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Kevin Owens Will Miss WWE WrestleMania 41 After Devastating Injury Reveal

By John Canton • Published 5th April 2025
Kevin Owens WWE Injury

Kevin Owens will no longer be facing Randy Orton at WrestleMania due to injury.

It was reported several hours before WWE SmackDown in Chicago that former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens had an injury that could potentially take him out of his scheduled WrestleMania 41 match with Randy Orton.

During WWE SmackDown in Chicago, the General Manager Nick Aldis was in the ring where he spoke about how sometimes things happen in pro wrestling that remind us why WWE tells the fans, “Don’t try this at home.” That led to Aldis introducing Owens.

Kevin Owens made his entrance wearing a Bret Hart jacket, and he had a somber look on his face. While Owens was booed on his way to the ring, it wasn’t as loud as usual and many fans likely knew that there was bad news about to be revealed.

As he stood in the ring, Owens said he’s been doing this for 25 years, and he thinks he can say confidently that he gave everything he had every time he stepped foot in this ring. Owens spoke about how he got to experience things he’ll never forget, and he got a chance to take care of his family in a way he can only dream of.

Speaking from the heart, Owens talked about how there’s a price to pay when you get into the ring. Owens said it seems like it is his turn to pay the price.

It was revealed by Owens that, for the last four months or so, he’s been dealing with a neck injury, and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but this week they figured out what was wrong with it. Owens said now he has to go have neck surgery.

Owens said that the timing couldn’t be worse because not getting to be in the ring with Randy Orton at WrestleMania really sucks. Owens thanked WWE for allowing him to tell us about his injury because he doesn’t know when he’ll be in front of us again.

To wrap it up, Owens said that in the last few years, he’s learned to never take anything for granted, and he’ll never take this for granted. Owens said thank you and, “I’m sorry, guys. Thank you.” Owens shook hands with Aldis and hugged him.

A neck surgery likely means a lengthy absence that could put Owens on the shelf for over a year or more, but everybody is different. Wrestlers like Steve Austin and Edge (Cope) had major neck surgeries and missed a year of action. Recently, guys on the current WWE roster like Braun Strowman and Erik of the War Raiders missed about a year of action after neck surgery. Every person and situation is different.

It has been reported by PWInsider that Kevin Owens will need neck fusion surgery. There was a lot of sympathy and sadness for Owens among people in WWE.

We will have updates whenever there is information on Kevin Owens’ upcoming neck surgery. Everybody here at TJRWrestling wishes Kevin Owens all the best during his surgery and recovery from it.

The last match that Kevin Owens had was at Elimination Chamber when he defeated his best friend Sami Zayn in an incredible Unsanctioned Match that was praised heavily as a five-star match by many people who watched it.

How Did Randy Orton React To The Kevin Owens WrestleMania News?

The rivalry between Kevin Owens and Randy Orton has been brewing since last fall when Owens turned on his former friend and gave him a devastating Package Piledriver. Orton came back at WWE Elimination Chamber on March 1st and got revenge on Owens. Weeks later, their WrestleMania 41 match was made official, but that’s not happening now.

After the announcement from Owens, Randy Orton made his entrance and did a slow walk out to the ring. Owens walked away when Orton made his way down to the ring.

Nick Aldis stood beside Orton to say that, unfortunately, that means Orton no longer has a match for WrestleMania. The fans booed that. There were “RKO” chants, so Orton jumped up and gave Aldis the RKO. The fans cheered.

Following his devastating RKO on the SmackDown GM, Orton stared at the WrestleMania sign as the fans sang his song, so perhaps Orton will have a WrestleMania match after all.