Kevin Owens planned to get back to WWE in time to get in the ring with John Cena one more time.
After 16 months out of action following a serious neck injury, Kevin Owens made his surprise return to WWE at SummerSlam Night 2. KO was a surprise addition to a Number 1 Contender match for the Undisputed WWE Championship, which was originally set to feature Sami Zayn and Finn Balor. Gunther was also added to the bout by SmackDown GM Nick Aldis, but Owens overcame the odds and won by pinning Zayn.
While his first match back was a huge success, Owens had hoped to be back much sooner so that he could face John Cena before the 17-time World Champion hung up his jorts for good. Speaking to Sam Roberts on WWE Now, the former Universal Champion explained that he thought he could beat his estimated recovery time like he did when he was younger.
“July 18th, 2025 was my surgery. Usually, six months after the surgery is the first scan. I start asking them to do a scan at three months because when I was 20 years old, I had ACL surgery and most people take nine months to get back from that, it took me three, so I’m like, ‘This is the same thing, in three months, my bones are fused.’ Because in my head, I’m like, ‘I’m gonna come back before John Cena retires so I can wrestle him one last time.’
With a match against Cena being impossible, Owens turned to WWE’s return to Montreal in January, but it was still far too soon in his recovery process.
“They humored me and did the scan, they’re like, ‘Yeah, not happening.’ I did another scan at four months because I wanted to come back in Montreal in January. They’re like, ‘We can’t do it.’ Did another scan at six months, which is when we were supposed to do it, and they’re like, ‘It’s still not right.’ So then they’re like, ‘We’re not doing a scan for another long while.’
When Was Kevin Owens Cleared For WWE Return?
While there were times during his recovery that he was worried his career might be over, Kevin Owens was eventually cleared by WWE only a “couple of weeks” before SummerSlam. At that point, doctors finally saw the healing they needed to see, allowing him to get back to training and then a full return to the ring.
