Major update on Kevin Owens amid WWE absence - Reports

There has been a major update regarding Kevin Owens amid his WWE hiatus. The Prizefighter was supposed to battle Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 but had to pull out of the match due to an injury.

Owens has not been in action since his victory over Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber 2025 in an Unsanctioned match. The veteran was forced to back out of his match against Orton at The Show of Shows due to a neck injury, and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has provided a new update.

According to the report, Owens is set to undergo neck surgery soon "if all goes well". The former champion had been waiting for his neck to heal naturally to see what the extent of his surgery would be.

Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Joe Hendry was Owens' replacement on The Grandest State of Them All. Hendry got a massive reaction from the WWE Universe at WrestleMania but was quickly defeated by The Viper at the biggest show of the year.

Kevin Owens tells hilarious story about a former WWE star breaking his chair

Kevin Owens recently shared a humorous story about making former WWE star Big Show (Paul Wight) laugh so hard that he broke his chair.

Speaking with Cody Rhodes on the What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, Owens told a hilarious story about kicking Alex Riley outside the ring before heading backstage. Kevin Owens noted that Big Show saw the kick and broke his chair because he was laughing so hard.

"Show saw it, thought it was the funniest thing. Burst out laughing. Broke his chair right then and there. I come back to him on the ground, dying of laughter. Everybody circled around, trying to pick him up. Hunter comes to tell me that the kick I threw at Riley was so funny, Show broke his chair. And Show told me right then and there, 'You're in forever. It was so good. You're in.' And since then, we still keep in touch. One of the kindest people, just because I made him laugh." [23:45-25:30]

You can check out the video below:

Only time will tell when Kevin Owens will be able to return to WWE television following his surgery.