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Massive WWE Star Expected To Miss WrestleMania 42

By Monika Thapa • Published Oct 12, 2025 11:40 EDT

WWE star Kevin Owens announced that he’s suffering from a serious neck injury in April 2025. He was scheduled to wrestle Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 but was pulled from the show due to his health complications. Fresh new reports indicate that he’ll miss WrestleMania 42 as well.

Earlier this year, The PrizeFighter underwent successful neck fusion surgery, a procedure that involved stabilizing one level of his cervical spine. Following the surgery, Owens publicly expressed optimism about returning to wrestling within the next year, though he also cautioned that recovery depends on how well the bone fusion heals.

Yeah, so it’s a neck surgery. I needed neck fusion. It was very stressful going into it, because we weren’t really sure how severe the fusion was going to be, how many levels, all this stuff. Thankfully, ended up only being one level, which is the best-case scenario for something like this.
The surgery was successful. I had a great doctor. The thing is, now we have to see how the bones fuse, and there’s no guarantee that it’s going to work. You know, how my body heals. And we’ll see. Some guys had success, some guys didn’t.
Fingers crossed, I can come back to wrestling in the next year. Really don’t know, though, but yeah, my goal is to come back. So hopefully that’s what happens.

There is no guarantee when he will make a full comeback, but Owens remains hopeful and motivated to return to action in WWE.

WWE Star Kevin Owens Will Be Out of Action For Several Months

According to a new report from Fightful, the absent WWE star is expected to miss an extended period of time. This timeline means he is unlikely to compete at WrestleMania 42, which will take place on Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

KO’s last match in WWE was at the 2025 WWE Elimination Chamber event, where he faced Sami Zayn in an Unsanctioned match. He walked out victorious from the singles bout.

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