about missing a planned singles match against Randy Orton at WWE’s biggest annual event. “Not getting to wrestle Randy Orton at WrestleMania really sucks, that’s the part that bugs me the most,” he added.
“In December, I did a full body MRI just on my own for curiosity… at the time the report came back that my knees were [messed up]… but your spine and your neck and everything looks good. But then in January I had a match, and in the match two things happened that really jarred my neck, and that’s when the issues started.”
Owens estimated a recovery period of six to twelve months, based on cases involving similar injuries.
Beyond the injury itself, Owens criticized how the news of his condition surfaced before he had a chance to announce it publicly.
“It really annoys me actually… whoever leaked it is some office employee that shouldn’t know this stuff in the first place,” he said. “Now they took away my right to tell people because now everybody knows already.”
The injury not only affects his immediate WrestleMania plans but also puts other dream matches in jeopardy. Owens shared his disappointment about likely missing a final chance to face John Cena, reflecting on the ten-year anniversary of their first encounter. “I was really hoping I’d get to do that before he’s done,” Owens said.
