Kevin Owens was helped to the back after an apparent knee injury at Sunday’s WWE live event in North Charleston, South Carolina, four weeks into a comeback run that has him in the middle of the Undisputed WWE Championship picture.
Live 5 News sports director Kevin Bilodeau captured video of Owens limping heavily as an official walked him away from ringside at the North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center. Bilodeau wrote that Owens had to be helped to the back after suffering an apparent knee injury.
Owens appeared to hurt the knee early in his match against The Miz. Referee Charles Robinson and Miz worked an extended sequence that bought Owens time to get back to his feet, including a false finish in which Miz argued that a two count had been a three.
Owens eventually stood, hit a Stunner and won the match. He rolled to the floor afterward as Danhausen made his entrance, then called for an official and was walked backstage favoring the leg.
WWE has not issued an official update on Owens or on the severity of the injury.
The Timing Could Not Be Worse
Sunday’s show closed WWE’s 2026 Summer Tour, and Owens worked it as one of three men still alive in a No. 1 contender’s picture that has no resolution.
A triple threat between Owens, Gunther and Finn Balor to determine CM Punk’s next challenger ended in a no contest on the August 28 SmackDown in Ottawa, when Sami Zayn attacked both competitors and referees before standing tall with the title. Nick Aldis has not named a challenger since, as detailed in the Ottawa fallout.
That leaves the championship picture unsettled with Sunday Night’s Main Event set for September 6 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. No Undisputed WWE Championship match has been announced for that card.
Seventeen Months Out, Four Weeks Back
Owens returned on August 2 at SummerSlam Night 2 in Minneapolis, winning a surprise fatal four-way over Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Gunther to earn his shot at Punk. It was his first match in 17 months following the neck and spinal problems that required surgery and, by his own account, nearly ended his career.
He challenged Punk on the August 21 SmackDown in Toronto and lost when Zayn blasted him with the championship after Owens refused to use it as a weapon. Owens said the following week that the defeat stung more than any of the title losses in his career, in part because his mother was in the building.
The two men had built that match on animosity Owens insists does not need to be manufactured. Owens had also beaten The Miz on Saturday in Savannah, Georgia, without incident.
