Kevin Owens’ WWE Return in Jeopardy After Neck Issues Get More Serious

Kevin Owens’ neck injury situation is proving to be far more complicated than fans originally thought—and now, his in-ring future is facing serious uncertainty. Despite initially preparing for surgery to fix his spinal cord issues, the procedure has been delayed as doctors monitor swelling around the area.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez laid out exactly what’s happening with Owens behind the scenes, revealing that WWE’s Prizefighter is currently stuck waiting as specialists try to avoid making things worse. Alvarez explained how doctors are trying to give Owens’ body time to heal naturally before they move forward with surgery.

“Kevin Owens has not had his neck surgery yet. He is currently waiting. They’re letting his spinal cord heal as much as it can on its own, and then when they go for surgery, they’ll find out how extensive it’s going to be, depending on how the spinal cord looks at the time. They’re looking at mid-July, and he says hopefully it is a normal neck fusion. It might not be—we don’t know.”

The update comes after Owens himself confirmed that he’s been dealing with a serious spinal cord injury for months—one that’s gotten progressively worse. Last week, things hit a breaking point when his symptoms escalated dramatically. Alvarez detailed the scary developments in Owens’ condition.

“And he said that everything had been fine till I guess about a week ago, and then all of a sudden, he got symptoms he would expect somebody with spinal cord injury to have in the last week. He said pain in the neck, going down the arms, legs not really responding—all happening in the last week. It’s been brutal. And he cannot wait for surgery. So, man, all the best to him as well. That is no fun.”

Dave Meltzer added more insight, revealing that the surgery was originally expected to happen much sooner—but swelling around the spinal cord forced an immediate change of plans.

“Yeah, I had heard like… you know, originally he was going to surgery pretty quick, and I guess he had a lot of swelling that they had to, you know, wait for it to heal, and they’re still waiting, I guess. You know, obviously, the longer before the surgery, the longer before the return.”

Meltzer didn’t sugarcoat the severity of the situation, pointing out that best-case scenarios are rare in cases like this—and that even with surgery, Owens’ career remains in limbo.

“There is a surgery best case scenario where it wouldn’t be a year, but in most cases with, you know, with neck surgery, with wrestlers, it’s, you know, 15 months, you know, in that range… 13, 14, 15 months. So it’s… it’s going to be a long time, and it’s not like 100% that he’ll be able to return, but hopefully… hopefully he will be able to return.”

The past week has reportedly been brutal for Owens, with pain radiating down his arms, numbness, and his legs not responding properly—classic signs of serious spinal cord damage. And while fans were initially hopeful for a quick surgery and return, the reality is much more complicated.

With the swelling still present and surgery now pushed to mid-July at the earliest, even the best-case timeline suggests Owens won’t be back for over a year—and there’s no guarantee doctors will clear him to wrestle again.

For now, Owens’ only focus is on getting through the surgery and regaining his health. But for fans, the possibility that one of WWE’s most beloved stars might never return to the ring is becoming harder to ignore.

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