From the WWE Rumor Mill: Latest update on Kevin Owens's injury

What’s the story?

After missing this past weekend’s SmackDown Live house shows, PWInsider has reportedly got an update on the latest injury to former Universal Champion Kevin Owens.

In case you didn’t know…

Former WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens, and his tag team partner Sami Zayn have been playing the role of notorious heels on SmackDown Live for months now. Owens and Zayn have had issues with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon since last year’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view after Zayn helped Owens win the Hell in a Cell match against Shane O’Mac.

The duo of Owens and Zayn have also been dealing with Shane O’Mac’s partial tactics for a while now. However, the two men have received the support of SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan who helped the team of Owens and Zayn overcome the duo of Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton during last year’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view.

The heart of the matter

PWInsider has reported that the sole reason why Kevin Owens missed last weekend’s SmackDown house shows is due to him dealing with a back injury, which he suffered recently. Owens’s last match on WWE was several weeks ago on SmackDown Live when he and Zayn teamed up in a losing effort against the trio of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Randy Orton in a 3-on-2 handicap match.

However, PWInsider has noted that, despite dealing with a back injury, Owens is still scheduled to team up with Sami Zayn at this year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view when the two men face off against ‘The Phenomenal One’ AJ Styles for the WWE Championship in a 2-on-1 handicap match.

What’s next?

Owens and Zayn will have the numbers advantage over AJ Styles this coming Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The former NXT Champions will look to make a big statement out of AJ Styles, by defeating The Phenomenal One and winning the WWE Title in the process.

Author’s take

I hope that Kevin Owens’s injury isn’t too serious. With the omission of Samoa Joe and Paige from this year’s Royal Rumble PPV, the WWE Universe certainly can’t deal with another injury to a superstar like Owens.