As injuries wreck the professional wrestling world, with every major promotion losing at least one notable performer due to one thing or another, WWE can officially add Kevin Owens to that list, with rumors suggesting that “The Prize Fighter’s” WrestleMania 41 match could be called into question as a result.
Well, on SmackDown, KO and company clearnoted up any questions about his status, with the former Universal Champion addressing the fans with an honesty notably contrasting his typical heelish grandiosity.
“The reality is over the last four months, I’ve been dealing with a pretty serious neck injury. And we didn’t know what it was, we didn’t know how serious it was, thankfully this week we managed to figure it out and now I have to go get neck surgery,” Owens explained.
“So that’s what I’m going to do and the timing couldn’t be worse because let me tell you, not getting to get in the ring with Randy Orton at WrestleMania really sucks. And I’m really thankful to WWE for allowing me to come out here in front of you guys and telling you guys that because the truth is, I don’t know when I will have the privilege of being in front of you again.”
Leaving the ring as Orton marched down to it, WWE attempted to turn this into an angle, with “The Viper” hitting Nick Aldis with an RKO after learning his WrestleMania match was canceled. The promotion will surely try to give Orton something good for the show and may even debut a new or returning Superstar like Jeff Cobb or Alister Black at the “Showcase of the Immortals” to give fans a fun pop and something to talk about.
But after spending all of 2025 and a good bit of 2024 setting up this smackdown between KO and Orton in Las Vegas, losing this match from an already light WrestleMania 41 card only further calls into question the quality of the forthcoming “Showcase of the Immortals.” One thing is for sure: Paul “Triple H” Levesque has better be on top of his game, as his job and the jobs of those around him just got a little bit harder.
The post WWE Universal Champion cancels WrestleMania 41 match with neck injury appeared first on ClutchPoints.
