Kevin Owens wanted to face 49-year-old WWE legend

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After the match, he spoke to Sam Roberts on SummerSlam Recap to talk about his journey since his neck injury in early 2025 and the recovery following his surgery.

Kevin Owens said he asked the doctors for a scan three months after his surgery, since he recovered from an ACL injury early in his career fairly quickly.

“So actually, 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. Took me three, so I’m like, this is the same thing,” he said.

The Prizefighter said he was planning a return before John Cena’s retirement, saying he wanted to wrestle him one more time. Unfortunately, the scans revealed that he was still some time away from complete recovery.

“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,’ and they humored me and did the scan. They’re like, ‘Yeah, not happening,’” he added.

Cena had a major influence on KO’s WWE career. The Last Real Champion was Owens’ first match on the main roster in 2015, as the two men faced each other at Elimination Chamber.

Owens, who was still holding the NXT champion, surprisingly beat Cena clean.

Kevin Owens shares true feelings on WWE product

During the interview with Sam Roberts, Kevin Owens talked about how at one point he felt he may never return to WWE.

He said he watched fresh talent like Oba Femi and Trick Williams starting to take over and didn’t know when he could return.

Kevin Owens said watching the current product, he realized how much things have changed in the ring and said while fans love it, he doesn’t get it.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit WWE on YouTube and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.