Before last week’s episode of SmackDown, news leaked online that Kevin Owens’ WrestleMania match with Randy Orton was likely off due to the Canadian being injured. Subsequently, Owens confirmed this himself during the episode, and not only was he off WWE’s showpiece event, but he was also set to miss a considerable amount of time due to the need for surgery. And now, in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer has reported that Owens was operated on this past Monday and could be out for 15 months, depending on the exact procedure he underwent.
Once news broke that 40-year-old Owens was hurt, fans on social media began looking through his recent matches and immediately blamed his hard-hitting, unsanctioned match with Sam Zayn at Elimination Chamber in February. However, Owens has since stated in an interview that his injury happened in a regular match in January, meaning it was either against Rey Mysterio or Jimmy Uso on SmackDown. Therefore, it is likely not down to one massive bump but general wear and tear catching up with him.
