When Kevin Owens formally announced on SmackDown that he would be out of action indefinitely with a neck injury, it left WWE fans worried about his future.

While losing his WrestleMania 41 match against Randy Orton was rough, as they'd been building towards a massive blowup for the better part of a year, the idea of the “Prize Fighter” having to go under the knife to correct a neck injury gave more than a few fans pause, multiple legendary wrestlers have lost their career to similar issues in the past.

Discussing what happened and when he knew he had a serious problem in an interview with Le10Sport, Owens broke down the situation, noting that he wrestled injured during multiple high-profile matches.

“I had my doubts for several months that there was something really wrong. On the other hand, it took several months to diagnose the injury as such. But we found out two days before I made the announcement on SmackDown that I couldn't be at WrestleMania and that I had to stop wrestling immediately,” Owens explained via Fightful.

“In fact, I was extremely lucky not to be injured more seriously in the matches that I had at the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber because my neck was already in very bad shape, but we didn't know. Because the symptoms I was having weren't compatible with a neck injury. So we were looking for why I had these symptoms, but we weren't looking in the right place because it didn't make sense. No one could have known that it was my neck that was affected by these symptoms. Afterward, someone… In fact, I was the one who suggested I have my neck examined to see if there was anything wrong. And that's when we found it.”

Turning his attention to the future, Owens dropped an admission that rapidly went viral, to the point where WWE fans are genuinely worried about KO.

Article Continues Below
More WWE News
WWE Superstar Bronson Reed, who just made his return from injury, in between Sabrina Carpenter and Sinners star Michael B. Jordan.
Rising WWE star compares injury return to Sinners, Sabrina Carpenter releasesAndrew Korpan ·
Former Superstar R-Truth, who was released by WWE on June 1, 2025.
The real reason WWE released R-TruthAndrew Korpan ·
Mariah May with the NXT logo on her left and a crossed-out AEW logo on her right
Mariah May breaks silence on leaving AEW for WWEMatty Breisch ·
Vince McMahon with a text bubble reading "You're fired!" next to Tom Thibodeau and Kevin Love
Kevin Love compares James Dolan to Vince McMahon after Tom Thibodeau firingMatty Breisch ·
All WWE 2K25 Locker Codes for MyFACTION
All WWE 2K25 Locker Codes for MyFACTIONMassimo Marchiano ·
WWE Superstar CM Punk, who addressed the crowd chanting who R-Truth, whose release was announced the day before, eliminating Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins from Royal Rumble.
WWE’s CM Punk responds to chants for released Superstar in viral RAW momentAndrew Korpan ·

“It would be, not arrogant, but wrong to be able to tell you right now that I'm absolutely going to get back in the ring, that I'm going to have more fights,” Owens declared. “I don't know if that's true.”

Wow, Owens' wrestling career could be over?

Originally debuting under his given name, Kevin Steen, KO made a name for himself on the indies and for promotions like Ring of Honor and PWG, where he had legendary feuds and friendships with wrestlers like El Generico, the Young Bucks, and Adam Cole.

Jumping to WWE, Owens has been a part of some legendary feuds and angles, including his friendship with Chris Jericho, his run with the Universal Champion, and his on-again, off-again relationship with Sami Zayn. If Owens' in-ring career is over, he leaves behind one heck of a legacy, with the potential to keep it going into the future as an on-screen authority figure, manager, or commentator.